Survey Design & Questionnaire Development Case Study

As part of its annual quality improvement initiative aimed at establishing strengths and identifying areas of improvement, Penn State Harrisburg is interested in assessing if students are satisfied with their educational experiences in the MPA program. Specifically, the university is interested in finding out if there are differences in levels of satisfaction with educational experiences among different groups of students.

Variable Names

The variable names include “gender of students”, “age of students”, “study mode used by students”, and “satisfaction with educational experiences.”

Conceptual Model

Satisfaction with educational experiences will form the dependent variable, whereas gender of students, age and study mode will form the independent variables; hence, the conceptual model for the research study is as follows:

Conceptual Definitions

Conceptual definition of “satisfaction with educational experiences”: for this particular project, satisfaction with educational experiences will be determined by students’ perceptions on (a) the quality of skills development and personal growth, (b) quality of curriculum and instruction at the graduate school, and (c) potential to achieve the desired educational objectives in the MPA program.

The first and second perceptions will be assessed using a one-dimensional Lickert-type scale with the following dimensions: “completely satisfying”, “mainly satisfying”, “partially satisfying”, and “not satisfying at all.” The third perception will be measured using a one-dimensional Lickert-type scale with the following dimensions: “highly probable”, “probable”, and “least probable.”

Conceptual definition of “student’s gender” implies the respondent’s self-identified gender (either male or female).

Conceptual definition of “student’s age” implies the respondent’s number of completed years from birth.

Conceptual definition of “study mode” implies the respondent’s choice of studying at the university, either on full-time or part-time basis

Operational Definitions

The dependent variable (satisfaction with educational experiences) has been conceptually defined in three perceptual dimensions, namely:

1. quality of skills development and personal growth,
2. quality of curriculum and instruction at the graduate school,
3. potential to achieve the desired educational objectives in the MPA program. These dimensions are operationalized as follows:

SkillsGrowth: how would you rate the overall quality of skills development and personal growth attained as you study for your MPA program?

1. Completely satisfying
2. Mainly satisfying
3. Partially satisfying
4. Not satisfying at all

CurricInstru: how would you rate the overall quality of curriculum and instruction at the graduate school?

1. Completely satisfying
2. Mainly satisfying
3. Partially satisfying
4. Not satisfying at all

EDOBJEC: how would rate the potential to achieve the desired educational objectives in your MPA program

1. Highly probable
2. Probable
3. Least probable

The independent variables (gender, age and study mode) are operationalized as follows:

Gender: respondent to select his or her gender from the options listed below

1. Male
2. Female

Age: a blank space will be left for the respondent to indicate his or her age in completed years

Study mode: respondent to select the mode used in studying for the MPA program from the options listed below

1. Full-time student
2. Part-time student

Apart from the age variable, all the other variables use one-dimensional Lickert-type scales not only to enable the respondents pick their preferred rating on each variable but also to streamline the data analysis exercise.

Level of Measurement

The measurement levels for this particular project are as follows:

SKILLSGROWTH and CURRICINSTRU use an ordinal measurement level because the response categories (1. completely satisfying, 2. mainly satisfying, 3. partially satisfying, and 4. not satisfying at all) allow for rank order by which the resulting data can be sorted and analyzed.

EDOBJECT also employs an ordinal measurement level because the response categories (1. highly probable, 2. probable, and 3. least probable) allow for rank order by which the resulting data can be sorted and analyzed.

Gender uses a dichotomous nominal level of measurement due to the two response categories: 1. male, and 2. female.

Age uses a scale level of measurement because the response categories (respondent’s number of completed years) can be further harnessed during analysis to demonstrate ordered categories with a meaningful metric.

Study mode uses a dichotomous nominal level of measurement due to the two response categories: 1. full-time student, and 2. part-time student.

Satisfaction with Educational Experiences Questionnaire

This self-administered mail survey is intended to assess if students are satisfied with their educational experiences while pursuing MPA program at Penn State Harrisburg. The responses given will assist the university’s administration to consolidate the strengths already made and identify areas for further improvement in achieving the objective of enhancing students’ educational experiences.

Kindly take at least 10-15 minutes of your time to respond to the following items. A fully completed questionnaire should be mailed back to the address/e-mail indicated below

• What is your age in completed years?
• What mode do you use to study for your MPA program at the university?
• How can you rank the quality of skills development and personal growth arising from your educational engagements in the MPA program? (kindly tick one)

• How can you rank the quality of curriculum and instruction in reference to your MPA program at the graduate school? (kindly tick one)

• How can you rate your potential to achieve the desired educational objectives upon successful completion of your MPA program at the graduate school? (kindly tick one)