casey langer tesfaye and susan white
DESCRIPTION
Can a survey of U.S. High Schools be Replaced or Reduced through Web Searches? The Successes and Complications of an Experimental Strategy. Casey Langer Tesfaye and Susan White. Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Multiphase survey Sample: public & private HS via NCES - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
AAPOR 69th Annual ConferenceAnaheim, CA May 17, 2014
Casey Langer Tesfaye and Susan White
Can a survey of U.S. High Schools be Replaced or Reduced through Web Searches? The Successes and Complications of an
Experimental Strategy
AAPOR 69th Annual ConferenceAnaheim, CA May 17, 2014
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Background
•Nationwide Survey of High School Physics
•Multiphase survey Sample: public & private HS via NCES
Refreshed quadrennially, Redrawn periodically Phase 1: schools, Phase 2: teachers
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Phase 1: Schools
•Does your school offer Physics?•Names & e-mail addresses of physics teachers
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Background
•Multimode survey Mode: paper, web, phone
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Problem 1
•Paper survey is really expensive
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Problem 2
•Schools are oversurveyed•One IRB is not enough
More and more schools have custom research applications or processes
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Problem 3
•Address lists out of date Some schools close or move
•Some schools difficult to reach by phone
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Goal
•Eliminate paper survey altogether•Reduce contact with schools•Filter out closed schools faster
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Proposed solution
•Begin with web searches•Call remaining schools
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Strategy
•3 minute limit•Zoned form
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Evaluating the effort
• Responses Response rate Data quality Research process requests
• $ savings
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Outcome
•Overall response rate lower, but still over 90%
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Outcome
Mode # of Responses % of total Responses
Web search 1061 29%
E-mail 894 25%
Phone call 1663 46%
Total 3618 100%
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Data Quality
•Difficult to measure•Many issues to consider
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Training and Streamlining
•Googling is a skill Google evolves
•Search strategies and techniques vary Evolve over time
There is a tradeoff between encouraging creative search strategies and evaluating the quality of the information yielded
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Data Sources varied
•Sources varied Search results & search pages (e.g. Physics
Olympic teams, activities rosters) School websites, class websites, department
pages, grade-level pages, parental resources Great schools websites LinkedIn and other social networking sites
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Quality Control
•Many schools share the same name Double check school location
•Many cities share the same name Use full/er address to verify
•Many teachers share the same name Listings with last names only are common
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Information varied
• Very different configurations of information for each school Some easier to navigate, some had more or
less information or differently targeted information (e.g. sports teams)
Different definitions (e.g. Upper School)
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Information varied
•Search results vary Date of updates varies Site content varies Websites go up & down, sometimes cached,
sometimes redesigned
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What makes a complete entry?
•Goal of form was staged Stage 1:1. Is physics information available?2. Is physics teacher information available?
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What makes a complete entry?•Goal of form was staged
Stage 1:1. Is physics information available?2. Is physics teacher information available? Stage 2:3. Then is there any helpful contact information?- What constitutes helpful contact information?
New classification: helpful, but not complete
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Data Quality
•Every mode of survey has data quality issues Web searches yielded more inaccurate
information that in the past Inaccurate information leaks into teacher
survey E.g. “I don’t teach physics” “I teach physics, but
I have no students this year” More of a need for a streamlined system for
corrections
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Cost
•Web search, email & phone call cheaper than Paper survey, email & phone call
•Web search & phone calls roughly equal (but web had the added benefit of filtering out closed schools faster and reducing contact with schools)
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In Sum…•Web searches save $ •Web searches lead to less research process requests and potential rejections
But…•Web searches cannot be the only mode•A system that uses web searches:
Must have streamlined procedures for updating incorrect information
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The web continually evolves
•More information online every day•Google continually improving and streamlining search results
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The web continually evolves
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The web continually evolves
• Training cannot be static Develop search and quality standards that can
evolve over time Develop a system that encourages web search
staff to discuss their strategies Use these interactions to understand what
information you are collecting and where you are collecting it from
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In the future
•We will continue the web searches But we will strengthen and streamline the
feedback loop
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Thanks!
•Questions, comments?Casey Langer [email protected]