Page 13 - JRCERT Update Articles
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JRCERT Update
Table
Common Errors in Survey Development
Common Error Example of an Error Corrective Action Example of a Correction
Addressing more than Rate your level of agreement to the Ask 2 questions. Rate your level of agreement to the
1 concept (ie, double- following statement: My clinical following statements.
barreled) in a single placements provided sufficient volume 1. My clinical placements provided sufficient
question. and variety of examinations. volume of examinations.
2. My clinical placements provided sufficient
variety of examinations.
Asking questions that Rate your level of agreement to the Provide a definition Professional for this question is defined as…
might have different following statement: My clinical for professional. Rate your level of agreement to the
interpretations. instructor was professional. following statement: My clinical instructor
was professional.
Asking questions with Rate your level of agreement to the Write with a Rate your level of agreement to the
double negatives. following statement: The program did positive statement. following statement: The program prepared
not prepare me for the ARRT exam. me for the ARRT exam.
Asking leading or Proper supervision is a JRCERT Eliminate the How often were you supervised in clinics?
biased questions. requirement (Standard 5.4). How often leading statements.
were you properly supervised in clinics?
Abbreviations: ARRT, American Registry of Radiologic Technologists; JRCERT, Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology.
Questions that contain double negatives are dif- to give the polite answer. Introducing the question
ficult for respondents to answer. For example, a double with the JRCERT standard or objective sends a per-
negative question might ask students to rate the level suasive message that this is something that should have
of agreement to a statement and then provide a nega- been happening all along. The use of the term properly
tive statement such as, The program did not provide implies that there is an improper way to supervise. The
adequate preparation for the American Registry particular phrasing might put satisficing respondents in
of Radiologic Technologists exam. If respondents an uncomfortable position and might lead respondents
felt properly prepared, they might disagree that the to provide an incorrect answer. Questions that are not
program did not prepare them for the exam, which worded properly likely will result in unreliable data and
introduces a double negative and can be confusing. give the program a false sense of compliance.
To avoid questions with a double negative, questions
should be written in a positive and concise manner. Remembering Information
Questions that are worded properly are objective Program improvement questions often require
and stated in a neutral manner. Biased questions might respondents to recall events or experiences from memo-
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persuade respondents to answer in a particular way. ry. The mechanics of memory recall is beyond the scope
For respondents using satisficing behaviors, biased of this article; however, the time between an event
questions might encourage them to choose the answer and when questions are asked about it might affect the
that maintains the status quo; therefore, these respon- reliability of the results. Memory of an event fades grad-
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dents might be influenced by biased questions. For ually, and misinformation caused by other experiences
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example, a biased question would provide JRCERT’s might distort the memory of an event in the past. For
definition of proper supervision and then ask how often example, a program that offers 4 clinical rotations could
a respondent was supervised properly in clinics. The ask current graduates to rate their satisfaction of each
question’s phrasing might lead those who are satisficing clinical they experienced. Time that has passed from
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