1. Rates of missing responses in personal digital assistant (PDA) versus paper assessments
- Author
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Lori-Ann Palen, John W. Graham, Edward A. Smith, Alan J. Flisher, Catherine Mathews, and Linda L. Caldwell
- Subjects
Research evaluation ,Program evaluation ,Male ,Paper ,Adolescent ,Substance-Related Disorders ,Sexual Behavior ,education ,Applied psychology ,Human sexuality ,Pilot Projects ,Life skills ,South Africa ,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) ,Humans ,Association (psychology) ,Life Style ,Data collection ,Models, Statistical ,Community Participation ,General Social Sciences ,Advertising ,Missing data ,Sexual behavior ,Computers, Handheld ,Linear Models ,Female ,Curriculum ,Psychology ,Program Evaluation - Abstract
This article describes rates of missing item responses in personal digital assistant (PDA) assessments as compared to paper assessments. Data come from the evaluation of a classroom-based leisure, life skills, and sexuality education program delivered to high school students in Cape Town, South Africa. Analyses show that the paper assessments had much higher rates of missing-ness than PDA assessments. This association is moderated by item order. Certain analyses also suggest that paper assessments have higher rates of missingness for items pertaining to participants' sexual behavior. Implications of these results for evaluation research will be discussed.
- Published
- 2008