Data Collection on the Cheap: A System for Small Budgets and Small Organizations

1. Data Collection on the Cheap: A System for Small Budgets and Small Organizations Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College Ann Martin, Assessment Coordinator amartin1@lco-college.edu

2. Introduction and Acknowledgments • LCO Ojibwa Community College • Principia Products and Remark Office OMR • Demo data collection • One page handout also available on the LCOOCC Web Site • Resource Room has sample forms • Paper in the Collection of Papers

3. Working Assumptions of a Good System • Easy to design the forms • Easy to produce the forms • Easy to process the data collected • Or better yet: Easy to capture the data • Easy to analyze the data

4. 1998 AIR Reenactment

5. Really……

6. Current Setup at LCO OCC

7. Short Demo • If you have not already done so, please complete the survey that was on your chair when you came in. • Pass your completed surveys to the center aisle where they will be collected. • Watch and wait while the software is demonstrated.

8. Features that were Attractive: • #2 pencils not needed  $ • Use desktop word processing software to produce forms to be scanned  $$ !!! • Scanning software appeared easy to use • Training the software to scan  ! • Scanning  !!! • Error detection and correction options  ! • Analysis of results  !!!

9. Examples of Fields Defined by Software Training www.PrincipiaProducts.com

10. Types of Fields • Bar codes (3of9 is alphanumerical) • Image (takes a picture for transcription) • OMR • Multiple (like a MC exam, only 1 answer) • Grid (name or SSN or course number) • List (one answer out of a group of rows/columns) • Add (to sum up responses to a single value) • Boolean (yes/no for each, check as many that apply) • Binary (yes/no for all to one value)

11. Common Uses of Remark Office OMR • Student evaluation of instruction • Self-study surveys/questionnaires • Evaluation forms, like this session • Point of contact questionnaires • Rubrics and Checklists • Answer sheets for quizzes and exams • Other tasks for automated data collection or tracking

12. Uses at LCO Ojibwa Community College: Case 1 • Organizing the self-study process • Need to assign all faculty and staff to self-study committees • Goal: to have individuals self-select by areas of interest • Form designed to gather preferences based on descriptions of areas of interest.

13. Uses at LCO Ojibwa Community College: Case 2 • Assessment Plan already had a form designed by faculty: Student Research Skills but it collected only aggregate info. • Adapted this form to begin to collect longitudinal data on individual students • Used Mail-Merge capabilities of Word to generate bar coded forms for each student in selected courses.

14. Uses at LCO Ojibwa Community College: Case 3 • Orientation Course: Introduction to Higher Education, EDC 110. • In the Assessment Plan, faculty had written an instrument to gather information about student self-assessment of skills and attitudes. • Adapted for scanning.

15. Uses at LCO Ojibwa Community College: Case 4 • One of the most resource intensive projects on most campuses: Student Evaluations • # classes x # students = lots of work! • Now: all of the data can be captured in about a week of work. • Data are in a form for analysis and reporting. • Instructors report that they find the reports more useful and some instructors intend to use the reports as indirect measures of student learning and as a basis for the improvement of instruction.

16. Uses at LCO Ojibwa Community College: Cases 5,6,7…. • Once words gets out, other uses come into being • More focused on gathering information for decision making • Clearer forms appeal to the respondent • The burden of tabulation is lessened • Easier reporting means that the results are more likely to be used • Data are more easily saved in formats for future study

17. 1. Please rate the level of importance and level of satisfaction with the following elements: a. Recreation Facilities 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 b. Law Enforcement 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 c. Fire Protection 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 d. Ambulance 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 e. All Roads within 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 LCO f. Clean Drinking Water 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 g. Educational Facilities 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 h. Tribal Government 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Services i. Health and H uman 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Services j. Medical Services 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 k. Job Opportunities 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 l. Shopping Facilities 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 m. Cost of Living 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 n. Housing 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 o. Environmental Quality 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 p. Cultural Resources 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Before and After…

18. Advantages of Remark Office OMR • Cost-effective • Intuitive and easily learned • Flexible form design for a variety of purposes • Data capture and transcription both possible • Data analysis built in • Test grading and item analysis also possible • Save data in other file formats • Scanner can be used for page or image scanning

19. In Summary • If you don’t ask the questions, you won’t get the answers… • If you are going to ask the questions, then make sure you can get the answers • In a way that respects those who are providing the answers • In a way that is cost-effective and efficient • In a way that you can share and use the information effectively

20. Any Questions? • Web Site for this presentation and resources: http://www.lco-college.edu/facstaff/asmnt/hlc_2004.htm • Email me: amartin1@lco-college.edu Miigwech!!