Slides from Mike Lambur and Sarah Baughman for Use of Surveys in Extension for Program Development and Evaluation.

1. Use of Surveys in Extension
for Program Development &
Evaluation
Sarah Baughman, Ph.D. Mike Lambur, Ph.D.
eXtension Virginia Cooperative Extension

2. Benefits & Challenges
 Quick
 Cost effective
 Simplifies data analysis
 Capabilities/functionality
 Multiple devices
 Intended audience must
have internet access
 Easily sent to spam folder
 Technical difficulties
 Literacy
 Easy to develop “bad”
surveys

3. Ask what you need to know,
not what is interesting to
know

4. Developing Sound Questions
Survey questions should be:
Clear
Short
Unbiased
Relevant

5. Clear Questions
Target the vocabulary and grammar to the
population surveyed
 What was your AGI last year?
Avoid ambiguity, confusion, and vagueness
 What is your income?
 Do you jog regularly?
 Does your company have pension and health
insurance benefits?
 How many years have you been in the program?
 1-2 years
 2-3 years
 3-5 years

6. Short Questions
Try to keep questions to 20 words or less
Long questions can be intimidating
Travel to other countries has become
increasingly popular recently. Have you ever
traveled to another country? If yes, you might
have traveled to other countries to enjoy the
scenery. How important was the scenery in
deciding to take the trip?

7. Unbiased Questions
Biased questions contain words or phrases that
lead the respondent to a particular answer
Do you think the new cafeteria provides better
food than the old cafeteria?
Most doctors say that cigarette smoke causes
lung disease for those near a smoker. Do you
agree?
Wouldn’t you like to receive our free brochure?

8. Relevant Questions
Consider the respondents’ interest in and ability to
answer the questions
Most people do not want to appear uninformed, so
rather than admit to having little or no knowledge
about a question, they are likely to select or
provide a response

9. Types of Questions
Factual
What respondents’ know
Attitudinal
How respondents’ feel
Behavior
What respondents’ do
Demographic
Who respondents’ are

10. Question Response Formats
 Close-ended responses
 Mutiple choice
 Must be mutually exclusive
 Must be exhaustive
 Rating scales
 Respondents’ indicate the degree of response to the
question
 Ranking
 Respondents’ indicate, in order, their preference among
a list of responses

11. Question Response Formats
Open-ended responses
Allow respondents’ to answer in their own words
Unless carefully focused and worded,
respondents’ may provide minimal information

12. Other Considerations
Long questionnaires get less response than
short questionnaires
Provide a well written cover letter
Give your questionnaire a title that is short and
meaningful to the respondent
Place the most important items in the first part
of the questionnaire
Pay attention to the flow of questions
Try to keep similar questions/topics together
Use page breaks
Make it convenient to respond

13. So What?

14. Now what?

15. Qualtrics Informal Learning
 June 26 – Qualtrics Basics
 July 10 – Panels & Distributing
 July 17 – Reporting
 Ongoing discussion, tips, etc on the Google+ Online Surveys
community
 2PM Eastern Time for all sessions

16. References
 Websites
 http://www.statpac.com/surveys
 http://www.analytictech.com/mb313/principl.htm
 http://www.qualtrics.com/university/researchsuite/
 Hardcopy
 Dillman, Don. (2007). Mail and internet surveys: The tailored
design method. John Wiley & Sons, Inc: Hoboken, NJ.