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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-
                                                4
          dents might be influenced by biased questions.  For   ually, and misinformation caused by other experiences
                                                                                                     3,7
          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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