Assignment Overview and Preparation

In this assignment, you will define your data collection strategy, which includes developing six survey questions. To allow you to focus your time and effort on the actual survey tool and analysis, this course uses a software program to provide the data. Using technology to generate survey data causes hypothetical restrictions in your survey design. As a result, the number and type of questions you write for your survey must follow the Data Collection Template [DOC] provided for this assignment.

Keep in mind that you will not be conducting the survey by mailing or emailing questionnaires. Instead, you will use an electronic survey generator tool, which accepts only certain types of questions, to generate random responses; therefore, the types of questions you can ask must adhere to the guidelines listed below. In the future, as you design surveys to solve problems or answer key questions in your professional life, you will likely draw from a broader range of question types.

Make sure you have watched the Week 3 Project Video. Your instructor walks you through the template for this assignment.

Guidelines for the Questions

• Compose all six survey questions in question form. Write like you are directly asking the survey participant. For example, ask, “How many cats do you own?” rather than stating, “The number of cats owned.”
• Write binary questions for 1–4. Binary questions have only two possible responses. Examples of this are yes/no, true/false, and male/female (to name a few).
• Write quantitative questions for 5–6. These questions have to elicit a single numeric response. Survey participants can respond with only one number.
• Avoid asking the following types of questions, as there are certain types of questions that are not within the parameters of the project:
  • Questions where survey participants have to explain something. This includes short answer and fill-in-the-blank questions.
  • Questions that use a Likert scale. That is where a participant would choose from responses such as strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree.
  • Questions where a participant chooses a number on a scale, such as 1 to 10 or 1 to 5.
  • Questions contingent on another question. Each question must have a stand-alone response.
  • Questions already answered based on how you defined your population. For example, if your population includes only males, do not ask “Are you male or female?”

Guidelines for the Minimum and the Maximum of the Questions

The minimum value is the lowest number with which you think a participant can or will respond. The maximum value is the highest number with which you think a participant can or will respond. To determine these values, make an educated estimate based on your population and the research you have conducted on the issue. For example, if we are surveying Capella students, we might ask “What is your age?” In this situation, a minimum age might be 16, and a maximum age might be 85. Note that it is possible to be outside these ranges. The minimum and the maximum are approximations, or likely ranges, of what you expect.

• Your binary questions will not have a minimum or a maximum.
• You will need to set a minimum and a maximum for each of the quantitative questions.
• The minimum and the maximum are each one single number.

Guidelines for the Expected Values for Typical Responses to the Questions

The typical responses will help the program that generates your hypothetical data produce more realistic participant responses based on your knowledge of the issue you are studying. The typical response will fall between the minimum and the maximum. This is the value you think would be the most common response from survey participants. Base the typical response on your knowledge of what you are surveying and the research you have conducted on the issue.

• You will not need to fill in a typical response for questions 1 through 4.
• The typical responses for the quantitative questions should be what you think will be the mean (average) of all the responses.
• The typical response is one single number.

Assignment Instructions

• Use the Data Collection Template [DOC] to define your strategy.
• Include the following items in your strategy:
  • Your target population for the survey.
  • Your sampling strategy and how you would attempt to conduct your survey. Be sure to include some rationale for your strategy and any potential issues that might affect your survey results.
  • Your six survey questions following the guidelines presented above. Be sure to document the expected value along with a reasonable minimum value and maximum value in the table, as you will use these pre-survey values in later project components.
• In Table 1 of the Data Collection Template [DOC], fill in every box that says “you fill in” and then remove that message once you have done this. Your final product should have a response in every box; there should be no empty boxes in the table.

When you have completed this assignment, submit it to your instructor. Before submitting it, refer to the Project: Designing a Focused Survey rubric to ensure that it meets the grading criteria.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assignment , you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and rubric criteria:

• Competency 1: Interpret a data set’s central tendency and variability using descriptive statistical procedures.
  • Estimate potential response values for survey questions.
• Competency 2: Evaluate the adequacy of data collection methods.
  • Explain why a specified sampling strategy for a survey is appropriate.
  • Develop survey questions for a study.
• Competency 4: Solve problems in your personal and professional life by applying statistical procedures.
  • Describe a population for a study, including age range, gender, location, and other characteristics unique and relevant to the population.

Requirements: EXACT