ERIC Number: ED638146
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 173
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3803-1871-6
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
On a Scale of 1 to 5: A Case Study Model Exploring Response Rates and Strategies to Obtain Usable Survey Data from All Students
Tanaz Christina Arteaga
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
College students complete end-of-term surveys during their undergraduate education to report on their experiences of curriculum, faculty, and overall course satisfaction. Significant decisions are based on these surveys' results, despite limited and potentially unrepresentative results. Low student response rates on digital, electronic course evaluations indicate that not all stakeholders' voices are captured. While responses are collected, patterns such as monotonic responses and careless completion, amplification of biases, and lack of representativeness contribute to less usable data to inform teaching and decision-making. Previous research investigated low response rates and strategies to increase response rates on a larger scale. The following qualitative case study examined the causes of low response rates and strategies to improve rates for a specific undergraduate program through semi-structured interviews. Through the more in-depth qualitative approach, student and school-specific factors were identified, and strategies to encourage greater response quantity and quality were explored. Findings indicated that participants believed course evaluations were important but were uncertain about their use at the institution. To increase response rates, participants indicated that the institution should consider requiring course evaluations, introducing targeted incentives, improving the understanding of the relevance of course surveys, and taking steps to ensure respondents feel psychologically safe in responding by addressing factors such as anonymity. This study also demonstrated the usefulness of a case study model for other schools to explore institutional-specific causes of low response rates and possible strategies to hear from more students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Case Studies, Models, Response Rates (Questionnaires), Data Collection, Student Surveys, Undergraduate Students, Course Evaluation, Usability, Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A