Research Question
How can Family Fun Time activities after school stimulate parental involvement in students’ education?
Dependent Variable
On a scale of 0-10 what was your level of involvement in the activity with your child? (0 being none and 10 being high)
Independent Variable
What is your race/ethnicity? (Please check all that apply)
Latino/Hispanic
Non-Latino White
African-American
Asian
Pacific Islander
Native American
Middle Eastern
Multiracial
Other
Why These Questions Were Used
Question 2 is not a double barrel question since there is only one observation, we want data on, and we give a range to quantify it. This is a ratio level of measurement since zero has a value specified in the question. This question is not overly complicated where the only word that might need defining is involvement, but generally involvement is what we are trying to define, and any form of involvement can count. Question 3 is sufficient to cover any race, and even some we are unlikely to see in our target population. The question also is mutually inclusive where the respondent can check all that applies and does not have to choose between two options that are both accurate. Like Question 2, this question requires a minimal competency and even is written in a fairly elementary rhetoric where those whose first language is not English should not have a hard time understanding what the question is asking.
Best Practices
Best practices in research are transparency, ethical research and disclosure, and the ability to generalize research so that the participant’s time was not wasted. Surveys should have open ended questions first so that they are not asked when the respondent might be dealing with Survey Fatigue. Surveys should be valuable to the researcher’s research while being transparent in motive. Minimal assumptions, and straight forward survey questions helps maintain transparency and trust that responses will not be misconstrued to mean something unintended. Surveys should also have easy to understand codification of data so that after the study concludes, the information can be shared in an easy-to-understand manner. Surveys should not be forced on participants or not be incentivized in a way that would make an unwilling participant unlikely to give up the opportunity due to ulterior motives. The best research comes from surveys with a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data.