MIS770-Assignment 1 Solved

Overview 
For this assignment, we will use the ideas and concepts introduced in Module 1 to design a survey that can be used to collect sample survey data. (Note: For the purposes of this assignment, you will only be creating the survey instrument. Your survey is not being used to collect any actual data from the public, nor do you need to estimate the number of responses you require.)

Remember, the first step in Data Analysis is to collect a sample that faithfully represents the population we are investigating. To this end, it’s important to ask appropriate questions in our survey such that the data we gather is robust, relevant and fit for purpose.

 

Scenario 
You have been asked by a company to develop a survey that will gauge the views of their employees, regarding “Employee Turnover”. The company is interested to know the views of employees concerning their willingness to change workplaces and what impacts their decision to leave a company (pay rates, overtime hours, holiday leave, etc.) in order to improve the retention rate of staff. Additionally, they would like to canvas the views of employees regarding possible initiatives that the company may implement to improve job satisfaction. A few specific items they would like to know is if the age of a  person and/or their income are drivers in a person’s willingness to change jobs, in addition to any other factors that you might consider to be of influence. You need to be mindful of the company’s purpose for the survey when you are crafting your survey.

The survey should contain 20 questions which ought to take a respondent no more than about 5 minutes to complete. Accordingly, for this survey, there should be no open-ended questions and, where appropriate, answers can be selected from options. (For more information, see Survey Question Hints and Guideline Two – Response Option Principle).

 

Requirements 
In this assignment, your tasks will be split into two (2) distinct Parts. The Part A relates to the Survey Questions and Part B to the Collection of the Survey Data (i.e., the methodology and determination of the target audience/population).

Part A – Survey Questions 

•     Task 1:    write/create twenty (20) questions that are specifically aligned to the survey’s purpose,

i.e. gauging the views of the company’s employees regarding “Employee Turnover”.

•     Task 2:    justify/state the purpose/reason for asking each question (Note: you should relate your answers back to the overall purpose of the survey).

•     Task 3: indicate the type of variable that is most appropriate to your question (For more information, see Guideline Three – Variable Type).

•     Task 4:    indicate the level (scale) of measurement that is applicable to each question (For more information, see Guideline Four – Level (Scale) of Measurement).

•     Task 5:    indicate, in detail, the type of visualisation (e.g. Bar Chart, Histogram, Scatter diagram) you would use to visually represent the data for each question.

Part B – Collection of Survey Data (Textbook: Berenson et. al. Ch 1)

•     Task 6:    indicate the methodology you would adopt to conduct the survey (i.e. how would you propose the data should be collected; what is your Survey Sampling Method).

•     Task 7:    determine the target audience and comment on the sampling technique you’ve selected to make certain that your sample is a representative of the population.

 

Survey Question Hints 
An example of an appropriate Survey Question: 

What is your age in years (as at last birthday)? 

Note:     If you wish, you could also ask this question by asking the respondent to give an age range such as [19 to less than 25 years].

An example of an unacceptable Survey Question: 

What is your name? 

This example fails on multiple counts:

o    There can be “no purpose” in asking this question (see Task 2).

o    It’s likely the interviewee will decline to answer any further questions (for privacy reasons) or they will deliberately answer the remaining questions untruthfully.

o    It would not be possible to represent the data gathered in any meaningful manner (see Task 5).

 

Guidelines 

 

Guideline One – Word Count 
The following word counts are a guide only (however your overall word count needs to be within the range 1600 words to 2400 words):

Part A – Survey Questions 

•     Task 1:    each survey question you create should be approximately 10 to 20 words (i.e., 200 to 400 words in total for your 20 questions).

•     Task 2: when you explain the purpose of your question, you should allow approximately 30 to 40 words per question (i.e., 600 to 800 words in total for your 20 questions).

•     Task 3:    when you indicate the type of variable for each question, you will use a minimal number of words.

•     Task 4: when you indicate the level (scale) of measurement for each question, you will use a minimal number of words.

•     Task 5: when you explain the type of visualisation for your question, you should allow approximately 25 to 35 words per question (i.e., 500 to 700 words in total for your 20 questions).

Part B – Collection of Survey Data 

•     Task 6:    when you explain your data collection methodology, use approximately 100 to 200 words.

•     Task 7: when you explain your population of interest and your sampling technique, use approximately 200 to 300 words.

Therefore, if you follow the above guidelines, your assignment should be no less than 1600 words and no more than 2400 words overall (i.e., 2000 words, plus or minus 20%).

 

Guideline Two – Response Option Principle 
Ensure your questions are constructed such that any possible answer is both:

a.       Mutually Exclusive (i.e., the user’s response cannot be applied to more than 1 option), and

b.       Collectively Exhaustive (i.e., the options provided cover all possible answers).

 

Guideline Three – Variable Type 
When you design your twenty (20) questions, not only do you need to indicate the type of variable that is most appropriate to your question, but you must also adhere to the following minimum counts for these variables: a. 5 Categorical questions.

b. 5 Numeric questions, of which at least:

i. 3 need to be Discrete, and ii. 2 need to be Continuous.

 

Guideline Four – Level (Scale) of Measurement 
For each question, you must nominate which of the following level (scale) of measurement applies: a. Nominal.

b.       Ordinal.

c.        Interval.

d.       Ratio.