Use Of Survey Instruments Research Articles

Measuring women\u2019s experiences of maternity care: protocol for a systematic review of self-report survey instruments

BackgroundThe use of survey instruments to measure women’s experiences of their maternity care is regarded internationally as an indicator of the quality of care received. To ensure the credibility of the data arising from these instruments, the methodological quality of development must be high. This paper reports the protocol for a systematic review of self-report instruments used to measure women’s experiences of their maternity care.MethodsCitation databases CINAHL, Ovid MEDLINE and EMBASE will be searched from 2002 to 2018 using keywords including women, experience, maternity care, questionnaires, surveys, and self-report. Citations will be screened by two reviewers, in two rounds, for inclusion as per predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data extraction forms will be populated with data, extracted from each study, to evaluate the methodological quality of each survey instrument and the criteria for good measurement properties using quality criteria. Data will also be extracted to categorise the items included in each survey instrument. A combination of a structured narrative synthesis and quantitate summaries in tabular format will allow for recommendations to be made on the use, adaptation and development of future survey instruments.DiscussionThe value of survey instruments that evaluate women’s experiences of their maternity care, as a marker of quality care, has been recognised internationally with many countries employing the use of such instruments to inform policy and practice. The development of these instruments must be methodologically sound and the instrument itself fit for the purpose and context in which it is used. This protocol describes the methods that will be used to complete a systematic review that will serve as a guide for choosing the most appropriate existing instruments to use or adapt so that they are fit for purpose, in addition to informing the development of new instruments.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42018105325

Charging for the use of survey instruments on population health: the case of quality-adjusted life years.

A trend towards charging for access to research findings, tools and databases is becoming more prominent globally. But charging for the use of research tools and databases that are vital to research supporting national and international policy development might be unjustified. Financial barriers to accessing these tools and databases disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, who may have greater need for information that fuels research in their areas of concern. However, changing this trend is potentially possible. One example is the experience with the EuroQol-five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D), a generic measure of health status used in economic evaluations for resource allocation decisions. Increasingly, governments and health-care providers are using the EQ-5D tool in patient-reported outcome measures to monitor quality of health-care provision, diagnose and track disease progression, and involve patients in their health care. The EuroQol Group, which owns the intellectual property rights to the EQ-5D, recently terminated their policy of charging for noncommercial, nonresearch uses of the tool. We share a brief history of this development and examine these charging policies in the context of the EQ-5D’s use in national health-care research and policies, reflecting the trends and developments in the use of survey instruments on population health.

The Use of the Survey Instrument in a Legislative Budget Office Context

This discussion paper considers the use of Survey Instruments to assess the performance and “effectiveness” of Legislative Budget Offices (LBO). While offering certain benefits, this paper notes that there are important limitations to survey instrument use in measuring LBOs effectiveness, emanating from political, cost, and methodological considerations. The paper makes reference to the survey instrument used by the Parliamentary Budget Office in Australia to evidence these considerations.

Acculturation in context: knowledge sharing through ubiquitous technologies.

In this paper, we assess the feasibility of using a retooled mobile and ubiquitous computer system to facilitate knowledge dissemination between users during the process of acculturation. Focused on the foreign population of a Japanese post-graduate university, the system provides a platform on which to study not only the behavior of participants but also the process of acculturation dynamically in context. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed, with quantitative data being obtained through the use of survey instruments based on proven instruments in the field of acculturation and qualitative data obtained via the use of semi-structured interviews. The results of this study demonstrate that the retooled mobile and ubiquitous computer system used had measurable benefit in aiding participants undergoing the process of acculturation.

SPECTRUM WEIGHTED RESPONSES OF SEVERAL DETECTORS IN MIXED FIELDS OF FAST AND THERMAL NEUTRONS

The spectrum weighted responses of various detectors were calculated to provide guidance on the proper selection and use of survey instruments on the basis of their energy response characteristics on the neutron fields. To yield the spectrum weighted response, the detector response functions of 17 neutron-measuring devices were numerically folded with each of the produced calibration neutron spectra through the in-house developed software ‘K-SWR’. The detectors’ response functions were taken from the IAEA Technical Reports Series No. 403 (TRS-403). The reference neutron fields of 21 kinds with 2 spectra groups with different proportions of thermal and fast neutrons have been produced using neutrons from the 241Am-Be sources held in a graphite pile, a bare 241Am-Be source, and a DT neutron generator. Fluence-average energy (Eave) varied from 3.8 MeV to 16.9 MeV, and the ambient-dose-equivalent rate [H*(10)/h] varied from 0.99 to 16.5 mSv/h.

Appropriate Responsibilities and Actions of Radiologists in Radiologic Accidents and Crises

m m m t ( t a t P m u BACKGROUND The 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attack increased our sensitivity to potential future terrorist attacks. There are more than 100,000 abandoned radioactive sources in the world, approximately 1,000 of which are strong enough to cause harm [1]. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that in the past decade, there have been about 300 incidents of attempted radioactive material smuggling worldwide [1], suggesting that potential terrorists will likely plan future radiologic attacks such as “dirty bombs.” Furthermore, several large-scale radiation accidents, such as the Chernobyl and Japanese nuclear power plant disasters, have had powerful immediate and long-term effects on the environment and detrimental yet uncertain long-term consequences to human health. The recent earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, and the resultant radiation leakage from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, resulted in human cost as well as billions of dollars in the evacuation effort and abandonment of the devastated local farm industry. These current events serve as a continual reminder to the medical community of possibilities that would require a coordinated, sophisticated response. Members of the radiology community, including radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and technologists, have training and ongoing experience with the routine handling of radioactive materials, use of survey instruments, the appropriate containment and

On the origins of early leadership: The role of authoritative parenting practices and mastery orientation

This is an exploratory study that examines how leadership potential may initially develop in adolescent children through specific parenting practices. It investigates whether adolescent children raised in an authoritative parenting environment can be linked to transformational leadership. Additionally, this study looks at the healthy parent–child interaction that promotes emotional autonomy and mastery orientation. These important psychological dispositions may form the basis for transformational leadership thinking and behavior, especially in young nascent leaders. Through the use of survey instruments, data from 245 adolescent boys and a few girls were collected. The results obtained help explain the possible interactions between parenting and leadership development in adolescents. The study revealed a positive relationship between authoritative parenting practices, emotional autonomy, mastery orientation, and transformational leadership.

Gis and 3D Models as Support to Documentation and Planning of the Baku Historical Centre (Republic of Azerbaijan)

The walled city of Baku, Icherisheher has been described as one of the best examples of a city that has retained its historical stratigraphy in over a thousand years, where the different influences and its evolution in time may be appreciated. In realising the Master Plan of the historical city, many problems were solved with different information technologies (GIS, DEM, DTM, etc.) for the survey and data mapping management during all the phases of the project. Initially the analysis was addressed to systematic reading of the documents collected during the iconographic study, verifying the process of deterioration that the historic city had suffered during various periods from the Khans to the Tsarist domain, and from the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Soviet period through to its independence. The entire central part of the historic city was analyzed, including not only on its special architectural and urban monuments, but even minor buildings, which are in part still intact, used as a basis for a digital map created in order to focus on Baku's historical evolution. A three-dimensional model of the historic centre of Baku was then produced as a basis not only for virtual navigation in real time, but as additional support for planning studies and to better understand the principles of various design choices. The request to produce a model in VRML format addressed the choice of better modelling methods. The combination of these different technologies and their application in the analysis of historical cities led to further considerations on data acquisition systems, standardization of formats, the use of survey instruments and the use of different software, etc., all fundamental elements to the define their correct use.

Betwixt and between: the perceived legitimacy of campus police

PurposeThe literature on campus police (CP) is not as developed as mainstream or municipal police (MP). While there are several studies discussing the perception of CP, there are, however, no empirical studies investigating the perception of CP based on their legitimacy. Through the theoretical framework of liminality, this paper aims to address the literature gap by examining the perceived legitimacy of CP compared to MP.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through the use of survey instruments distributed among 593 college undergraduates at a doctoral extensive land grant institution in the Pacific Northwest. Since the purpose of the study was to determine student perceptions of legitimacy between MP and CP, two surveys were utilized to capture those perceptions, one for each police group respectively. The two sets of surveys were equally administered in each selected class.FindingsThrough the framework of liminality, this research demonstrates the marginalization of CP as sworn law enforcement officers, especially when compared to their MP counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsAs this is the first study addressing the perceived legitimacy of the CP there needs to be further research in this area before substantial conclusions can be reached. Future research in this area should address the opinions of minority students, faculty and staff. Additionally, CP and MP officers themselves should be assessed to determine any potential legitimacy concerns based on perception.Originality/valueThe theoretical framework reveals that the CP are trapped in a liminal state and are unable to transition into perceived legitimate police officers.

An Algorithm for Converting Ordinal Scale Measurement Data to Interval/Ratio Scale

The extensive use of survey instruments in the social sciences has long created debate and concern about validity of outcomes, especially among instruments that gather ordinal-level data. Ordinal-level survey measurement of concepts that could be measured at the interval or ratio level produce errors because respondents are forced to truncate or round off their responses to fit a given ordinal scale. This article presents a Markov chain Monte Carlo modeling technique that converts ordinal measurements to interval/ ratio. Simulated data demonstrate the robustness of this technique, and implications of this technique are discussed.

Creation of a Research Community in a K-12 School System Using Action Research and Evidence Based Practice

Objective - The purpose of this study was to apply skills developed from an Action Research Training Model (Gordon) in the design of two action research projects to ensure that students are ethical users of ideas and information. It was deemed necessary to assess prior knowledge and attitudes of students and teachers in order to identify issues to be addressed. 
 
 Methods - Both projects employed the use of survey instruments, which presented students with scenarios involving aspects of information use, and asked whether or not the actions in the scenarios were examples of ethical use. The high school survey was administered to 381 students in tenth grade English classes. The elementary survey was administered to 87 students in fifth grade. 
 
 A more comprehensive survey was administered at the high school level. For each student behavior addressed by the survey, there were two questions: one eliciting the teacher’s perception of how often students engaged in that behavior, and the second how often the teacher had to confront a student about the same behavior. Participation was voluntary, and 36 teachers took the survey. 
 
 Results - Surveys administered at the high school level showed that most students have a good understanding of the ethical use of information regarding clear instances of plagiarism. Students’ understanding was less clear in two major areas: creating a bibliography that accurately reflects the sources used to create the work, and the level of collaboration or assistance that is appropriate in completing a research assignment. 
 
 The teacher surveys showed some discrepancy between perception of the frequency of certain types of unethical student behavior and how often teachers challenged students on that behavior. The surveys showed that teachers found plagiarism to be the most prevalent behavior, while obtaining copies of exams and buying papers were the least frequently occurring behaviors.
 
 At the elementary level, results indicated that understanding how to properly cite sources was a major area of concern. Students were also confused about whom to ask for help during the research process. Instructional intervention was developed and applied. The survey was re-administered with the addition of items that were based on the interventions. Responses showed a marked improvement in understanding by at least 20%. Some responses improved by as much as 60%. 
 
 Conclusion - The study validated the Action Research Training Model as the first dimension and conceptual framework that informs and guides instructional practices of school library media specialists and teachers in a K-12 school district. After using the model to examine student-teacher knowledge and understanding of ethical use of information (second dimension), there was recognition of the need to clarify the school’s position on the ethical use of information for teachers and students and provide intentional instruction and interventions for students beginning at an earlier grade level. After being made aware of the results, teachers were anxious to work with library media specialists to address issues and to look for opportunities within research units to collaborate.

Preservice Primary Teachers' Thinking About Technology and Technology Education

It is apparent from previous research that primary school teachers have very limited or narrow perceptions of design and technology and such views may affect adversely their ability and confidence to teach the key learning area of design and technology in the classroom. Therefore, it is the task of technology teacher educators to provide experiences that will broaden preservice teachers' perceptions of technology and technology education. This paper reports an investigation, using an interpretive research methodology, of preservice primary teachers' prior perceptions of design and technology and changes in their perceptions of design and technology as a result of their engagement in independent technology projects. Students enrolled in a one-year postgraduate teacher education program were the participants in the study and the methods of data collection included the use of survey instruments, interviews, field notes and students' reflective journals. The results indicate that the independent projects broadened and deepened the students' understandings of technology as a process. The implications of the approach for the design of technology education courses for preservice and inservice teachers are discussed.

Micro-estimation of the demand for schooling: Evidence from Michigan and Massachusetts

Both micro and macro studies of the demand for local public schooling are quite common. Micro studies, which rely explicitly on the use of survey instruments, allow for more extensive data sets and more variables, but are subject to response biases. This paper uses data for the state of Massachusetts to replicate an earlier Michigan micro study of school spending. The authors find generally similar results in both states; in particular, they find an income elasticity of demand that is substantially less than one. They suggest that such a result is consistent with a more general model that includes an educational production function.