Survey (Current K-12 teachers only please)

[c nicole]

Hello,

I am working on a project and would greatly appreciate your responses. Please think of a specific situation where you perceived an implemented school policy, practice, and/or procedure (i.e. code of conduct revisions, discipline policies, grading policies, attendance/tardy policies, bathroom policies, dress code, etc.) to be unfair.

Proceed to complete the survey by clicking on the below link:

Justice Violations in School Policy Questionniare (http://pubweb.northwestern.edu/~cnw276/Justice%20Violations%20in%20School%20Policy%20Ques tionnaire.htm)

[Lisa's Hotscakes]

If this is a research study, how are you ensuring that each participant is, in fact, a teacher?

[c nicole]

If this is a research study, how are you ensuring that each participant is, in fact, a teacher?

Considering that you have already posed this question to me I will respond the same way that I did the last time:

"During a confidential research study, you have no way of verifying that each participant is who he/she claims to be. I must trust the demographic information that is recorded at the end of the survey (type of school, grade level, subject, tenure status, etc.) as well as the responses provided by participants. I have targeted websites/chatboards that mostly attract educators, past, present, and/or future in the hopes of eliminating questions of participant authenticity. Fortunately, many people have been honest about their "qualification" status for my research study. But like most research you have to put a certain amount of trust in your volunteers--that they will truthfully identify themselves and give honest responses."

[Lisa's Hotscakes]

But like most research you have to put a certain amount of trust in your volunteers--that they will truthfully identify themselves and give honest responses

And if they don't? Of what value is your research then?

Half the posters in here are probably kids. Half of those are probably taking your survey as we speak.

Is an anonymous Internet survey an acceptable means of collecting data for serious academic research?

[Unregistered]

Ignore Lisa....most of us on here do, expect for the few times we TRY to get her fired up. Most of her replies/posts are nothing except negative comments about others opinions.

Very few people on here take her seriously....we just argue with her, only to come back later and see what great response she has for us!! It's fun and provides plenty of laughs during the day!

[c nicole]

Thanks for the heads up about Lisa and for the encouragement! It sure helps to get some positive feedback when you're just trying to conduct a study while surviving graduate school :-)

[Lisa's Hotscakes]

***************, but you need to control the purity of your samples; an anonymous Internet survey is no way to collect data. You should be mailing out surveys to the principals of arbitrarily chosen schools, or handing out the surveys at faculty meetings. They can still be filled anonymously.

Anyone with any experience in social research understands that internet surveys are filled out primarily by those more technologically savvy than otherwise. So the population is already biased in that regard. Couple that with the kids who are likely filling out the survey for fun and your population becomes questionable.

And if, for some logistical reason, you cannot ensure at least a modicum of purity in your samples, then you should not perform the research. It simply is not true that bad research is better than no research at all.

nicole, if I were you I would print this complete thread and hand it to your advisor, because I doubt I will be the only one who will raise objections. May save you some major difficulty at the next research conference. And if he can look my arguments over and tell you "Lisa... she's nothing more than a rabble rouser; ignore her," then at least you have covered your own heiney.

I have raised my objections and it is up to you to decide whether my argument has merit. I am done with this thread.

[c nicole]

Thanks for the feedback, Lisa! You're always soooo helpful. Have a great school year!!