Abstract This survey gathers both demographic data from the respondent and gathers data based on questions relating both specifically to the university and to a New Orleans oddity, the Mardi Gras Indian, none of whom are Native American. The paper explains that in studying the students' reaction to a certain passage regarding the Mardi Gras Indians and relating it to other Tulane policies, it may be possible to gain some insight on racism and stereotyping.
Abstract This paper relates that the downside of using surveys as a research technique is that the process depends on universal principles, which allow the questionnaires to be generalized, that can make the use of the survey relatively inflexible and that there is always uncertainty about the potential level of response. The author points out that one of the advantages of conducting research surveys is that they are not as costly as other research methods and can be executed through a number of media such as mail, e-mail or personalized visits. The paper explains that the survey or questionnaire is selected by the researcher, as diverse as psychologists and anthropologists, to fulfill both his or her theoretical and practical goals.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Different Categories of Surveys Surveys in Written Format
Surveys Conducted through Email
Surveys Administered within Groups
Drop-off Surveys Surveys Conducted Orally
Reliability and Validity of Surveys Reliability
Equivalency Reliability
Stability Reliability
Internal Consistency
Inter-rater Reliability
Difficulties of Achieving Reliability
Validity
Content Validity
Construct Validity
Criterion Related Validity
Face Validity
Conclusion
From the Paper "Content validity occurs when the initial aim of the research study is represented in the measurement of the overall results. All relative features and aspects have to be taken under consideration for the efficient attainment of aim as well as for its accurate measurement
A good example of this could be research done on the English language leaning of students. If the researcher only takes in the reading capability and factors that hinder reading capability then the content validity of that research would be inadequate because English language learning is not just about the reading skills but encompasses writing and vocabulary learning capabilities as well."
A look at the methodologies and findings of two separate research studies: An on-line survey of 150 Web users of medical sites and a review of the privacy policies among 25 Canadian on-line pharmacies.
Abstract The paper provides a question by question analysis of each survey in both text and table formats. The author concludes that on-line Canadian pharmacies may not meet American or Canadian privacy laws requirements and may not provide adequate privacy protection for the customers. The paper recommends that, not withstanding the dangers typically associated with these on-line pharmacy providers, because of the high costs of prescription medications in the United States, many consumers are compelled to seek alternatives through these largely unproven outlets; therefore, it is clear that all consumers should be cautious of online pharmacies as a means of obtaining products or practices that are illegal in an off-line environment.
Outline
Introduction
Methodology of the 150-Person Web User Survey Data Collection of Web User Survey Online Canadian Pharmacy Consumer Survey Findings
Demographics
Overall Privacy Policy
Pharmacy Licensing
Personal Demographic Information Collected
Computer Hardware/Software and Cookies Information
Ability for the Consumer to Update Personal Information
Opt-In and Opt-Out
Disclosure of Information to Third Parties and Affiliates
Security
Miscellaneous Information
Spreadsheet Analysis of Privacy Policy Information for Canadian Online Pharmacies
Methodology of the 25 Canadian Online Pharmacies
Tables of Online Survey Results of Consumers Views of Canadian Online Pharmacies
Conclusions, Implications, and Recommendations
Conclusions
Implications
Recommendations
From the Paper "Almost all of the 25 online Canadian pharmacies surveyed (24, or 96 percent) required a health profile and an original or copy of a prescription to complete a transaction. Of the 25 online Canadian pharmacies' demographic information requirements surveyed, eight (or 32 percent) used email; none used Social Security; nine (or 36 percent) used an address, telephone and credit card inclusively; and seven (or 28 percent) used some type of demographic information such as sex or age.
Just about a quarter (6 or 24 percent) of the 25 online Canadian pharmacies surveyed used cookies, but none of them allowed third-party providers to place them."
Abstract This paper presents a detailed exploration of web-based surveys and their usefulness in reducing the cost of business research. The writer explores several aspects of web-based surveys, including performance and comparison to traditional type surveys. The paper describes that electronic surveys speed response and increase the range of participants.
From the Paper "Information gathering comes in many different forms. There are benefits and problems with each type of information gathering. Using a test group can be beneficial but is often costly and limited in its scope of use and consequence. One of the most common and popular types of information gathering tools is the use of a survey. Surveys can provide a wide range of information that can be used to understand the past, predict the future and decide what changes, if any, should be made. Surveys are popular for many reasons and are successful in their purpose. The technological explosion of the last few decades provided the world with a much wider frame of reference for gathering information. The Internet allows those who want to gather information to do so in electronic format. Web-based surveys are useful for several reasons including speed of responses, range of participants and the ability to have a more complicated format from which to gather the information."
Abstract This paper explains that there are many different elements that combine to form a community and that the term 'community' can mean different things to different people. The paper further explains that the best way to discover the the ideas of community that dominate the minds of most people would be through a survey. The necessary questions in such a survey are then listed in the paper and the suggestion made that, in order to synthesize the information obtained from the survey, some qualitative and quantative analyses would need to be done. Finally, the paper points out that surveys, such as the one described in the paper, are useful information gathering-tools for the field of sociology and important elements of the sociological method.
From the Paper "The word 'community' is somewhat ambiguous. It is not immediately clear whether it refers to geographical proximity, common interests and activities, or some other grouping method. As with many such ambiguous words, it is likely that different people have completely different ideas about what it means to be a member of a community. An interesting question to pursue, therefore, would be this: What factors do people have in mind when they consider themselves to be part of a community? It is not uncommon for people to mentally place themselves in more than one community. Perhaps someone is a member of her church community, the community of her apartment building, and her work community. These are three very different things. In the case of the church, the community seems bonded together by faith, which might more generally be described as a common interest. In the case of the apartment building, geographical location, or proximity of living, seems to be the main cohesive factor. Work shares elements of both of the other two. On the one hand, the workplace represents a common activity that all of the members of the community participate in on a regular basis. On the other hand, it is likely that the workplace is one office or building where many people convene in the same space at the same time."
Abstract This research paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of questionnaires as research tools. The paper explores how, once a research paradigm and research questions are defined, researchers must determine the design nature (exploratory or conclusive). The paper discusses and evaluates different survey methods and compares the advantages and disadvantages of the survey methods over other descriptive research designs. Additionally, the paper discusses considerations involved in conducting surveys as well as the ethical issues arising from the various kinds of survey research identified. Finally, the author makes a proposal for a future study to design and evaluate a pilot questionnaire on effective uses of questionnaires as educational research tools.
Table of Contents
Abstract
Introduction
Questionnaire Design
Validity and Reliability
Sampling Design and Procedure
Analytic Procedure
Conclusion
From the Paper "Social science researchers have long debated the best, most efficacious ways of viewing the world. Two major paradigms, the C positivist and interpretivist, have today become the main focus of this debate. The C positivist paradigm is more compatible with quantitative research methodology. Quantitative research endeavors to define, explain, predict or control phenomena, using descriptive and inferential statistics. That method reflects belief that reality is mechanistic and deterministic, and that a whole may be divided into parts. Quantitative research implies faith in scientific progress, and the static nature of reality. Thorndike state that if anything exists, it can be measured. Objectivity and detachment are upheld in quantitative data collection, in order to explain changes in aspects of reality, or reveal any cause-and- effect relationships that may occur among parts of a whole. Interpretivist paradigms relate mostly to qualitative methodology. Subscribers believe human beings, individually and collectively, develop reality. Such paradigms interpret the specific instead of generalizing from the specific."
Abstract This paper analyzes the use of GPS surveying in relation to a proposed land project over a garbage dump. The paper also outlines the necessary factors of GPS surveying to be used in the assessment, and discusses the advantages and end result. The paper explains that before the arrival of GPS technology, three- to five-person survey crews were used in comparison to a one- or two-person crew into the field in order to achieve the same results. The paper also looks at how GPS technology also provides complete, three-dimensional survey information, enabling and empowering the design and construction management team to excel at their phase of the project. The writer believes that future studies and advancements in GPS technology will pave the way for a brighter future in land use planning.
Outline:
Introduction to GPS Technology
Land Development in Relation to GPS Technology
Meadowlands Xanadu Project History
The Application of GPS Technology to the Meadowlands Xanadu Project
Benefits of Using GPS Technology in relation to the Meadowlands Project
Proposed Use of GPS Technology for the Meadowlands Project
Conclusion
From the Paper "Control surveys are primarily used to establish the locations of arbitrary points. These points, called control points, may then be used as reference locations for performing additional survey work (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2007). The main reason for performing a control survey is to place control points in locations which are physically convenient for the intended survey work. Control surveys are generally performed to a higher standard of accuracy than other types of surveys (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2007). Control surveys usually consist of several different measurements to the unknown point from several known points, so that the measurements are taken from different angles."
Abstract This paper attempts to define a series of system integration and process re-definition strategies to enable field notes obtained during land surveying to be electronically cataloged and automated for more efficient use. The paper addresses the reliability of the data itself, which is captured and noted in field notebooks. The paper focuses primarily on how to automate what is today a highly manual repository of data existing in the 200 field notebooks that comprise the accumulated data to this point.
Outline:
Executive Summary
Starting with Change Management Is Critical
From Data Repository to Enterprise Content Management System
Advantages of Creating a Land Surveying Content Management System
Disadvantages of Creating a Land Surveying Content Management System
Proposed Costs
Considerations of Change Management
From the Paper "The disadvantages of implementing an automated system to better manage the land use notebooks center mainly on both the time needed during work hours to train users in new procedures for using the system, in addition to the costs of integration with other systems to keep the current one relevant over time."
"In the majority of instances there are many more costs associated with implementing a content management system than initially appear during the forecasting stage (Columbus and Murphy 2), and the level of integration with other systems continues to drive up the costs of these types of implementations. With all these shortcoming said however, the savings in efficiency and accuracy of queries does have a significant effect on the Return on Investment (ROI) of this type of program."
Abstract This paper relates that a windshield survey of a community requires making observations, either by walking or driving, at different times of the day and week to more fully understand and evaluate a community. The author points out that this windshield survey for the Boyd Hill community was conducted as a community health project to assess the community and to identify any problems. The paper concludes that this survey of the neighborhood shows it to be a true neighborhood, which has seen better days, but the real problem with the community is that it has been isolated and divided by the road system in the town. The paper includes many charts and a graph.
From the Paper "The community does contain a recreational center called the Boyd Hill Recreation Center, located at 1165 Constitution Boulevard. The center is situated on a 22-acre park and includes a gym, a conference room, an activity/games room, three outdoor basketball courts, ands a lighted baseball field on two small lots. The center also has two lighted tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a wooded trail for hiking. One of these trails is accessible to the handicapped. The park operates Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm and on Fridays from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm."
Abstract This paper examines how social research most often begins with a need to answer or understand a question or phenomena regarding human interactions and tendencies and how for the most part this research is conducted in various forms of surveys applied to a section or group to be studied. It looks at how the methodology by which these surveys are conducted can also vary greatly across several variables, the particular information needed and how, while for the most part these surveys are conducted under the strict conditions of scientific inquiry and generally yield useful information, there are some areas that need to be specifically monitored in order not to skew the results of the research. This paper analyzes the pros and cons of this methodology.
From the Paper "Surveys help the social researcher to organize data into meaningful components that can assist in understanding the human condition on many levels. By necessity surveys are tools of generalizations and the researcher will form certain ideas or see certain patterns in the result of these assumptions created by the data. In a sense it is a shorthand method of gaining information from a subset of the entire group studied. You could not realistically survey the entire population of the United States, but you could take a sampling of data across the region. There are however several shortfalls in this particular methodology. "
Abstract A 1999 article by James L. Pirkle and John T. Bernert, entitled "Evaluation of Four Maternal Smoking Questions", used a survey method for research. This paper examines this survey instrument with regards to its validity and reliability, as well as its appropriateness for the task at hand. The data collection method the authors used and the levels of data measurement for variables are also discussed in order to fully understand the research that was done and whether it was completed in such a way as to be statistically significant and valid.
From the Paper "Analysis of the survey instrument would indicate that it is valid and reliable. There is always some question as to reliability in any given survey instrument, simply because there is no way to guarantee that the people answering the questions are telling the truth. Because of this, the final data could be affected, but the likelihood is that the lies told on the survey, if any, are of a small enough number not to be statistically significant."
An analysis of the results of Jean Watson's "Needs Assessment Questionnaire Survey" in "Caring Science and the Science of Unitary Human Beings: A Trans-theoretical Discourse for Nursing Knowledge Development".
Abstract This paper analyzes "Caring Science and the Science of Unitary Human Beings: A Trans-theoretical Discourse for Nursing Knowledge Development" by J. Watson M. Smith, which discusses Jean Watson's "Needs Assessment Questionnaire Survey." The paper discusses the results of the survey and provides recommendations for a transtheoretical approach to teaching nursing models.
Table of Contents:
Results
Analysis
Recommendations
Summary
From the Paper "The following are the top five leaning needs and recommendations for this contingent. There is a need to revise the BSN curriculum to create a transtheoretical approach to teaching nursing models, which specifically involves integrating more prominently the nursing theory teachings of Jean Watson, particularly for integrated use in clinical instruction and practice (Watson & Smith, 2002; Morgan, 2006). Thus a timeline must be established in order to accommodate the main activities of the curriculum revision: Content development for instructors, instructor tutorial proper, assessment and further content refinement for classroom instruction and preparation of materials for classroom instruction. Given the timeline for 2008, this must be done at the soonest convenient time."
Abstract Do males assign greater weight than females to physical beauty in selecting romantic partners? This has been a question in our civilization since the beginning of mankind, and just happens to be the hypothesis at hand. Most people believe that males who "go out on the prowl" look for women who are highly attractive and do not pay any attention to their job status, personality, or intelligence. On the other hand, females are stereotyped to look for males with a good career and personality before factors such as physical traits comes into play. To determine the truth about this phenomenon, the writer of this paper designed a survey on the subject.
From the Paper "The problem researched as stated above was, do males tend to pick female partners because of their looks and nothing else? Also, do females tend to assign greater weight to job status, personality and success when choosing a partner? This is a common dilemma faced by everybody who is looking for "that special someone" in their life, or even just a one night stand. While researching an interesting article by Dugatkin and Godin, it was found that it disagreed with our hypothesis. The article states that females tend to be the "choosier sex" when it comes to selecting a mate (Dugatkin & Godin, pg. 1). This article says that females look for males with more "flashy and fearless" characteristics when choosing a mate, rather than job status and wealth. The study of mate selection has been discussed by scientists for many years. In fact, Charles Darwin was the first to propose that competition for mates plays an important role in reproductive success, a process he dubbed sexual selection (Dugatkin & Godin, pg. 1). Personally, this article made me second-guess whether or not our hypothesis would be true, but our survey would eventually determine the validity of the hypothesis at hand."
Abstract This paper is a survey report on South Korea with a special focus on its economy. It also contains an overview of its social and political conditions, including a review of some significant issues facing the country.
Geographical Information
Location & Neighboring Countries
Population
Language
Monetary
Economy
GDP (per capita) and Growth Rate
Imports, Exports & Trade Partners
Social Issues
Crime Rate and Corruption
Unemployment Rate
Poverty Rate
Education and Literacy Level
Human Development Index
Political Overview
Type of Government
Brief Political History
Human Rights Record
Other Significant Events
Relationship with North Korea
The Power of the Chaebols
Future Competitiveness of Korea/ Increasing Wages
From the Paper "South Korea is located in northeastern Asia and occupies the southern part of the Korean peninsula. It is surrounded by North Korea in the north; the Sea of Japan in the east, the Yellow sea in the west, and is separated from Japan in the south by the Korean Strait. It has a total area of 98,480 km2 (land area: 98,160 km2) and a coastline of 2,413 km. (North Korea, Japan and China being its neighboring countries). The region has a temperate, continental climate with cold, dry winters and hot, rainy summers. (?South Korea,? Encarta, 2003)"
Abstract This paper emphasizes that, because performance appraisal is a means of determining these rewards, it is crucial that employees receive fair appraisals, that employees understand the performance appraisal, and that employees are measured against their job description and not on arbitrary criteria. This paper states that the survey of the performance appraisal system suggests the real estate office is currently operating with an appraisal system that exists 'for show', while achieving few real benefits. The author suggests that the real estate office upgrade and implement a performance management system to solve the problems, to help ensure that employees are motivated to achieve suitable results, and that employees receive the feedback they need to work effectively.
From the Paper "Employees were next asked whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the statement ?I received a fair performance appraisal.? Three employees answered that they disagreed and two answered that they agreed. This indicates that the process is not considered fair by over half of employees. When it is considered that the performance appraisal system is linked to employee rewards, this creates a major problem. Expectancy theory creates the link between motivation and rewards, with expectancy theory described as a theory suggesting, "that motivation depends on the individuals" expectations about their ability to perform tasks and receive desired rewards? (Daft, 1997, p. 536). If the performance appraisal system is not fair then an individual does not see their actions as allowing them to receive the rewards they deserve."
