A Practical 10-Step Guide to Conducting Digital Survey Research (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Helmer-Smith ◽  
Tess McCutcheon ◽  
Rhea Mitchell ◽  
Sathya Karunananthan ◽  
Erin Keely ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Background: The use of digital surveys for research in clinical settings is increasing, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic when much data collection planned to be done in-person is now occurring digitally. Successfully preparing and conducting a digital survey can be challenging for even the most experienced researcher, given the number of platforms available to choose from, intricacies of designing an effective and user-friendly tool, and factors affecting participant response rates. OBJECTIVE Objective: In this article, we present a practical, step-by-step guide to conduct digital survey research. METHODS Methods: Over time, our clinician-led research team has developed a standard process and tools for conducting digital survey research, which we have synthesized into a single resource accessible to all team members. Specific considerations and recommendations unique to digital surveys are included. RESULTS Results: The step-by-step guide has been used successfully by our team to design and carry out high-quality survey research. It can guide the novice or experienced researcher from protocol development through to data collection and knowledge dissemination. CONCLUSIONS Conclusion: We present a practical guide for digital survey research, based on the experience of a clinician-led research team. Researchers, trainees, students, and others conducting health research may find our process and resources helpful to inform their work. Communication templates and tools are provided (see Appendices).

Author(s):  
Lee Alan Swanson ◽  
Joelena Leader ◽  
Dazawray Landrie-Parker

  A research project on social and economic capacity building through Aboriginal entrepreneurship employed a highly engaged approach with communities in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The involved communities were viewed as research partners, and the research team applied a comprehensive communications plan to provide community members with relevant and timely information about the project and summaries of its outcomes as those results emerged. The study was designed to empower those who traditionally had been viewed as participants on whom research could be conducted, and ensure that the research was instead conducted with and for them. This research project encouraged youth and adults to express their perspectives in new and engaging ways that gave them the opportunity to more meaningfully have their voices heard. One important outcome from engaging more with communities was that research team members felt more engaged with their own project.


Author(s):  
Edmund M. Ricci ◽  
Ernesto A. Pretto ◽  
Knut Ole Sundnes

Before beginning data collection in disaster areas, extensive preparations must be made; economical use of time and resources are prime considerations. These may be based on the scout team’s report described in Chapter 10. One member of the evaluation team assumes major responsibility for those preparations and is designated team leader or field research coordinator. The team leader insures optimal use of time spent in the field and adequate preparation of the research team and the community for the research visit. Training all members of the data collection team in the use of all data collection instruments, and in the field protocol, is an essential step in the process. The reliability and validity of the data collected are a function of the ability of the data collectors to properly use the instruments. Often the data required are culturally sensitive. Cultural factors are important confounders in data collection. All data collectors must be familiarized with key aspects of the culture of the area in which they will work; persons from within the disaster region must be incorporated into the research design process, the preparation of the data collection instruments, and in the data collection process itself, as these individuals can assist the ‘out of country’ team members identify and negotiate cultural barriers and sensitivities that could impede the research. This is facilitated by conducting an initial scout survey of the disaster zone and by using a multinational team in the design of research instruments and in the implementation of the evaluation study.


Author(s):  
Samuel Ayodeji Omolawal

Delegation of responsibilities constitutes a very important ingredient of good leadership in organisations and is critical to competence development of workers. However, experience shows that many leaders are unwilling to delegate responsibilities to their subordinates for a number of reasons. This study was therefore designed to investigate delegation of responsibilities as a tool for competence development of subordinates in selected organisations in Ibadan metropolis. The study, anchored on Elkem’s model, was descriptive and adopted survey research design with a combination of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. It was conducted on 206 respondents randomly selected from 20 public and private organisations in Ibadan. Questionnaire and IDI were instruments of data collection, while the data collected were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The study showed that respondents perceived delegation of responsibilities as a vital tool for developing, equipping and motivating subordinates; and that it had positive effects on subordinates’ performance (X2 = 11.14, p-value = 0.001). The study also revealed that lack of confidence in subordinates (79%), level of skill and competence (66%), organisational climate (68%) and bureaucracy (58%) were barriers to delegation of responsibilities. Delegation of responsibilities is a cost-free way of enhancing competence development of subordinates in organisations, and should therefore, be encouraged among leaders irrespective of their levels.


2019 ◽  
pp. 201-208
Author(s):  
Emeka Promise u. ◽  
Ohagwu Gold Chiamaka

This study was carried out to determine the measures for promoting democracy in a depressed economy through business education for national security in Enugu State. Two research questions and two null hypotheses were used for the study. The study adopted a survey research design. The population for the study was 41 business educators from four government owned tertiary institutions in Enugu State. There was no sampling since the population was manageable. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the researchers and validated by the experts. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha, which yielded an overall index 0.72. Mean and standard deviation were used in answering research questions while hypotheses were tested using t-test. It was found that governmental measures items promoted democracy through business education for national security. The study also revealed that lecturers‟ measures also promotes democracy through business education for national security. It was recommended that: government should make adequate budgetary provision for business education. Democrats should be involved in business teacher‟s conferences and seminars.


Author(s):  
Ruth Lowndes ◽  
Palle Storm ◽  
Marta Szebehely

This chapter discusses the taking, writing up, and analyzing of fieldnotes as part of the rapid ethnographic methodology. It describes the preparatory process the team members went through to learn how to conduct observations, and the guiding documents/principles used by the research team throughout the site visits. We explain how observations were carried out and how fieldnotes were captured in our project, comparing this process to that of traditional ethnographic research. It compares the process of writing up and analyzing fieldnotes in traditional ethnography with the process used in the team-based rapid ethnography, drawing on our individual experiences in conducting both types. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the team-based approach.


Author(s):  
Erin Polka ◽  
Ellen Childs ◽  
Alexa Friedman ◽  
Kathryn S. Tomsho ◽  
Birgit Claus Henn ◽  
...  

Sharing individualized results with health study participants, a practice we and others refer to as “report-back,” ensures participant access to exposure and health information and may promote health equity. However, the practice of report-back and the content shared is often limited by the time-intensive process of personalizing reports. Software tools that automate creation of individualized reports have been built for specific studies, but are largely not open-source or broadly modifiable. We created an open-source and generalizable tool, called the Macro for the Compilation of Report-backs (MCR), to automate compilation of health study reports. We piloted MCR in two environmental exposure studies in Massachusetts, USA, and interviewed research team members (n = 7) about the impact of MCR on the report-back process. Researchers using MCR created more detailed reports than during manual report-back, including more individualized numerical, text, and graphical results. Using MCR, researchers saved time producing draft and final reports. Researchers also reported feeling more creative in the design process and more confident in report-back quality control. While MCR does not expedite the entire report-back process, we hope that this open-source tool reduces the barriers to personalizing health study reports, promotes more equitable access to individualized data, and advances self-determination among participants.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 160940691983247
Author(s):  
Amber Green ◽  
Myriam Denov

Globally, the numbers of children living in conflict zones and displaced by war have risen dramatically over the past two decades, and with this, scholarly attention to the impacts of war on children. More recently, researchers have examined how war-affected children are being studied, revealing important shortcomings. These limitations relate to the lack of child participation in research, the need for researchers to engage children in the research process as “active agents” rather than “passive objects” under study, as well as the need for researchers to pay closer attention to ethical dilemmas associated with researching war-affected children. To address these realities, innovative research methods that can be adapted across diverse sociocultural contexts are warranted. In light of these shortcomings, our research team integrated two arts-based methods: mask-making and drawing, alongside traditional qualitative data collection methods with a particularly marginalized population of young people: children born in captivity within the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda. In this article, we provide information on the context of northern Uganda. We describe how the use of mask-making and drawing was used as data gathering tools and the ways in which these arts-based methods had important benefits for the research participants, researchers, and impacted on the validity of the research as a whole. We propose that the use of these participatory visual methods enriched the themes elicited through more traditional methods. The article describes how these arts-based mediums fostered community building among children typically excluded from their communities and were successful as a tool to build trust between participants and the research team when exploring sensitive topics. The article concludes with implications for future research with war-affected children.


Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 355
Author(s):  
Arícia Possas ◽  
Olga María Bonilla-Luque ◽  
Antonio Valero

Cheeses are traditional products widely consumed throughout the world that have been frequently implicated in foodborne outbreaks. Predictive microbiology models are relevant tools to estimate microbial behavior in these products. The objective of this study was to conduct a review on the available modeling approaches developed in cheeses, and to identify the main microbial targets of concern and the factors affecting microbial behavior in these products. Listeria monocytogenes has been identified as the main hazard evaluated in modelling studies. The pH, aw, lactic acid concentration and temperature have been the main factors contemplated as independent variables in models. Other aspects such as the use of raw or pasteurized milk, starter cultures, and factors inherent to the contaminating pathogen have also been evaluated. In general, depending on the production process, storage conditions, and physicochemical characteristics, microorganisms can grow or die-off in cheeses. The classical two-step modeling has been the most common approach performed to develop predictive models. Other modeling approaches, including microbial interaction, growth boundary, response surface methodology, and neural networks, have also been performed. Validated models have been integrated into user-friendly software tools to be used to obtain estimates of microbial behavior in a quick and easy manner. Future studies should investigate the fate of other target bacterial pathogens, such as spore-forming bacteria, and the dynamic character of the production process of cheeses, among other aspects. The information compiled in this study helps to deepen the knowledge on the predictive microbiology field in the context of cheese production and storage.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-57
Author(s):  
Rodika Wakerkwa ◽  
Syaikhul Fallah ◽  
Otniel Safkaur

This study examines factors affecting the interest of state civil servants to undertake whistle-blowing action on local governments of Papua Province. The population in this study is the State Civil Servants (ASN) on local governments of Papua Province, with 120 number of people as sample in this research. Multiple regression analysis techniques is used to analysis, discuss and testing the hypothesis from the data collection. This research find that variabel of organization commitment has a significant and negative effect on the interest of state civil servants to undertake Whistle Blowing action. Thus it can be explained that, in high and low commitment of organzation environment which dominated by employees at SKPDs in government of Jayapura city that have lowered interest to undertake Whistle Blowing action. Then, varibale of Attitude has a significant effect on the Interest of Whistle Blowing action, which the attitude of the existing employees will increase the interest to Blow the Whistle at the SKPDs’ employees in the government of Jayapura city. Similarly, Personal Cost variabel has a significant affect on the interest of state civil servants to attempt a Whistle Blowing action, it can be seen that when there is a sufficient personal cost in the employees of SKPD in the government of Jayapura city, it will increase the interest in Blowing the Whistle. While, the degree of seriousness also has a significant influence on the employees to attempt a Whistle Blowing interest. This means that the increasing interest in Blowing Whistle among employees are required to enhance the degree of seriousness in conducting Interest of Blowing a Whistle at SKPD in the government of Jayapura city.


Tunas Agraria ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Rizka Fakhrizatullah ◽  
Rochmat Martanto ◽  
Yendi Sufyandi

Abstract: Pangandaran is a district with a coastline of 91 Km, so this district has the potential for coastal tourism that needs to be developed. As a new regency of regional autonomy, demands to carry out construction of facilities and infrastructure to support tourism need to be increased. This study aims to determine the distribution of facilities and infrastructure that need to be developed and to know the factors that influence the determination of the construction of facilities and infrastructure. This research uses qualitative method, data collection is done through literature review and interviews. The results of the study indicate that the factors affecting the distribution of infrastructure include land use, population density, tourism objects, land slope and disaster vulnerability. The analysis shows that the distribution of villages suitable for the development of infrastructure includes the villages of Wonoharjo, Babadan, Pananjang and Pangandaran Village.Keyword: tourism, facilities and infrastructure, thematic maps. Intisari: Pangandaran merupakan kabupaten dengan garis pantai sepanjang 91 Km, sehingga kabupaten ini memiliki potensi pariwisata pantai yang perlu dikembangkan. Sebagai Kabupaten yang baru melakukan otonomi daerah, tuntutan untuk melaksanakan pembangunan sarana dan prasarana guna mendukung pariwisata perlu ditingkatkan. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk untuk mengetahui sebaran sarana dan prasarana yang perlu dikembangkan serta mengetahui faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi penentuan pembangunan sarana dan prasarana. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif, pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui kajian pustaka dan wawancara. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahwa faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi sebaran sarana prasarana meliputi penggunaan lahan, kepadatan penduduk, obyek wisata, kemiringan lahan dan kerawanan bencana. Dari hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa sebaran desa yang sesuai untuk pengembangan sarana prasarana meliputi Desa Wonoharjo, Babadan, Pananjang dan Desa Pangandaran.Kata kunci: pariwisata, sarana dan prasarana, peta tematik.


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