So there's a thing called Georgia Schools Parent Survey. I teach public opinion, I teach how to conduct (and how not to conduct) surveys. One of the great problems is what we call a SLOP, a self-selected survey.
Can anyone fill it out? Why yes. and I did. Took only a few minutes and then I got this:
Huh? Reload? I can do it again? Why yes. Yes I can -- though I didn't. One reporter got the problem and it was his tweet that brought this survey to my attention. Full disclosure, he's one of our former students.
If @GaDOEnews is basing school's "star climate ratings" off of this survey... http://t.co/3AcVlQvK8v, Then this is the worst rating ever.
— David Schick (@davidcschick) March 25, 2015
Any survey that relies on people just happening to choose to participate is doomed to being, well, complete bullshit. A good survey has a representative sample, meaning everyone theoretically has a chance of being included. SLOPs tend to attract those angry, or those the target of some promotional drive. In the latter, I suspect some school districts will cook the data by asking their parents to participate.
No comments:
Post a Comment