UTILISING AND DEVELOPING VALID AND RELIABLE QUESTIONNAIRES IN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Abstract

Questionnaires are one of the most frequently used instruments in educational research. In some cases reliable and validated questionnaires which already exist in the literature can be used directly in research. However, often these instruments need to be tailored to address specific purpose of the research. These changes may range from rewording and amalgamation of existing questionnaires or developing a completely new questionnaire. Whilst development of a valid and reliable questionnaire is a must to reduce measurement error, research suggests that many published educational articles overlook the importance of validating the questionnaire utilised. The aim of the workshop is to take participants through the process involved in selecting, developing and validating questionnaires. Participants will investigate how they can implement existing validated questionnaires (with and without modification) and develop a new questionnaire for their own research purpose. In the case of developing a new questionnaire, some basic steps need to be followed to achieve valid and reliable results: (1) determining the purpose of using a questionnaire, (2) defining the construct, (3) item development and judgment, (4) establishing validity and reliability, and (5) finalising the questionnaire. It is expected that participants should be able to decide when a questionnaire is suitable to address a research question and make a plan for tackling questionnaire content, design and validation to reduce measurement errors and achieve reliable results while using a questionnaire in own pedagogic research projects. The workshop will be interactive. Below is a guide to timings. 10:00 Introductions and setting the scene 10:15 Steps to developing an effective questionnaire 11:00 Use of validated questionnaires 11:30 Break and refreshment 12:00 Development of a new questionnaire and its validation process 12:45 Wrap-up and move forward