Psychology 3840F-001
Survey Design and Construction
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
An introduction to the foundations and methods for developing questionnaires and surveys. Topics include methods and types of survey measurement, construction, administration, data collection and reporting of results. Students will normally participate in the development of surveys with community partner agencies.
Prerequisites: Registration in third or fourth year Honors Specialization in Psychology or minimum grade of 70% in Psychology 2840F/G (or minimum grade of 70% in both Psychology 2830A/B and Psychology 3830F/G at Huron); or minimum grade of 60% in both Psychology 2800E and 2810, or minimum grade of 70% in Psychology 2820E (or a minimum grade of 60% in both Psychology 2830A/B and 3830F/G at Huron). Other Psychology students and Special Students who receive 70% or higher in Psychology 2810 may also enroll in this course
Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
3 lecture hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Don Saklofske
Office and Phone Number: Rm 7314, Social Science Centre
Office Hours: TBA
Email: dsaklofs@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Claire Wilson
Office: Rm 7312, Social Science Centre
Office Hours: TBA
Email: cwils26@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Tuesday 9:30-12:30; UCC 58
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western
http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Dillman, D., Smyth, J. & Christian, J. (2014). Internet, phone, mail, and mixed mode surveys: The tailored design method. Wiley.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
Gordon Allport said that if you want to know what a person is thinking, ask them! The aim of this course is to become familiar with and develop the fundamental skills related to psychological measurement and assessment with a specific focus on survey research methods in applied contexts that yield valid and reliable information on the psychology of human behavior, thinking and feeling of persons and groups. Various data collection methods that employ a survey design framework will be examined that focus on defining the questions to be addressed, creation of measures, methods of collecting information, the significance of a RSVP (reliability, standardization, validity, practicality) basis for understanding data, analyzing and summarizing results and reporting the findings and conclusions. This is a ‘’hands-on’ class with a focus on skills development and thus students, in groups, will be actively involved throughout the course from developing a survey to reporting the results. Attendance and full participation throughout the class is mandatory.4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- discuss the foundational underpinnings of survey design and methods
- describe the purposes of conducting surveys
- list the advantages and disadvantages of survey data collection
-summarize the different methods of constructing and conducting surveys
-consult with clients on their needs for a survey
- construct a survey that will meet the needs of the client
- analyze the survey for its practical and psychometric integrity
- extract and summarize the information needed to address the purpose of the survey
- write a report describing the purpose, methods, results and conclusions of the survey
- deliver an oral presentation, including powerpoint support, of the survey and its findings
- present a poster on the survey and results.
5.0 EVALUATION
Quiz 20%
Proposal for survey project: 20%
Group presentation of project: 20%
Final report of group project: 40%
PLEASE NOTE: Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%.
This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty.
There will be various points in the course where the group project proposal and points of progress will be submitted for ‘formative’ grading. The proposal for the survey to be carried out as a group project will be assessed 20%. The final project and presentation will contribute 60% of your course grade. Also there will be one quiz (total 20%) using a short answer and multiple choice format in the first part of the course to ensure a solid grasp of material from class presentation and the textbook.
The final project will determine the bulk of the grade. Each group will present their project and results to the class (20%) and submit a final paper/report (40%) that may take different formats to be determined.
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows Western's grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
6.0 ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE
There will be one quiz (20%) during the first part of the course to ensure that students have a solid grasp of textbook and class presentation material. The format will be a combination of multiple choice and short answer.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
SCHEDULE Please note the dates in the outline below are ‘tentative’ and open to change. Students should be prepared and willing to accept some flexibility in the planning and scheduling of this course which in the main, is determined by the survey projects we undertake and the schedules of our community partners.
Date Topic Text chapter
Sept 10 Introduction to applied psychological research and survey methods. Chpt 1
Sept 17 Survey participants: who are they are how to encourage responding. Chpts 2-3
Forming teams; selecting a project
Sept 24 Developing the survey; what are the questions to be addressed Chpts 4-6
Measurement methods: questionnaires, online surveys, interview Chpts 7-10
Oct 1 Data collection and analyses Chpts 11-12
Oct 8 Quiz (in-class); Group project planning: Chpts 1-12
Oct 15 Group project: literature review, questions to be addressed, methodology; proposal
discussion
Oct 22 Group project: literature review, questions to be addressed, methodology cont.
(proposal submission)
Oct 29 Project proposal; data collection (proposal feedback)
Nov 5 Reading Week; no formal class meeting
Nov 12 Project proposal; data collection cont. & data analyses
Nov 19 Data analyses
Nov 26 Project write-up: report, journal article, poster and ppt. preparation
Dec 3 Project presentation (oral presentation; written report) and course recap.
*Special Topics/Guest Speakers/Community Partners:
Community partners with whom we will be collaborating with will be consulting with the class and groups as required. Possible invited speakers, topics and dates will be announced in class.
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:
- Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
- For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;
For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
Students seeking academic consideration:
- are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;
- are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;
must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2019-2020 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
