Course Summary
IDE 742 introduced the systematic process of planning and conducting survey research. The course covered research questions, conceptualization and operationalization, questionnaire development, validity and reliability, sampling, pretesting, electronic survey tools, data analysis planning, and research ethics. Through a sequence of connected project assignments, I developed and refined a survey, conducted a pretest, completed CITI training, and prepared an IRB Exempt Application Form together with supporting materials for sampling, recruitment, and informed consent. The course provided practical experience with the steps required to move from an initial research question to a carefully designed and ethically prepared survey study.
Selected Artifacts
Survey Pretest
This pretest documented the systematic review of a developing survey instrument before formal data collection. The process included feedback on question wording, response options, survey flow, clarity, and alignment between the instrument and the intended constructs. Revising the survey through this process helped me understand how structured critique and pretesting can identify problems that may be difficult for the survey designer to recognize independently.
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IRB Preparation Materials
As part of the course's IRB preparation process, I completed an IRB Exempt Application Form and developed the supporting materials for my proposed survey study. These materials included a sampling plan, participant recruitment materials, and an informed consent form. Preparing them gave me practical experience thinking through participant selection, recruitment, informed consent, research ethics, and participant protection as connected parts of a research study.
Sampling Plan
Recruitment Email / Blackboard Announcement
Informed Consent Form
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Reflection
IDE 742 gave me my first complete experience with the IRB preparation process at Syracuse University. I completed the required CITI training and prepared an IRB Exempt Application Form, a sampling plan, recruitment materials, and an informed consent form. At the same time, I was taking EDU 603 and developing the qualitative side of the same research idea. The two courses allowed me to work through both the survey and interview procedures. This experience became especially useful later when I prepared the IRB application for my AI-supported case-based learning research.
Another important part of IDE 742 was learning how much work happens before a survey is ready for data collection. The questions participants see are only one part of the process. I had to think carefully about the constructs, wording of individual items, validity and reliability, pretesting, sampling, and participant protection. I also invited others to critique the instrument and used their feedback to revise it. Going through these steps gave me a much clearer understanding of how a survey develops from an initial idea into a research instrument. I still use this process when I develop or evaluate surveys in my research.