Davao Oriental State University

FACULTY OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Guang-guang, Dahican, City of Mati, Davao Oriental, 8200

EDUC 110
Language Education Research

CHAPTER 7
DESCRIPTIVE SURVEY RESEARCH

Written Report
Members:
Chaves, Jana Christina
Clamor, Jessa Mae
Cornelio, Saturnino
Cuevas, Joielaine

March, 2023
 Characteristics of Descriptive-Survey Research

There are many misperceptions about what research is, what research does, and the
various research approaches that can be used to answer a research question. Descriptive-survey
research is by no means excluded from these misperceptions. Many people believe that
descriptive-survey research is not valid or rigorous in its approach; in fact, nothing could be
further from the truth. Overexposure to survey research may be what drives these common
misperceptions.

Survey research is everywhere. Take, for example, the last time you sat down to enjoy a
meal with your family or friends after a long week of graduate school, and the phone rang right
as the meal was set on the table. You answered it to find a telemarketer on the other end
explaining that she was conducting a brief survey and would like to ask you some questions
about the radio station you listen to on your way to work each morning. And as you are about to
hang up, she adds, "... and it will only take a second of your time." Famous last words, right?

Whether someone comes up to you in the shopping mall with a clipboard full of
questions, calls you on the phone, or sends you a paper survey in the mail (or by e-mail), all of
these are examples of descriptive-survey research, and they share the following common
characteristics:

1. A pre-established instrument has most likely been developed by the researcher.

2. Most responses to the questions on the survey are quantitative (eg, ratings) or will be
summarized in a quantitative way.

3. The sample is selected from a larger population or group to allow the study's findings to be
generalized back to the larger group.

The various approaches to survey research have the same purpose: gathering opinions,
beliefs, or perceptions about a current issue from a large group of people. In educational
research, these issues can be wide ranging and may include, but are certainly not limited to, high-
stakes testing, parental involvement, school improvement, classroom instructional practices,
behavior management techniques, and after-school or summer enrichment programming.

Writing a Research Question

Although descriptive-survey research is a type of quantitative research, it begins with a

research question and a set of sub questions as in qualitative research. Presented below are some
examples of research questions:

1. What do elementary and middle-level teachers believe are the main benefits, barriers, or both,
of integrating technology into their instruction?

2. What do high school administrators perceive to be the issues surrounding school safety?
3. What do parents of elementary school students believe are ways to become more involved in
school and school-related activities?

Notice how these research questions illustrate the characteristics of descriptive-survey

research. First, in each example, who is being surveyed (the sample) is clearly specified:
elementary and middle-level teachers, high school administrators, and parents of elementary
school students. Second, all questions include verbs or "action" words that inquire about people's
perceptions or beliefs of their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Third, the current issue being
investigated is clearly defined: technology integration, school safety, and parental involvement in
school activities. As you examine the vignette, what do you think Alysia's research question was
for her study? It is likely that her question was something like the following: "What are student
perceptions of the new uniform policy?!"

Writing Sub-questions

After generating a research question (like the ones above), students are often per- flexed
by how they can "fill up" an entire survey with the one research question they have created. The
answer is, they cannot. The research question should be thought of as a broad research question,
and although it is certainly important and every survey study needs to begin with one, the
researcher must also work to develop more specific sub-questions. Consider as an example the
above research question, "What do elementary and middle-level teachers believe are the main
benefits and barriers to integrating technology into their instruction?" To follow are some
examples of sub-questions that would support this research question:

1. Do elementary and middle-level teachers believe that they have made changes to their
pedagogy in integrating technology, and if so, what were they?

2. In what types of professional development activities have these teachers participated? What
other professional development do they believe is necessary to assist them further?

3. Do elementary and middle-level teachers believe that using such technology has had an impact
on student learning and achievement, and if so, what are some examples and evidence?

Writing Sub-questions After generating a research question (like the ones above), students are
often per flexed by how they can "fill up" an entire survey.

Steps for Doing Descriptive Survey Research

STEP 1: designing and developing a survey questionnaire

In a survey, the researcher uses a questionnaire to gather information from the

respondents to answer the research questions. A questionnaire is a very convenient way of
collecting information from a large number of people within a period of time. Hence, the design
of the questionnaire is of utmost importance to ensure accurate data is collected so that the
results are interpretable and generalizable. A bad questionnaire renders the results interpretable,
or worse, may lead to erroneous conclusions.

Components of a survey

1. Cover letter

A cover letter for a research paper is a document submitted along with an academic or
professional paper intended for publication. Cover letters for research papers provide journal
editors with a brief summation of your article. A cover letter is also an opportunity to show the
importance or impact of your article within your field and explain why the journal you're sending
your manuscript to may be interested in publishing it. In addition, cover letters typically include
disclaimers that reassure the journal editors you have followed all ethical standards or practices
required by your institution or field.

 Purpose
You must provide the participants with information about the purpose of both the survey
and the research project as a whole. As the researcher, you must help to place the participants in
the proper context for answering the questions. Do not assume that participants will make
connections to those specific past experiences without being specifically instructed to do so.
 Confidentiality statement
One of the most important duties of a researcher is maintaining confidentiality. To do
this, the researcher must ensure that what a participant says or reports will not be shared with
anyone in any way that would result in an individual being identified.

Ethical Issue in Descriptive-Survey Research

Anonymity is different from confidentiality. While anonymity means you don't know
who the participants are, confidentiality means you know who they are but remove identifying
information from your research report.
Often graduate students confuse confidentiality and anonymity. Unlike confidentiality,
anonymity means that the survey does not require the participants or respondents to provide their
name or any information that identifies them in any way (e.g., grade level currently teaching,
number of years in current teaching position, name of school building). An anonymous survey is
one that contains no demographic information that could be used to identify an individual

 Statement of voluntary nature of study

In the introductory statement or cover letter, the researcher must inform participants that
participation in the study is entirely voluntary. Participants must be informed that their lack of
participation will not result in negative consequences.
 Contact information
 The cover letter or introductory statement must provide contact information for use by
participants in the event that they have a question or need further clarification on an item.

2. Demographic

Demographic information allows you to better understand certain background

characteristics of an audience, whether it’s their age, race, ethnicity, income, work situation,
marital status, etc. By asking demographic questions in surveys, you can gather demographic
information about current and potential.

Guidelines in deciding on the type of demographics you are going to include in your study

 Demographics should be derived from the literature review

 Demographics should be used for specific purposes and not as a “shotgun” approach to
gathering all possible information on participants.
 Demographics can go at the beginning or end of the survey, depending on their purpose.

3. Body of the survey

The body of the survey report contains all the information collected during the survey
research process which has been tabulated, analyzed, and explained.

4. Directions for Each Section.

To ensure accuracy of the data, it is essential that, as the researcher, you provide
instructions that clearly tell participants what to do (and think about) when answering each item
of the survey. Although directions are touched on in a general sense in either the cover letter or
in the beginning of the survey, each section or “theme” of the survey should include specific
directions immediately preceding the detailed survey items.

5. Criteria for Writing Good Survey Items

 Be clear and concise in the language used.

 Make sure that each survey item gathers data on one central idea or question.
 Avoid using double negatives.
 Make sure that items (particularly demographic items) have response sets that do not
overlap.
 Include all possible responses.
 Write items that do not assume information about the participants.
 Write items that allow participants to express what they really believe rather than
suggesting a particular answer.
STEP 2: selecting the sample

Of all quantitative methods, survey research tries to use the largest sample possible of all
the quantitative methods. Survey research is frequently carried out using either a census
population, which refers to the sampling of the entire population (for instance, all of the teachers
in a school district or building), or a randomly selected sample for a larger population (such as
the study by Alysia). While choosing your sample for survey research, it's important to know that
not everyone who is chosen for your sample and sent a survey will take part in the study by
completing it and mailing it back. This poses a significant obstacle to the findings'
generalizability. Even when a survey researcher chooses a sample at random to reflect the greater
population, individuals who actually return the survey may wind up constituting a "subsample"
that differs from the initial sample that got the survey.

STEP 3: Piloting the Survey

It is a strategy that helps to evaluate or test a questionnaire using a smaller sample size
than the planned sample. Any survey should be pilot-tested on a small sample of people who will
make up the final sample. Piloting can be compared to a survey's dress rehearsal. The survey is
given to the participants who make up a pilot sample, who are typically chosen at random, and
asked to complete it as well as evaluate the survey on a variety of fronts, including its clarity of
language and terms, basic spelling and grammar, the depth and breadth of its subquestions and
items, and its overall psychometric properties (e.g., scales are correct, etc.). Hopefully the survey
will be sound enough for the members of the pilot group to complete it. When piloting your
study, provide an additional sheet to the survey for pilot participants to write any comments,
suggestions, or questions they have about the survey. Like Alysia, you should use this feedback
to make corrections or refinements to the final survey.

STEP 4: Administering the Survey and Collecting Data

Mailing
The paper-pencil, mail-out, mail-back survey has been the traditional method for survey
administration. This method has many benefits, especially from a measurement perspective.
First, it helps to ensure that the confidentiality of the participants’ responses will be maintained.
The researcher mails surveys directly to a group of teachers, who fill them out and mail them
back using an enclosed SASE. This helps to ensure that no one except the researcher will have
access to the information on the survey.

Online Surveys
 To deliver a survey online, a researcher may subscribe to a service that offers online
delivery or use some free delivery. This saves you the step of having to manually enter data into
your analysis program, as you would if you administered your survey in hard copy format.

Other Methods
As discussed earlier, using the telephone to assist in the delivery of a survey is one
alternative method for survey administration. The benefit of this approach is that the researcher
can collect data within a relatively short time as opposed to the mailing method, which may take
three to four weeks for responses to come back. Phone surveys also allow the survey
administrator to encourage participation and increase response rates by personally explaining the
purpose of the survey, answering questions about the study, and establishing rap- port. A
problem with using the telephone, however, is that the researcher must have phone numbers of
the participants. Unless participant phone numbers are readily available, this method should be
avoided
Once the respondent has filled out the surveys, the contact person would collect and mail them
back to the researcher. With this method, the researcher has to spend little effort in the actual
administration of the survey; however, the validity of the data can be severely compromised,
depending on the selection of the key contact person and that person’s relationship to the
participants.
Response Rate
After a survey has been developed and administered, the final concern of a survey researcher is
the response rate. The response rate is the percentage of persons in the sample who complete and
send surveys back to the researcher. One never gets back 100% of the surveys sent out. Research
shows that response rates vary considerably depending on the purpose of the study, the
relationship between the participants and the researcher, and the subject of the survey. Even after
several reminders, response rates of 30% to 50% are typical. Response rates will be higher in
situations where the people being surveyed have a greater interest or stake in the topic or results:
for example, perhaps they attended a three-week symposium on the topic the summer before, or
the survey results may lead to changes in the curriculum that they are teaching. In these
situations, response rates may be 80% or higher. Some methods of survey administration, such as
Internet surveys, have particularly low response rates. In the study of ally groups mentioned
previously, Kennedy and Vogtle (2000) had a response rate of less than 5% despite repeated
reminders to participants to complete the study survey. Al- though the survey data were
unusable, they did collect archival data from ally group Web sites, which were analyzed to
complete the study.
Lower response rates can have serious implications for the generalizability of the results
of a survey study. Even when the sample to which the survey was dis- tributed was randomly
selected, a 50% response rate may result in a final sample that is not representative of the
population. Often people who have extreme opinions about an issue (either in favor of or against
it) take the time to respond to a survey, and those in the middle (not really caring one way or
another) may be less likely to take the time to fill the survey out and return it. If most of the
randomly selected sample for a survey does not respond, the findings reported may be mis-
leading because if everyone who had been part of the sample had actually responded, the
findings might be different.

Types of Survey Studies

One-Shot Survey Design is the most commonly used design in a survey study. This approach
surveys are mailed to participants at one particular point in time to gather their perceptions about
a current issue. According to the American Psychology Association Dictionary, One-Shot
Survey design is a research design in which a single group is observed on a single occasion after
experiencing some event, treatment, or intervention. Because there is no control group against
which to make comparisons, it is a weak design; any changes noted are merely presumed to have
been caused by the event. However, by changing when and to whom the surveys are
administered, different kinds of research questions can be asked and answered. Presented below
are the several commonly used survey designs.

I. Designs That Follow the Same Sample Over Time

The researcher will only be able to interview the same group of participants using this
particular approach. With this method, the researcher can monitor the various experiences the
participants may have had over time and track how the subjects developed through time. These
have three different designs, these are: Annual Panel Survey Study, Follow-up Survey Study, and
Longitudinal Survey Study.

Annual Panel Survey Study

In an annual panel survey study, the researcher selects a sample of participants, surveys
them, and repeats the survey with the same group for several years. As an example, consider a
study designed to examine the perceptions of new teachers as they graduate in May from their
teacher preparation programs and enter the teaching field the following fall.

Follow-up Survey Study

It is the process that the researcher undergoes to gather additional information from a
participant when doing research. Let us say that the researcher was also interested in knowing
whether these new teachers stayed in the teaching field or found employment in other areas. In a
follow-up study, these new teachers might be surveyed initially on graduation, again the
following year, and maybe for a couple of years after that (an annual panel survey). A follow-up
study would help the researcher document the rate at which teachers are leaving the field.

Longitudinal Survey Study

A longitudinal survey study is similar to a follow-up study in that a sample is selected
and the entire sample is sampled periodically, but unlike a follow-up survey, the main function
of the longitudinal study is to track participants over an extended amount of time. Longitudinal
surveys are those that enable a researcher to make observations over some extended period of
time.

II. Designs That Select Different Samples Over Time

This type of survey study has two different approaches. These are Trend Survey Study
and Cohort Survey Study.

Trend Survey Study

Trend studies are typically used to examine the perceptions of groups that are having or
have had a shared experience at a particular time. The interest here is in trends, not specific
people, as long as the researcher’s sample is representative of whatever population he or she
wishes to describe trends for, it isn’t important that the same people participate each time. In
other words, researcher examines changes in trends over time; the same people do not
necessarily participate in the survey more than once. For example the “The Gallup opinion polls”
for several years Gallup has polled Americans to find out what they think about gas prices
(something many of us happen to have opinions about). One thing we’ve learned from Gallup’s
polling is that price increases in gasoline caused financial hardship for 67% of respondents in
2011, up from 40% in the year 2000.

Cohort Survey Study

For this design, the researcher uses the same population each year but selects different
samples from that group over time. For example, a sample of new teachers entering the field
would be surveyed the first year. The next year, the same group of teachers selected the prior
year (and now completing their first year of teaching) would be used, but another sample would
be drawn from the original group who entered the profession that first year. This process would
repeat itself again and again for a number of years. Keep in mind that one of the barriers to this
design is that a large sample must be available initially for the researcher to be able to draw
repeatedly from the group and not survey the same person more than once.

III. Other Types of Descriptive Research

Observational measures or self-reports

Some descriptive studies use observational measures or self-report to describe groups at

one point in time or to describe differences between groups that differ in demographic variables.
For example, Brady Descriptive-Survey Research 173 (1989) used observational measures to
describe the types of questions that teachers used in class discussions. As a descriptive study,
Brady simply identified the patterns of questions used by teachers. This type of descriptive study
typically uses observational checklists or rating scales to describe behaviors of interest.
 Self-reports are another type of measure used in descriptive studies. For example, Larson
(1989) examined the activities of adolescents by having them self-report on what they were
doing at randomly selected times during the day. Larson used an experience sampling procedure
where adolescents completed a written report on their activities when their provided beepers
went off. The results were summarized in a pie chart that showed the percentage of time engaged
in each activity. The researchers did not try to change the activities of the adolescents but simply
described what the adolescents were doing

Descriptive comparative

A descriptive comparative research design serves to describe differences between groups in a

population without any manipulation (Cantrell, 2011). Basically, it describes the differences
between groups but does not to try to explain why these differences occur. These often involve
demographic variables such as age, ethnic group, sex, grade level, or job position.