The VARK Questionnaire Essay Example for Free

The VARK Questionnaire Essay Choose the answer which best explains your preference by placing a check on the squares next to the choices. You may have two answers per item if a single answer does not match your perception. Leave blank any question that does not apply. A group of tourists want to learn about the parks or wildlife reserves in your area. You would: give them a book or pamphlets about the parks or wildlife reserves. talk about, or arrange a talk for them about parks or wildlife reserves. take them to a park or wildlife reserve and walk with them. show them internet pictures, photographs or picture books. You have to make an important speech at a conference or special occasion. You would: gather many examples and stories to make the talk real and practical. write out your speech and learn from reading it over several times. write a few key words and practice saying your speech over and over. make diagrams or get graphs to help explain things. You want to learn a new program, skill or game on a computer. You would: use the controls or keyboard. follow the diagrams in the book that came with it. read the written instructions that came with the program. talk with people who know about the program. You have finished a competition or test and would like some feedback. You would like to have feedback: using examples from what you have done. using a written description of your results. from somebody who talks it through with you. using graphs showing what you had achieved. Do you prefer a teacher or a presenter who uses: demonstrations, models or practical sessions. question and answer, talk, group discussion, or guest speakers. handouts, books, or readings. diagrams, charts or graphs. You are helping someone who wants to go to your airport, town centre or railway station. You would: write down the directions (without a map). go with her. draw, or give her a map. tell her the directions. I like websites that have: audio channels where I can hear music, radio programs or interviews. things I can click on, shift or try. interesting written descriptions, lists and explanations. interesting design and visual features. You are planning a holiday for a group. You want some feedback from them about the plan. You would: phone, text or email them. use a map or website to show them the places. describe some of the highlights. give them a copy of the printed itinerary. You are going to choose food at a restaurant or cafe. You would: listen to the waiter or ask friends to recommend choices. choose from the descriptions in the menu. choose something that you have had there before. look at what others are eating or look at pictures of each dish. You are about to purchase a digital camera or mobile phone. Other than price, what would most influence your decision? Trying or testing it The salesperson telling me about its features. It is a modern design and looks good. Reading the details about its features. You are going to cook something as a special treat for your family. You would: use a cookbook where you know there is a good recipe. ask friends for suggestions. cook something you know without the need for instructions. look through the cookbook for ideas from the pictures. Other than price, what would most influence your decision to buy a new non-fiction book? It has real-life stories, experiences and examples. Quickly reading parts of it. A friend talks about it and recommends it. The way it looks is appealing. Remember a time when you learned how to do something new. Try to avoid choosing a physical skill, eg. riding a bike. You learned best by: watching a demonstration. diagrams and charts visual clues. written instructions – e.g. a manual or textbook. listening to somebody explaining it and asking questions. You are not sure whether a word should be spelled `dependent or `dependant. You would: find it in a dictionary. write both words on paper and choose one. see the words in your mind and choose by the way they look. think about how each word sounds and choose one. You have a problem with your knee. You would prefer that the doctor: used a plastic model of a knee to show what was wrong. gave you a web address or something to read about it. described what was wrong. showed you a diagram of what was wrong. You are using a book, CD or website to learn how to take photos with your new digital camera. You would like to have: diagrams showing the camera and what each part does. a chance to ask questions and talk about the camera and its features. clear written instructions with lists and bullet points about what to do. many examples of good and poor photos and how to improve them. Please fill in this form so that your results can be included in our research Are you     male or     female? Are you: 18 or younger, 19 to 25, 26 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 54, 55 or over? Where do you live? USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Asia, South America, Oceania, Africa, Middle East Is this the first time you have filled in the VARK questionnaire? Yes, this is the first time, No, I have filled it in previously Which of the following best matches your perception of your VARK results? That looks just like me Im not much like that Im not sure Are you involved in education (as a faculty member or as a student)?   yes     Ã‚  no Are you a: student? teacher? Which level of education are you involved at? High school Two-Year College Four-Year College University Other What is your main area of study? Humanities Social Sciences Science Applied Science Business Education Performing Arts Other This questionnaire critique is an evaluation of the VARK questionnaire which measures the learning preferences of individuals. VARK stands for the four types of learning preferences which are visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic. The questionnaire is geared towards determining how individual take in and give out information in the learning context. It is not similar to learning styles but is a necessary component of the learning style of an individual. The questionnaire contains 16 items only with four choices per item. The four choices correspond to the four different learning preferences (visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic). The questionnaire is designed to identify which learning preference category the individual highly favors based on his/her responses on the 16 items. The questionnaire is online; therefore it is accessible to a wider range of individuals.   The sampling of respondents is not limited to a certain group since it is online and anyone who comes across the website can take the questionnaire. Moreover, the distribution of the questionnaire occurs only if the questionnaire used was the printed version, but if the online questionnaire is used, it only waits for people to complete the survey. The collection of the data or the responses is automated, it is already programmed and this is added to the database of responses which have been used to establish the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. The demographic data is then asked after the taker has completed answering the questionnaire. The demographic questions include gender, age, location, status and field of expertise. The demographic data are then used in the research conducted by the authors of the VARK. The demographical details required in the questionnaire are standard and usually the most commonly asked in questionnaires. The VARK questionnaire was designed appropriately; the questionnaire is short and yet contains all the information needed to make a good assessment of what learning preference the individual has. The questions are straightforward, it asks about a specific event or situation and the choices are related to the questions and can be an accurate answer to the question whichever the individual chooses it to be. The directions however are not very clear, in the online version, the instruction is to encircle the letters beside the choices, but there was no letters to encircle instead it was an online program that is to be clicked on by the test taker. This may provide confusion to those who may have to use the print version of the questionnaire. The results are immediately processed after the individual hits complete and it can be saved in the website for later use and for the use of the authors to gather as many respondents as they can to validate the questionnaire. The items in the questionnaire can be easily read and understood, there are no jargon or complex words and it makes use of situational events that makes answering the questions more believable and comfortable for the respondents. However, a problem may still arise when the taker is not well versed with English or those who have different cultural backgrounds which limit their knowledge of the different situations presented in the questionnaire. The questions also do not have double meanings or measures two things in one question; instead it places the taker in a certain context and is then asked to respond using the four choices. There are no negatively stated items which are therefore more psychometrically easier to collate and analyze as there are no reverse scores. The structure of the VARK questionnaire is just average, the questions are different from each other, and the choices follow a certain order that reflects the four different learning preferences. Although, these are easier to score and to determine which learning preference the taker uses in the different situations that are being presented in the questionnaire the obvious arrangement of the items and the choices may bias the taker or lead his/her answer to the most favorable one. The demographic data is then surveyed after the taker finishes with the main questionnaire and the results are presented instantly, since the questionnaire is online, the individual is somewhat rewarded with his/her score and has the option to volunteer the information needed for the research part of the questionnaire or not. However, some takers may not take too well with volunteering personal information and may opt not to complete the demographic questions which would be a setback for the authors as it would mean a lesser number of respondents to be used to validate the instrument. This is in keeping with the ethical guidelines of using human respondents in the conduct of surveys and questionnaires for research or other purposes. The online survey is also administered in the same way each time since it is in electronic form and is online and has been programmed to interact with the respondent in the same way each time. However, what the authors has to risk is the varied situations that the respondent comes across the questionnaire, others may be in a crowded cafà © with too much noise and distractions, others may also not read the questionnaire very well and just click on the circles while others may choose not to complete the survey.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In general, the VARK questionnaire has been designed excellently, this could be due to the fact that the questionnaire has undergone a number of revisions and upgrades and that the questionnaire had been first published in 2001. The responses to the VARK had provided the author with the information on how to improve the questionnaire and to improve its reliability and validity. Therefore we could say that with time and scientific tools, the VARK is a good example of a well designed and effective questionnaire despite its weaknesses which may be again improved as time wears on. Reference Fleming, N. (2007). VARK Questionnaire, Retrieved November 10, 2007 from http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

Methods Of Data Collection For Primary Data

Methods Of Data Collection For Primary Data Once the researcher has determined his research objective, research question, and the corresponding hypothesis for his research project, what he needs to do now is to collect the required data. Data is information from sample that the researcher would analyse in order to meet his research objective, facilitate his research question, and prove his research hypothesis. For example, the data or information about customers are gender, age, qualification, marital status, number of kids, monthly income, brand of car, type of house, religion, hobby, sports, leisure activities, credit cards, golf membership etc. Figure 5.1: Methods of data collection (primary data) Method for Collecting Primary Data Survey Method Observation Method Face-to-Face Interview Telephone Interview Computerised Questionnaires Direct Observation Mechanical Observation Content Analysis Personal Interview Mail Survey Self-Administered Questionnaires Actually, what variable to include in the study depends on your research objectives, research questions, and the corresponding research hypotheses. The researcher should always refer to the three elements above when determining what data to collect in order to avoid collecting the unnecessary data, or worse, not collecting the required data. Based on Figure 6.1, the method of data collection can be classified into survey methods and observation methods. A) Survey method According to Zikmund, Babin, Carr and Griffin (2010), survey is a research technique in which a sample is interviewed in some form or the behaviour of respondents is observed and described in some way. In survey method, questionnaires are given to respondents to elicit information for the study. Respondents are asked the questions based on the information needed by the study. The questions may be asked in the verbal forms (interview), writing (mail questionnaire), or through computer (internet or e-mail). Several advantages are Quick Efficient Inexpensive Accurate means of assessing information about a population B) Types of survey methods i) Personal interview: face to face communication in which an interviewer asks respondents to answer questions (Zikmund, Babin, Carr and Griffin (2010). Face to face interview In the face-to-face interview (sometimes called personal interview), the researcher will prepare the questions to be asked during the interview with respondents. Each question represents the variable that the researcher wants to obtain its data. The questionnaires cover all variables required from a respondent. Before the interview begins, the researcher would explain the objective of research, ask for cooperation, and give assurance that the response given is only for research purpose and the information is treated with confidential. This is important since personal data is confidential, and no one will reveal his personal information if the confidentiality is not assured. The interviewer should posses good personality so that the interview session proceeds smoothly and in a friendly atmosphere. During the interview, the interviewer will read the question and record the response. Personal interviews may be conducted at the respondents home, offices, or anywhere. Below are the common examples of places which are basically used to conduct the interview. Door-to-door Interview Door-to-door interview refers to the interview in which the respondents are interviewed face-to-face in their homes. The major advantage of this interview is high participation rate, but the disadvantage is high cost. Mall Intercept Interview Mall intercept interview refers to the personal interviews conducted in shopping malls. Interviewers typically intercept shoppers at a central point normally at the entrance to the mall. The advantage of this method is low cost since no travel required to the respondents home. Mall intercept interview is appropriate when the respondents need to see, touch, or taste the product before they can provide meaningful information. Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) This interview uses a computer to get the information from the respondents using several user-friendly electronic packages to design questions easier for the respondent to understand. However, this method is classified as personal interview technique because an interviewer is usually present to serve as a host and to guide the respondents. CAPI is normally used to collect data at shopping malls, product clinics, conferences, and trade shows. Advantages of face-to-face interview Higher response rate. With proper plan and approach, the respondents will not turn down the request for an interview. The interviewer must be friendly and creative in getting cooperation from respondents. The interview method normally achieves a response rate of more than 70%. Data more accurate. The face-to-face meeting allows the interviewer to clarify terms or anything which might confuse the respondents. Once the respondent understands the question, he will provide an accurate response. The interviewer can note specific reactions by respondents during interview. The physical reaction and facial expression by respondent can tell whether he is providing accurate responses or not. The interviewer can also note the physical environment surrounding the interview such as the respondents office, the house, the dress etc that should tally with his response. People will usually respond with good gesture and provide accurate responses when approached in person. The Malay culture of not saying no still holds true when someone comes to the door with polite and peaceful manner. An experienced interviewer can sense out if the respondent is trying to hide some information. In this case, he will use his creativity to clarify the intention or terminate the interview. Disadvantages of face-to-face interview High cost. Interviewers must be given specific training on methods such as the art of making personal approach, the art of asking questions, the art of requesting cooperation etc, which is expensive and time consuming. The interviewer must be confident enough to work on his own. At the same time, the daily allowance for travelling, food, lodging etc is very high. Incomplete response. Any small mistake by interviewer can cause error in the response. The mistake such as using a wrong approach, bad facial expression, coming at the wrong time, not sensitive to certain issue in the conversation sometimes could hinder respondents from giving truthful response. Error in recording. This happens especially when the interview session is in a hurry due to time constrain on part of respondents. The interviewer who needs to read the question and record the response quickly and simultaneously is prone to making mistakes. Require close supervision. The interviewers work should be supervised closely to avoid interviewer cheating. Sometimes, due to many reasons such as time constraint, respondent is difficult to contact or the respondent is not available during appointment time, the interviewer will fill the response on his own. Telephone interview Sometime it is possible to collect data through telephone conversation. This method is possible if the researcher has complete directory of telephone numbers of population under study. If the respondents are government officers, employees of private firm, professional people such as doctors, lawyers, accountants etc, then the researcher have the option of using this method. Traditional Telephone Interview In traditional telephone interview, respondents are called through the telephone and the interviewer will ask a series of questions and record the responses. Respondents are more willing to provide detailed and reliable information on a variety of personal topics over the telephone than with personal interviews. Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) CATI uses a computerized questionnaire administered to respondents over the telephone. The interviewer would contact respondents over the telephone, read questions posed on the computer screen, and record the respondents answers directly into the computer memory bank. The computer systematically guides the interviewer and checks the responses for appropriateness and consistency. Advantages of telephone interview Less expensive compared to the face-to-face interview. The financial cost for travelling, lodging, and outstation allowance is not involved. Less time consuming. The number of respondents interviewed through telephone in one day is much higher than the number interviewed through face to face. Easy monitoring. The researcher can monitor the interviewers work more easily since he can check the telephone numbers of respondents and the time called. Disadvantages of telephone interview Lower response rate. The rate of response is lower since the respondents can just hang-up the call when he realised it is time consuming, or unsure of the confidentiality of the conversation. Fewer questions could be asked. Usually the conversation through the telephone cannot take long especially when the topic of discussion is not interesting, especially for the respondent since he has no particular interest in it. Difficult to get good cooperation. Conversation through the phone is not convincing enough especially when trying to get cooperation from the respondent. It is difficult to convince someone when they cannot see you in person, your facial expression, you body gesture etc. 2) Self-administered questionnaire In this technique, the researcher distributes questionnaires to respondents personally, through mail service, by inserting in the newspapers, or by sending to the email address. The difference between self-administered questionnaires compared to personal interview is in the self-administered questionnaire, the respondents make an effort to read and respond to the questions. However, the effectiveness of self-administered questionnaire will depend on the efficiency of the written words rather than the soft skill of interviewers. Mail Survey A mail survey is a self-administered questionnaire sent to pre-selected respondents through the mail. Basically, a mail interview package consists of the outgoing envelope, cover letter, questionnaire, return envelope, and possibly an incentive. Mail Panel A mail panel consists of a large, nationally representative sample of households that have agreed to participate in periodic mail questionnaires and product tests. The data on the panel members is updated every year and households are compensated with various incentives. Mail panel is appropriate for longitudinal design studies which allow obtaining information from the same respondents repeatedly. Advantages of mail survey Low cost. No interviewer bias Disadvantages of mail survey Low response rate Slow data collection speed Structured questionnaires One of the most popular methods of collecting research data is through the structured questionnaire. These questionnaires are self-explained and self-administered. In using this method, the researcher designs carefully a series of questions that cover the variables of interest in the study such as the respondents demographic background, their opinions concerning certain issues, their perception concerning certain service performance, and their intentions to do in the future etc. Structured refers to the degree of standardization imposed in the process of data collection (questionnaires). In other words, the researcher arranges the questions properly on a paper together with the cover letter to explain the purpose of data collection, the instruction to the respondents on how to respond to the questions, and the assurance of confidentiality of information provided. Advantages of a questionnaire Lowest cost incurred. The cost is low due to no interview, no training of interviewers, no travelling, no lodging allowance involved. No monitoring cost incurred. Usually the sending of questionnaires and receipt of responses from respondents are done by the researcher himself. More respondents and wider area can be covered. The researchers can send his questionnaires to as many respondents as he likes since the cost for each respondent is very small. Response more accurate. Since there is no influence, no gesture, no facial expression, and no interruption from the interviewer, the respondents can answer the questions at his own convenience. This manner will assure the accuracy of responses. Disadvantages of a questionnaire The poor rate of response from respondents. Since the researcher does not have gestures or face-to-face contact with respondents, the respondents can just throw away the questionnaires. In this method, the researcher should make a regular follow up contact with respondents using letter or telephone call. Usually the researcher would call the respondents earlier to inform them that he is sending a questionnaire to obtain data for his specific objective. The call is made as a gesture in order to obtain good cooperation from respondents. Once the respondent has difficulty regarding certain terms or questions in the questionnaire, he will not bother completing the remaining questions since nobody is available to explain. Sometimes the respondents simply send back the incomplete response. There is no assurance that the person who responds to the questionnaire is the intended respondent or the legitimate respondent. This matter will result in sample not being representative of the population. Private agents who conduct surveys found that people are more likely to respond to mail questionnaire that has professional appearance and come together with attractive prizes such as lucky draws for the respondents who send the completed questionnaire in time. Some questionnaires obtain good responses from respondents especially the questionnaire that comes together with the warranty cards when customers purchase certain products. Customers will have to answer series of questions on the warranty cards before sending back to the manufacturer for product warranty. Computerised questionnaire Internet survey Lately, the internet poll has become one of the popular methods to obtain information from the public especially their opinion concerning certain issue of public interest. In internet survey, the researcher brings an issue to attention and requests the opinion from the public. The public can respond by voting the statement that closely resembles their opinion. At the same time they can view the current standing in term of the most popular opinion and the corresponding vote obtained. Internet survey appears when a computer user is asked to go to a particular Web site location and answer the series of questions displayed in the website. In this technique, the respondents are not selected using specific technique but those who visit the Web site where the survey is posted are invited to participate in the survey. 2. E-mail survey In the e-mail survey, questionnaires are sent out to the respondents directly through their e-mail address. The respondents would reply the email by providing their response to each item on the questionnaire. The professional market research groups are using the internet to send their questionnaires to the respondents email. The respondents would complete their respective questionnaires and also return through the internet to the researchers e-mail address. Normally, these research agencies would provide certain rewards in terms of discount coupons etc in order to encourage the respondents to participate in the study. Advantages of computerised questionnaire Low cost. Very high data collection speed. Non interviewer bias Disadvantages of computerised questionnaire Very low response rate Low control of data collection method B) The observation methods According to Zikmund, Babin, Carr and Griffin (2010), observation is the systematic process of recording the behavioural patterns of people, objects and occurrences as they are witnessed. Several types of observation methods are: Direct observation In this method, the researcher will identify his respondents and records the required data based on what he observes. This method is suitable for a research to study the behaviour of respondents. For example, the research is carried out to identify how car drivers behave on the road during traffic jam. In his observation, the researcher will record the type of drivers who follow the traffic rules properly, and the type of drivers who choose to ignore rules such as queue jumping or overtaking using emergency lanes. The researcher may also be interested to know the types of vehicles (motorcycles, cars, buses, and lorries) which always ignore traffic rules during traffic jams. Another area where this method is suitable is to observe customers behaviour in the supermarket. In the market research study for example, the researcher is interested to know how customers make decisions in choosing which shampoo to buy. The researcher will stand in the area where hundreds of shampoos of differen t brands are placed on the rack. He will record how the customers choose the shampoo. Most probably some customers have decided earlier which brand to buy; some customers will compare prices, packaging, and even the smells before buying the shampoo. The researcher will record specific characteristics of customers who prefer certain brands of shampoo etc. Advantages of direct observation The data obtained reflect the actual behaviour of respondents. The respondents will tend to hide their actual behaviour when approached in person or when answering the questionnaires. The researcher gets a clearer picture and a better feeling of the situations for his study. Hence, he will be in a better position to make a proper recommendation regarding the underlying phenomena in the study. Disadvantages of direct observation The respondent will not act his normal behaviour if he knows that he is being observed. The data collection process is cumbersome and tedious. Mechanical observation Sometimes certain mechanical devices such as video cameras, rather than human observers to observe are used and record customer behaviours. The devices do not require the respondents direct participation in the study but they will capture the respondents behaviour for analysis. The early application of this technique is in a study to determine the level of comfort among train passengers by taping or recording how they sat and moved in their seats. Advantages of mechanical observation It offers high disguise by using the hidden camera. However, other mechanical device such as the use of psycho galvanometers is very difficult to disguise. Low observation bias since mechanical observation involves the non-human observer. Disadvantages of mechanical observation Low ability to observe in a natural setting. However, it depends on the mechanical tools used in the observation. The degree is low when using psycho galvanometer but high if using turnstiles. Less flexible. Content analysis Content analysis is usually used to study communication rather than behaviour, or physical objects. It is defined as the objective, systematic, and quantitative description of the manifest content of a communication. Content analysis obtains data by observing and analyzing the contents or messages of advertisements, newspaper articles, television programs, etc. It involves analysis as well as observation which systematically analyze peoples communication to identify the specific information contents and other characteristics such as words, characters (individuals or objects), themes (propositions), space and time measures (length or duration of the message), or topics (subject of the message). Advantages of content analysis High degree of disguise since the data is collected over the situation to be observed. High degree of observation specification and measurement. Disadvantages of content analysis Low ability to observe in natural setting because observation takes place after the behaviour has occurred. Potential of observation bias because human observer is involved in data collection process. 5.3 Factors determining choice of survey methods. Selecting the type of survey you are going to use is one of the most critical decisions in many social research contexts. Youll see that there are very few simple rules that will make the decision for you you have to use your judgment to balance the advantages and disadvantages of different survey types. There are several factors needs to be considered: Population issues The first set of considerations has to do with the population and its accessibility. Can the population be specified? For some populations, you have a complete listing of the units that will be sampled. For others, such a list is difficult or impossible to compile. For instance, there are complete listings of registered voters or person with active drivers licenses. But no one keeps a complete list of homeless people. If you are doing a study that requires input from homeless persons, you are very likely going to need to go and find the respondents personally. In such contexts, you can pretty much rule out the idea of mail surveys or telephone interviews. Is the population literate? Questionnaires require that your respondents can read. While this might seem initially like a reasonable assumption for many adult populations, we know from recent research that the instance of adult illiteracy is alarmingly high. And, even if your respondents can read to some degree, your questionnaire may contain difficult or technical vocabulary. Clearly, there are some populations that you would expect to be illiterate. Young children would not be good targets for questionnaires Are there language issues? We live in a multilingual world. Virtually every society has members who speak other than the predominant language. Can you produce multiple versions of your questionnaire? For mail instruments, can you know in advance the language your respondent speaks, or do you send multiple translations of your instrument? Can you be confident that important connotations in your instrument are not culturally specific? Could some of the important nuances get lost in the process of translating your questions? Will the population cooperate? People who do research on immigration issues have a difficult methodological problem. They often need to speak with undocumented immigrants or people who may be able to identify others who are. Why would we expect those respondents to cooperate? Although the researcher may mean no harm, the respondents are at considerable risk legally if information they divulge should get into the hand of the authorities. The same can be said for any target group that is engaging in illegal or unpopular activities. What are the geographic restrictions? Is your population of interest dispersed over too broad a geographic range for you to study feasibly with a personal interview? It may be possible for you to send a mail instrument to a nationwide sample. You may be able to conduct phone interviews with them. But it will almost certainly be less feasible to do research that requires interviewers to visit directly with respondents if they are widely dispersed Sampling issues The sample is the actual group you will have to contact in some way. There are several important sampling issues you need to consider when doing survey research. What data is available? What information do you have about your sample? Do you know their current addresses? Do you have their current phone numbers? Do you have an up to date contact lists? Can these respondents be found? Can your respondents be located? Some people are very busy. Some travel a lot. Some work the night shift. Even if you have an accurate phone or address, you may not be able to locate or make contact with your sample. Who is the respondent? Who is the respondent in your study? Lets say you draw a sample of households in a small city. A household is not a respondent. Do you want to interview a specific individual? Do you want to talk only to the head of household (and how is that person defined)? Are you willing to talk to any member of the household? Do you state that you will speak to the first adult member of the household who opens the door? What if that person is unwilling to be interviewed but someone else in the house is willing? Can all members of population be sampled? If you have an incomplete list of the population (i.e., sampling frame) you may not be able to sample every member of the population. Lists of various groups are extremely hard to keep up to date. People move or change their names. Even though they are on your sampling frame listing, you may not be able to get to them. And, its possible they are not even on the list. Are response rates likely to be a problem? Even if you are able to solve all of the other population and sampling problems, you still have to deal with the issue of response rates. Some members of your sample will simply refuse to respond. Others have the best of intentions, but cant seem to find the time to send in your questionnaire by the due date. Still others misplace the instrument or forget about the appointment for an interview. Low response rates are among the most difficult of problems in survey research. They can ruin an otherwise well-designed survey effort Question issues Sometimes the nature of what you want to ask respondents will determine the type of survey you select. What types of questions can be asked? Are you going to be asking personal questions? Are you going to need to get lots of detail in the responses? Can you anticipate the most frequent or important types of responses and develop reasonable closed-ended questions? How complex will the questions be? Sometimes you are dealing with a complex subject or topic. The questions you want to ask are going to have multiple parts. You may need to branch to sub-questions. Will the screening of questions be needed? A screening question may be needed to determine whether the respondent is qualified to answer your question of interest. For instance, you wouldnt want to ask someone their opinions about a specific computer program without first screening them to find out whether they have any experience using the program. Sometimes you have to screen on several variables (e.g., age, gender, experience). The more complicated the screening, the less likely it is that you can rely on paper-and-pencil instruments without confusing the respondent. Can question sequence be controlled? Is your survey one where you can construct in advance a reasonable sequence of questions? Or, are you doing an initial exploratory study where you may need to ask lots of follow-up questions that you cant easily anticipate? Will lengthy questions be asked? If your subject matter is complicated, you may need to give the respondent some detailed background for a question. Can you reasonably expect your respondent to sit still long enough in a phone interview to ask your question? Will long response scales be used? If you are asking people about the different computer equipment they use, you may have to have a lengthy response list (CD-ROM drive, floppy drive, mouse, touch pad, modem, network connection, external speakers, etc.). Clearly, it may be difficult to ask about each of these in a short phone interview. Content issues The content of your study can also pose challenges for the different survey types you might utilize. Can the respondents be expected to know about the issue? If the respondent does not keep up with the news (e.g., by reading the newspaper, watching television news, or talking with others), they may not even know about the news issue you want to ask them about. Or, if you want to do a study of family finances and you are talking to the spouse who doesnt pay the bills on a regular basis, they may not have the information to answer your questions. Will respondent need to consult records? Even if the respondent understands what youre asking about, you may need to allow them to consult their records in order to get an accurate answer. For instance, if you ask them how much money they spent on food in the past month, they may need to look up their personal check and credit card records. In this case, you dont want to be involved in an interview where they would have to go look things up while they keep you waiting (they wouldnt be comfortable with that). Bias issues People come to the research endeavor with their own sets of biases and prejudices. Sometimes, these biases will be less of a problem with certain types of survey approaches. Can social desirability be avoided? Respondents generally want to look good in the eyes of others. None of us likes to look like we dont know an answer. We dont want to say anything that would be embarrassing. If you ask people about information that may put them in this kind of position, they may not tell you the truth, or they may spin the response so that it makes them look better. This may be more of a problem in an interview situation where they are face-to face or on the phone with a live interviewer. Can interviewer distortion and subversion be controlled? Interviewers may distort an interview as well. They may not ask questions that make them uncomfortable. They may not listen carefully to respondents on topics for which they have strong opinions. They may make the judgment that they already know what the respondent would say to a question based on their prior responses, even though that may not be true. Can false respondents be avoided? With mail surveys it may be difficult to know who actually responded. Did the head of household complete the survey or someone else? Did the CEO actually give the responses or instead pass the task off to a subordinate? Is the person youre speaking with on the phone actually who they say they are? At least with personal interviews, you have a reasonable chance of knowing who you are speaking with. In mail surveys or phone interviews, this may not be the case. vi) Administrative issues Last, but certainly not least, you have to consider the feasibility of the survey method for your study. costs Cost is often the major determining factor in selecting survey type. You might prefer to do personal inter

Death and Rebirth: Examinig Death Through Poetry Essay -- essays resea

Death and Rebirth: Examining Death Through Poetry   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Death is one of the only true constants in the universe and is the only guarantee in life. Everyone knows of death and everyone will experience it, but to the living death is still one of life's greatest mysteries. In some cultures death is celebrated and embraced, while in others it is feared. However it is perceived, death holds different meanings for different people. Through the art of poetry a writer can give a reader many different outlooks and maybe a better understanding of life and death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Death is certain. We cannot escape it, but just because it is inevitable should we just give in to its dark embrace or should we fight against it? In the poem The Black Snake, the speaker uses vivid images to explain what happened and to express his or her feelings about the situation. In the beginning of the poem a black snake darts onto a busy road and is then hit by a truck. Later a motorist finds the dead snake and buries it in the woods. After burying the snake the motorist continues on his or her drive and reflects on what has transpired. In the first couple of lines †When the black snake flashed onto the morning road, and the truck could not swerve-death, that is how it happens.†(687), and from lines 13 to 15 â€Å"I leave him under the leaves and drive on, thinking about death: its suddenness, its terrible weight, its certain coming.†(687)...

The Free Will in Meditations on First Philosophy by Descartes Essay

The Free Will in Meditations on First Philosophy by Descartes I In Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes takes the reader through a methodological exercise in philosophical enquiry. After stripping the intellect of all doubtful and false beliefs, he re-examines the nature and structure of being in an attempt to secure a universally valid epistemology free from skepticism. Hoping for the successful reconciliation of science and theology, Descartes works to reconstruct a new foundation of absolute and certain truth to act as a catalyst for future scientific research by â€Å"showing that a mathematical [rational-objective] physics of the world is attainable by creatures with our intellectual capacities and faculties† (Shand 1994, p. 84). Descartes’ conception of absolute and limitless â€Å"freedom,† which he ascribed to humanity, is every bit as unique and radical as the existential notion of freedom present to the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre. However, the claim of boundless freedom within the writings of Descartes seems even more remarkable in light of the fact that he proposed the philosophical method within the theological strictures of Catholicism. With Cartesian study primarily focused on the significance of human consciousness and the sum res cogitans, rarely does one find exclusive attention devoted to the paramount importance of the free will in Descartes’ overall project. This essay investigates the theory of the free will as expressed in the Fourth Meditation and analyzes Descartes’ contention that we are â€Å"infinitely† free and ultimately responsible for the choices we make. In arguing that the use of the free will is essential in determining the veracity of all ideas one comes upon, clear and distinct or othe... ...ilosophy is somewhat problematic and often referred to as the Cartesian Circle. â€Å"We cannot, without certainty,† declares John Shand, â€Å"prove God’s existence by means of propositions and arguments whose truth and validity depend upon assuming God’s existence† (Shand :1994, p 87). 4 Although Descartes states explicitly in the Synopsis of the Six Meditations that he is not concerned with judging things which pertain to faith or the conduct of life, and is instead focused exclusively on errors that occur when judging the true and the false; he is nonetheless doing theodicy. Descartes is asking in essence: â€Å"How could God, who is in possession of all perfection, including omni-benevolence, allow humans to fall into error (do evil) so readily?† Descartes’ reply: â€Å"Error (evil) has nothing to do with God and everything to do with us.†

The Colliding Dynamics of Class Structure Essay -- Sociology

The rigidity of class structure is the culprit for the vast number of inequities in society. Power is concentrated in the hands of a small sector; leaving a few individuals to have more authority and influence, in comparison to others. The construction of class structure identifies the way groups are divided into social positions. Differences stemming from social position are further exemplified by the accessibility to valuable resources–such as wealth, education, occupation, and status. Those with distinguished command in society have access to these increasingly wide ranges of resources, which may be present in limited forms to the less powerful. Used as a device of supremacy, power is a style of control when the basis is acquiring these societal possessions. Even though class structure is considered to be fluid in nature, for some it is a complex web of entanglements hard to deal with it. Groups who suffer from social and material deprivations are not doing so by choice, b ut hugely in part to economical and occupational factors. These prominent distinctions have led several to fall victim to the systems of hierarchy. Built within these schemes are the inequalities that arise due to one’s position; and captured inside are the outcomes that influence levels of individual, educational, and occupational independence. People who do observe the inequities between classes may feel the impact of social stratification in various ways. Similarly the dynamics of class structure are very significant elements found throughout the works of Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, and Karl Marx. They are all in agreement that society host the series of conflicts underlying that of class structure. Class structure as a whole denotes differing realit... ...ist Feminism." Critical Sociology (Brill Academic Publishers) 25.2/3 (1999): 196-217. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. Marx, Karl, and Frederick Engels. Marx/Engels Selected Works, Vol. One. Moscow. Progress Publishers, 1969, N. pag. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist- manifesto/index.htm. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant". The Seagull Reader Essays. 2nd Edition. Ed. Joseph Kelly. New York. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2008. 243-250. Print. Peet, Richard. "Inequality and Poverty: A Marxist-Geographic Theory." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 65.4 (1975): 564-571. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One's Own. New York. Quality Paperback Book Club, 1992. Print. Woolf, Virginia. Three Guineas. New York. Quality Paperback Book Club, 1992. Print.

Comparision of Around the World in 80 Days and Journey to the Centre of the Earth

In both the novels, the main characters embarked on a journey. One went around the world and the other to the center to the world. How were they two journeys similar and how were they different? Moreover, what did these journeys symbolize and what was their significance? In the novels the main characters embark on long journeys that take them through various trials and tribulations. The essay will be analyzing how these two distinct journeys are similar and how they are different. In the journeys, the characters go through a series of events that not only hold significant meaning, but also symbolize the significance of the journeys and their impact on the characters. Therefore, the essay will analyze what the journeys symbolized and their significance on the characters and the overall them of both novels. The Novels Around the world in 80 days and The journey to the center of the earth are written by the famous author Jules Verne. Jules Verne's novels have been noted for predicting modern times. The two novels are based on different journeys; one is around the world and the other towards the center of the earth. Journey to the center of the earth sounds more fictional than around the world in 80 days but back in the author’s time even going around the world in 80 days was almost impossible. In both the stories we come across the main characters that are Phileas Fogg (Around the world in 80 days) and Professor Lidenbrock (Journey to the centre of the earth). Phileas Fogg is an English man. He is a very well disciplined, organized personality who has a very regularized life. All of this is evident novel when it says, â€Å"He talked very little, and seemed all the more mysterious for his taciturn manner. His daily habits were quite open to observation; but whatever he did was so exactly the same thing that he had always done before, that the wits of the curious were fairly puzzled. † He is rich and owns a mansion in a very famous street but no one knew where his money came from. He is the main and in fact the most important character of the story. Professor Lidenbrock is a scientist. He, as well, is organized had a normalized life which is evident in the novel when Axel, his nephew narrates, â€Å"Another peculiarity of his was, that he always stepped a yard at a time†¦ . He, as well, is rich and lives in famous street. He is the Protagonist of the story. Thus, one can see here that there are many similarities in both the character. One day Phileas Fogg was playing whist with his usual partners at the reform club. During the game the discussion started on the bank robbery that had recently taken place. One stated that he was not any ordinary robber but he was a gentleman and the detectives had started their work but there was no success. As the game proceeded with the conversation they confer about where could the robber flee. They argued that the world is big enough and the robber could go anywhere in the world. There Fogg interrupts and says it was once big enough but now it isn’t due to the advancements in transport. And there the argument takes a new turn. Fogg stated that, in 80 days, he could go around the world. The players, then quarreled if he had taken into account everything which could be delays, dangers etc and to which Fogg replied yes. On this, one of them bets four thousand pounds and in reply Fogg bets twenty thousand pounds on the journey. He accepts that challenge and puts himself in a conflicting situation. Therefore he goes for a journey, not that he wanted to win the wager, but that he wanted to show it is possible. In the second novel, Professor Lidenbrock found a very old book which was in Icelandic language. While he was going through the book a small parchment fell out from it. The parchment was in runic language similar to the book and they could understand what was written in it. He found out that it was written by Arne Saknussemm who was a learned professor of the 16th century . They started figuring out what was written in it and after hard work and deliberation Axel deciphered it. They secret seemed really terrible to Axel and he knew once his uncle knows about it he would definitely go for the discovery. He thought that he shouldn’t tell his uncle but even if he didn’t tell him he would somehow decode it. He told him the secret by which Lidenbrock was madly amazed and filled with joy. In English the parchment read as follows â€Å"Descend into the crater of Yocul of Sneffels, which the shade of Scartaris caresses, before the kalends of July, audacious traveler, and you will reach the centre of the earth. I did it. Arne Saknussemm â€Å" Although Axel argues that there are several danger and that how could someone descend into the earth which is filled with molten lava but nothing changed lidenbrocks decision and he leaves for the journey. There are many similarities in the novels. In both the novel we see that they face several delays and difficulties. In Around the world in 80 days, Phileas Fogg along with Passepartout leaves to meet the chal lenge which is to around the world in 80 days. During the journey they face many delays and difficulties. Detective Fix is from one of them who create difficulties in his journey. Detective Fox suspects Fogg to be the bank robber of England and follows him throughout the journey. They face a delay when they are going towards Calcutta and the train stops in between and then they had to cross the distance traveling on an elephant. During the travel they plan to save the sacrificial women Auoda and risk their life and time for it. Later storms at the sea delay their journey. They also miss boarding the ship, at another occasion, as Passepartout fails to inform Fogg about it. Fix makes passepartout drunk several times at takes advantage of it. They even get attacked on their way to New York. Fix arrests Fogg detaining him which delay their trip even more. But at last they were successful and won the challenge. Similarly, In A journey to the center of the earth Professor Lidenbrock along his nephew, Axel leaves to go towards the centre of the earth. They, as well, face obstacles in their journey. When they reach the volcano it was necessary to see the casting shadow which leads to the path. Due to the bad weather they couldn’t see it but later on it became visible. As they descend into the earth they find a place with combustible gas which is very dangerous. As they proceed they take a wrong turn and they lose the water trail and run out of water and due to this Axel almost dies. At another point Axel gets separated from his uncle and get lost several miles from him. Then later they face large monsters and they are almost eaten by them. Their raft gets struck by a huge fireball as well. After that incident they find a passage marked by Arne Saknussemn but they had blow up the rock to enter in. The blow somehow went huge which made the water rush in the chimney. The molten lava starts filling in and they get ejected out the chimney. This show the novels were similar in a way that they face difficulties in their journeys. The way in which novels were different is that, one is around the world and the other towards the center of the earth. Fogg went on this journey as a challenge where as Lidenbrock went as discovering was his passion. Fogg was travelling on the earth surface on the other hand Lidenbrock was going under the earth. Hence, it shows the ideas of the two journeys are wide apart. The journeys were symbolic left a significant impact on the main characters as well. In the beginning of the story one sees Fogg as cold and disciplined man who had not much emotion. But as the story moves along there is significant development in his character. Even after he gets delayed several times because of Passepartout he says nothing to him. He saves Auoda , the sacrificial women, risking his own life. He even forgives detective Fix who creates many difficulties in his journey. This shows that he was large hearted. He later marries Auoda and expresses his love. One never might have thought a person like him cold and disciplined could have fallen in love. Professor Lidenbrock, as well, is organized and disciplined. Nothing changed Lidenbrock’s decision but when Axel gets hurt and is close to death he almost called off the journey and it is evident when he says †My dear boy, I had begun to give over all hope–and you can never know what bitter tears of sorrow and regret I have shed. At last, supposing you to be still on the road. † This shows how this stubborn character could change his mind for the love of his nephew. Hence, One journey proved that due to advancements in transport it was more efficient and faster to travel. The other journey discovered the world under the earth. Owais khan

Organization Description Sample Essay

SAP Consulting Pvt. LTD, formed in 2002, is a leading provider of technical and business solutions. The organization has strength of 6529 employees spread across five locations – New York, California, Austin, Omaha and San Antonio. The administrative office is situated in New York. This is also the headquarters of the company and seats an additional 250 employees. The company provides precise and efficient solutions to clients like J.P Morgan Chase, Fidelity Investments, and Apollo Hospitals alike for their emerging business needs as well as for optimizing their existing business processes. In 2012, America’s leading business magazine, Forbes, rated SAP Consulting as No.1 in emerging business organizations in the field of technical consulting. Our projects The major clientele of SAP Consulting Ltd is related to investing banking and insurance domain. The major focus has been to improve the business processes that our clients have in place, the legacy systems, and to have consistent solutions throughout the organization. The aim of SAP Consulting to serve their clients is to align the objectives of the company with the objectives of the clients. Recent developments in the company and problem description Recently, the organization acquired BMI Consulting Pvt. Ltd, a small company based out of Mumbai, India having approximately 1200 employees. Traditionally, all the email communication within the organization happened through a local Kerio server which provided 10GB of storage space shared between multiple members of a team at a time. The volume of email communication increased tremendously with this acquisition as the employees of BMI Consulting joined SAP Consulting and their projects were migrated. Solution to the problem SAP Consulting has decided to use a suite of products provided by Google which contains Calendar, Email and IM client. This, in turn, resolves the problem by increasing the storage capacity for usage and introducing a cross-platform IM client accessible to all the employees on all devices and from different locations.