Instructions for Administering Grades K-3
Online and Paper Surveys
Surveys deadline is June 30, 2016 (as agreed upon at the meeting on March 8, 2016).
- After June 30 the online student surveys will be closed.
- Paper surveys should be securely packaged and sent to Anna (via a courier traceable service) at any time before June 30 upon the survey completion, or one week after June 30 the latest (mailing address is at the end of this document).
Before Starting the Surveys
Only MHCB Funded Project Schools Should be Surveyed
You will have to survey only the MHCB funded project schools to meet the evaluation goals. Some projects collaborate with other schools in their communities that are not funded through the MHCB Initiative. These (outreach or satellite) schools should not be surveyed. Please contact Karen or Anna for a list of the “officially” funded MHCB schools for your project if you are not sure.
Sampling Students to Survey
Not all students should be surveyed in the majority of the MHCB project schools. It is enough to survey a systematically selected sample of students according to the following rules:
If there are less than 25 students in a grade, survey all students in this gradeIf there are 25 - 100 students in a grade, survey 1 class in this grade
101 - 200 students in a grade - survey 2 classes in this grade
201 - 300 students in a grade - survey 3 classes in this grade
301 - 400 students in a grade - survey 4 classes in this grade
401 - 500 students in a grade - survey 5 classes in this grade
501 - 600 students in a grade - survey 6 classes in this grade
etc.
Schools principals or other administrators will be able to provide information on how many students are in each grade.
IMPORTANT: To ensure the data collection rigor, please select classes to be surveyed randomly (so that each surveyed class has an equal chance to be selected). Examples of random sampling are:
· Write the class teachers’ names on small pieces of paper, put them in a hat and ask a colleague to pull the classes to be surveyed.
· Arrange the last names of the teachers who teach the classes in alphabetical order. Choose the class with the teacher’s name which comes alphabetically first, then select the next class to survey with the teacher’s name which comes alphabetically second, etc.
· Or use other procedures ensuring that the surveyed classes have an equal chance to be picked up.
Starting the Surveys
Completing the Response Rates Sheet(s) Before Starting Administering the Survey
Before administering each online or paper survey: In order to meet the requirement of calculating survey response rates, it is important to know how many students were offered to answer the survey and how many actually answered. You will have to record only the first number (how many were offered to answer the survey). Please copy and fill in the following sheet to capture these numbers before starting survey administration. (You don’t have to write exact class name or teacher names; surveyed classes could be numbered):
MHCB PROJECT NAME:MHCB SCHOOL NAME:
Grades (examples) / Surveyed Classes / Total Number of Students
(count how many are present in the class where the survey is administered)
Grade 1 / Class 1 / N1
Class 2 / N2
Class 3 / N3
Grade 2 / Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Grade 3 / Class 1
Class 2
Etc.
IMPORTANT: Please send all completed response rate sheets to Anna using one of these methods:
· coping the sheets and pasting them directly into an e-mail to Anna
· scanning the sheets and e-mailing as an attachment
· for paper surveys – enclosing them at the top of the package together with students’ surveys (less preferable – higher chance to be lost).
Administering the Survey
If students do not wish to participate in the survey, they should not be coerced into doing so. They may refuse to participate right from the start or refuse to complete the survey which they have started.
IMPORTANT: Please instruct students not to include their names or other people’s names or personal information in any part of the survey (the survey is anonymous).
Please remind/explain to students what mental health activities are and provide examples of the activities in which they might have participated during this school year.
IMPORTANT: Students will need to select the name of the local MHCB project from a list in the beginning of the survey. Please assist the students in selecting the appropriate project name.
To help students understand how to answer, the survey uses “smiley faces” images along with verbal answer options. Please explain to the students that if it is true for them, they should choose “Yes” (or a happy face); if it’s not true for them they should choose “No” (or a sad face); if it’s only sometimes true for them, they should choose “Sometimes” (or a straight face in the middle). Students should choose only one answer from the “faces” scales by filling in a small square under one of the faces in paper-and pencil surveys. In online surveys students should click one of the small circles under the faces.
Please explain to students that in Questions “Whom do you talk to when you feel…” and When I am upset I can talk to…” they can fill in all choices that are true for them. (Questions 10 and 18 in the paper-and-pencil survey and Questions 13 and 21 in the online survey).
To help students understand how to answer, the survey begins with TWO EXAMPLE questions. These examples are not “real” questions and will not be included in the evaluation. They are to be completed together as a group, but each child should mark his or her own answer for what is true for them (to give them an idea of what they will be doing on the survey).
Say, “We’ll start by doing some practice ones together.”
Read aloud the first example, “I like playing with my friends.” Ask the children whether this is true for them. Most children will probably agree. Ask the children which face image they should select if this is true for them. The children will likely volunteer the answer “Yes” and select a happy face. Encourage them to select the “Yes” only if this is true for them, assisting as needed. (If they say it is not true, say that is OK too, and ask them which face they should select and assist as needed).
Read aloud the second example, “Broccoli is great food.” Ask the children whether they agree. Most children will probably disagree. Ask the children which face image they should select if they DO NOT agree. The children will likely volunteer the answer “No” or sad face. Show them how to select “No” if they do not agree (by filling in the square under the sad face in the paper survey or clicking a small circle in the online survey). (If they say it is true, say that is OK too, and ask them which face they should select and assist as needed).
Explain that the rest of the questions will be like these ones. They should pick the answer that is true for them and there is no right or wrong answers.
It may be helpful to move through the survey as a class, having the students respond individually online or on paper as each question or statement is read. Please note that it would not be acceptable for a survey administrator to fill the survey for students by asking them to rise hands if they agree with a question. The survey should be individually done and anonymous – no one should know the answers but the students who answers the survey.
FOR ONLINE SURVEYS ONLY:
· Students answer an online survey by clicking small circles corresponding to the answer choices. Students can change their answer by clicking on a different answer choice or going to previous questions by clicking the “Back” button at the bottom.
· If a student forgot to answer a question, a pop-up window will appear saying: “Please select a value for question number …” The student should click OK, answer the question and after clicking the “Next” button the survey system will take to the next question.
· Sometimes, under very strict security protection, the face images in a survey may trigger a browser warning (a pop-up window asking whether you want to display nonsecure items). Allow the” nonsecure” items to be displayed (this refers to the images of faces). After this the face images will appear and the system will allow you to proceed with answering the survey.
· Please make sure students click the “Done” button at the very end of the survey to complete the survey. After this a “thank you” message would appear indicating survey completion.
· Important: Please make sure students do not have access to the online survey multiple times after they have already responded to it once. Each time someone clicks the access link and responds to the survey, the new data are saved in the database. Entering data from the same individuals multiple times would compromise the data.
FOR PAPER-AND-PENCIL SURVEYS ONLY:
· The best way to complete a paper survey is using pencils, so that students can delete and change answers if they make a mistake or change their mind. Students answer the survey by selecting their answer choice for each question and filling in small squares corresponding to these answer choices.
· Important: Please make sure students circle the right MHCB project name on the first page of the surveys, as well as indicate their school name and grade (2nd page).
· Please make sure students complete questions on both sides of the paper survey forms.
· Important: After surveying all selected classes in all MHCB project schools, please package the completed surveys securely and forward them to Anna via a courier traceable service (see the mailing address on the next page).
Thank you very much for helping with the survey!
Contacts
For mailing completed paper-and-pencil surveys (before June 30 or within one week after)
Address:
Anna Nadirova
Performance Measurement and Knowledge Exchange
Provincial Addiction & Mental Health
2nd Floor - 10909 Jasper Ave.
Edmonton, AB T5J 3M9
Tel: 780-638-3484
If you have questions, please contact:
For questions about or issues with the online or paper-and-pencil surveysFor questions about which schools to survey / For questions about which schools to survey
Anna Nadirova
(780) 638-3484 / Karen Matson
780-644-6932
1
1