Dear colleagues,

I like the various groups of questions that have been posted so far and could see how this could make a comprehensive inventory or battery of index/scales etc for our assessment task.  Perhaps we could explore the use of a common format for question answers (Likert for example with four categories - SA, A, D, SD).  In this way we could sttempt to standardize the question formats and if necessary allow for the creation of indexes relative to each section of the overall project.  Once that baseline measure is established we could then compare each subsequent year to that data to see if growth has occurred on each of the indexes and/or overall (the longitudinal task).

Dave Ballard

I agree with Dave on the common formatting issue, especially given the variety of topics to which students will be asked to reflect and respond.  Surveys take less time and are easier to complete when the response options are the same throughout the survey--respondents get into the flow of the questioning and thus create a response rhythm.  I also believe a four-point scale is the direction the survey should take.  A four point scale eliminates the "neutral" position that often water down the results.

My biggest concern is having a survey that is long and meaningless to the respondent, which results in respondent fatigue, unthoughtful responses, and not completing the survey.  Not to mention, the items at the end of the survey suffer valid or complete results.

 Judy Ouimet