Activity 2: Use criteria to evaluate and write a one paragraph abstract as one of the online resources. Post abstract.
Summary of “Designing Surveys and Questionnaires,” from Library Research Service: Research and Statistics about Libraries
At first the online tutorial for designing surveys and questionnaires appears to be relatively authoritative, with clear organization, a simple yellow and blue colour scheme, multiple links, and a welcoming introduction. However, after some searching around its larger site one realizes that the tutorial is an excerpt from a for-purchase book, Survival Statistics, authored by David Walonick, a retired stats professor from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. The site on which the tutorial is hosted offers not only the book but also a software program for sale. The for-profit organization, StatPac Inc., has two branches that can be reached by email, telephone, or a webform. Although there is presumably a print version of this book, the accuracy of the tutorial is questionable. It does not show that its evidence has been verified or peer-reviewed. Although the author is a self-described published stats professor, and some of the tutorial’s information seems logical and helpful, there isn’t even a bibliography or list of other resources on this topic. Moreover, unfounded statements like “You will receive about 90% of the response [to your electronic survey] within three days after the email invitation is sent” suggest that some of the material lacks objectivity. The website has a current copyright date of 2013, but there is no information regarding the book’s publication date. It is written in plain English, but it is persuasive as well as descriptive, not only in terms of easing the anxieties of readers (“Pretty easy tutorial, huh?”) but also in the way it describes the tutorial/book positively: “This tutorial is packed with information!” Although the tutorial is over 20 pages, its coverage is not comprehensive, containing the views of only the author. Because the book is available for sale, along with other statistics items, the tutorial is also an advertisement and a sales-pitch offered aimed at a general audience with elementary experience containing unverified information that a novice reader wouldn’t have the capacity to critique.
In summary of the evaluation of this online source, while the tutorial generally serves the purpose it claims, the informal tone, subjective views, lack of evidence-based research, and subtle sales-pitchiness of the site risks credibility. The tutorial reads like class notes or an outline of lectures by a single instructor. Thus, the tutorial does not meet all of the criteria for an authoritative source, and, if used, should be read in concert with other not-for-profit, current, evidence-based information on the subject.
Teaching Techné 