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This research paper examines the effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on Nigerian educational system with a focus on Kogi State University (KSU), Anyigba. The study employed the survey method, choosing 40 academic staff, five library staff, 5 management staff and 250 students randomly from the seven (7) faculties at KSU. A questionnaire containing 39 questions was administered using mean (X) and standard deviation (SD) and t-test to analyze the data. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance and a coefficient of 0.85 was established using the statistical tool of Pearson product moment correlation coefficient. The result among other things showed that (1) lack of ICT professional, resources, infrastructure and management support affects effective teaching and learning and research development in Nigerian schools, (2) common challenges include but not limited to poor funding, lack of infrastructure, lack of technical support and lack of professional development in ICT use and integration into curriculum. It is the recommendation of this study among other things, that the government and her agencies should support their own ICT policy by providing funding to schools and to also look at curriculum changes that encourages ICT integration.

The study of marginalia has not been widely discussed in social sciences research and occupies a marginal space in terms of methodological legitimacy. We highlight the value of paying attention to the ways in which participants "speak back" to the researcher. This paper draws on marginalia found in surveys written or drawn by young people in classrooms across South Wales, demonstrating how various notes and marks made spontaneously by participants can tell us something important and worthwhile about how young people engage with research. We position marginalia as a manifestation of complex power dynamics in the research process that illuminate participants' negotiation of complex and multiple subjectivities in the literal margins and between the lines of the survey pages. Whilst the sensitive and rigorous analysis of marginalia is fraught with ethical and methodological challenges, we argue that paying closer attention to marginalia presents an opportunity for deeper engagement with participants when undertaking survey research.

This paper presents an innovative and effective approach for conducting surveys with preliterate adults in a context of limited infrastructure in post conflict Burundi, Africa. We conducted surveys with parents/carers of children with a disability and community members, as a component of mixed methods research with children and adults to provide baseline data for Handicap International in developing programs to prevent sexual abuse among children with a disability. To meet the challenges of conducting surveys on the sensitive topic in such field conditions, we developed specifically adapted researcher-assisted self-completion questionnaires (RASCQ) using images and verbal guidance. RASCQ allowed researchers to provide respondents with supports needed to complete surveys and the privacy and confidentiality needed to encourage honest answers. This paper discusses the development process, details of survey implementation, and quality of data obtained. RASCQ proposed in the current study can be used in various studies with marginalised groups and people in developing countries.

In this paper I discuss some concerns related to the analysis of focus groups: (a) the issue of generalisation; (b) the problems of using numbers and quantifying in the analysis; (c) how the concrete situation of the focus groups could be included in the analysis, and (d) what formats can be used when quoting from focus groups. Problems with respect to generalisation are discussed; types of generalisation are presented which can be used in focus group research. Arguments are made against using a primarily quantitative perspective in the evaluation of focus group data. It is argued that the situation of the particular group discussion should be taken into account in the analysis. A scheme for analysis that has been developed by the author is presented. Suggestions are made for the characteristics of the quotations in the analyses. (Contains 14 footnotes.)

This paper reports the findings from an investigation into the distance learning support systems of a UK University's overseas MBA programme. This programme is provided to several countries around the world in alliance with the overseas' local higher educational institutions (HEIs), and is delivered primarily via online courses, but also with periods of face-to-face teaching by both UK and local staff. The aim of the research was to evaluate the learning support mechanisms that are used to deliver this programme overseas, and to determine their impact on the learning experience of the MBA students. The primary research method was questionnaire surveys which were conducted over two periods: April-July 2008, and January-March 2009. The first survey showed a high level of satisfaction with the MBA programme as delivered, but also indicated areas that could see further improvement. The impacts of programme changes were examined in the second survey which revealed students' improved satisfaction with the programme after the implementation of the changes in the programme support systems. The outcomes of this research have not only helped improve the learning support systems and enhanced the quality of this particular programme, but could also help provide guidelines for other HEIs that offer, or intend to offer, blended learning courses globally. (Contains 12 tables and 2 figures.)

Introduction: The paper is based on the study of library users in Slovakia as part of a larger research project on the use of information. Method: A large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted in 2002 in sixteen academic and research libraries with 793 subjects, especially students and educators. Analysis: The data were analysed with the use of statistical package SPSS. Gender differences are analysed with regard to ways of information seeking, use of electronic resources and publishing. Results: Results indicate that men prefer individual information seeking and women apply collaborative information use. By sorting user types it was found out that women tended to manifest a pragmatic way of information use (the S type). Men confirmed analytic information processing (the A type). Women declared less experience in the use of electronic resources and publishing. Differences in orientation, collaboration and feelings have been noted. Conclusion: Gender as a variable can be productive for better understanding of cognitive and social background of human information processing. Findings can inform design of services and systems and information literacy policies.

This paper proposes how to select a methodology to target multidimensionally poor households, and how to update that targeting exercise periodically. We present this methodology in the context of discussions regarding the selection of a targeting methodology in India. In 1992, 1997, and 2002 the Indian government identified households that are below the poverty line (BPL) and in updating the 2002 methodology, alternative methods have been proposed and vigorously debated. A fourth BPL method was published and a corresponding Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC), implemented. Using the third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), this paper illustrates how a BPL targeting method using SECC variables might be calibrated to a multidimensional poverty measure. This paper compares the fit between a benchmark measure of multidimensional poverty and several plausible targeting methods to determine which method(s) approximate it--as well as related measures--most closely. We find a ten-item binary scoring method, which uses variables already available in the SECC questionnaire, provides a strong proxy. The emphasis of this paper is to illustrate how a particular targeting method can be justified, rather than to advocate any particular solution.

Gathering large-scale data on tax evasion is an undisputable challenge in and of itself. Doing so in a country in transition from a communist to a democratic system is even more difficult. This paper discusses the challenges and presents a case study to show how they can be dealt with effectively. One important implication of the paper is that such a sample survey can be successful if it combines a careful sample design, research method and questionnaire design, and explicitly takes country-specific institutional and cultural features into account.

Background: This study assessed whether data-collection formats, computerized versus paper-and-pencil, affect response patterns and descriptive statistics for adolescent health assessment surveys. Youth were assessed as part of a health risk reduction program. Methods: Baseline data from 1131 youth were analyzed. Participants completed the questionnaire either by computer (n = 390) or by paper-and-pencil (n = 741). Results: The rate of returned surveys meeting inclusion requirements was 90.6% and did not differ by methods. However, the computerized method resulted in significantly less incompleteness but more identical responses. Multiple regression indicated that the survey methods did not contribute to problematic responses. The two survey methods yielded similar scale internal reliability and descriptive statistics for behavioral and psychological outcomes, although the computerized method elicited higher reports of some risk items such as carrying a knife, beating up a person, selling drugs, and delivering drugs. Conclusions: Overall, the survey method did not produce a significant difference in outcomes. This provides support for program personnel selecting survey methods based on study goals with confidence that the method of administration will not have a significant impact on the outcome.

As pressure builds to assess students, teachers, and schools, educational practitioners and policy makers are increasingly looking toward student perception surveys as a promising means to collect high-quality, useful data. For instance, the widely cited Measures of Effective Teaching study lists student perception surveys as one of the three key measures of teachers' efficacy and describes these measures as a source of potentially valuable feedback for teachers (Cantrell & Kane, 2013). When one factors in the low cost with their prospective utility in assessing teachers and fostering teaching effectiveness, it seems clear that surveying students will increase dramatically in the coming years. Within this context, researchers who survey early adolescents must navigate the confluence of three tensions. First, responding to survey items requires an array of cognitive skills that early adolescents are still mastering (Downer, Stuhlman, Schweig, Martínez, & Ruzek, 2014). Second, unlike national, public opinion surveys, school-based surveys need to provide accurate data for small samples. For instance, a middle school teacher may have 100 students divided between her sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade science classes; an elementary school teacher may only have 20 students total. Third, for the full promise of surveys to be realized as a tool for improving schools, the survey scales need to be practitioner friendly: short, easy to administer, and straightforward to interpret (Hamre & Cappella, 2015, Kosovich, Hulleman, Barron, & Getty, 2014). In most cases, it should be relatively straightforward to adhere to the scientifically grounded best practices described in this article. In the coming years, surveys administered to early adolescents are likely to proliferate. Thus, there is an urgent need for research on the best approaches to designing surveys for this unique and important population to keep pace. In the meantime, the sins described here and the ideas for redressing them provide researchers with some low-cost approaches to improving their measures in most situations.

This paper analyses the conceptual significance of different methods of researching learning. Based largely upon our own experiences, we briefly compare the use of mini-ethnography, life history, cross-sectional surveys and existing panel survey data. We argue that there are strong affinities between each of these methods and significantly different ways of understanding the nature of learning: mini-ethnographies with learning as participation, life history with learning as construction and both types of survey with learning as acquisition. Three things follow. The first is that decisions about how to research learning are related to decisions about how to conceptualise and theorise learning. The second is that there is no foolproof empirical way to adjudicate between different conceptualisations of learning, though empirical evidence can and should play a significant part in informing such decisions. The third is that though mixing methods (including mixing more than one different qualitative approach) can bring advantages, the integration of the findings of mixed methods in relation to learning requires careful and sometimes difficult conceptual work. (Contains 2 notes.)

Teacher effectiveness is an issue that has received increased attention in recent years, as researchers have become aware of limitations in models that see the school as the key arena for improving pupil learning outcomes. This renewed interest makes it timely to look again at the methods used in teacher effectiveness research. This article presents an overview of some key issues in researching teacher effectiveness from a process-product perspective. The choice of outcome measure is a first key area. Traditionally most teacher effectiveness research has utilised externally published standardised tests. However, it will be argued that this is too limited in the light of societal demands on education. Actually measuring teacher factors is an issue the difficulty of which has often been underestimated. Classroom observation, surveys of teachers and students, and qualitative methods such as interviews have been most frequently employed. The advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed. In the final section, the main analysis methods suitable for teacher effectiveness research are outlined.

To undertake rigorous research in biology and ecology, students must be able to pose testable hypotheses, design decisive studies, and analyse results using suitable statistics. Yet, few biology students excel in topics involving statistics and most attempt to evade optional courses in research methods. Over the last few years, we have developed a tertiary-level unit to create a positive, inquiry-based, learning environment for teaching survey methods and statistics to environmental science students. This paper reports the success of incorporating a staged sequence of learning and assessment tasks into an ecological research methods unit. To gauge reactions to the strategies incorporated into the unit, all students completed a questionnaire and several students were interviewed while the lecturer involved was interviewed. Overall, students demonstrated acquisition of fundamental research skills, enhanced understanding of the subtleties of the scientific method, and improved confidence in their use of inferential statistical procedures. Further, they recognised the value of interactions with their colleagues and the need for flexibility in research design to compensate for variable environmental conditions. Skills in statistics and survey design appear best taught using learning and assessment tasks that are integrated into the teaching sequence so that they emulate the steps involved in conducting "real-life" scientific research. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

Introduces the process of survey research, focusing specifically on the questionnaire method. Lists and discusses eight essential steps in the process, reviews the relevant literature, and ends with the hope that readers will become better consumers of research and possibly researchers themselves. (SR)