[img]2012q1/ct_etoefm_etoeflistz_0412_20121[/img] [br] Why does the student spea

M: Excuse me, Dr．Phillips.
W: Hello, Patrick．I got your message．You said something about a project you’re working on.
M: Yeah, that’s right．I’m ..．uh ..．we’re, I mean, Student Activities is trying to find out what students think about the different events we sponsor．So l’m designing a study for them, and I was wondering if I could get your advice.
W: Sure．So, what can I do for you?
M: Well, like I said, we want to find out what students like and don’t like about our events-like the concerts we have, the masquerade ball, the spring picnic, and so on．I know there’s lots of ways we could get information like this-information from students-but I’m not sure which way is best．I’d like to get as much feedback as possible, from as many people as possible, but-like I said-I’m not sure about the best way to do it．Interviewing students might be a good way, but I think, uh, interviews would take a lot of time.
W: You’re right about that．Face,o-face interviews are very time-consuming．Two other methods you coulc use are the survey and the poll．A survey can be highly structured and doesn’t require a face-to-face situation, so that’s an advantage．You could do a survey in the form of a printed questionnaire, or you could also do it over the telephone．Telephone surveys take more time.
M: I see what you mean．For our purpose, a printed survey might be best．But you also mentioned a poll How’s that different from a survey?
W: A survey is usually fairly structured, while a poll is much simpler in design．A poll is simply a headcount．The respondents are presented with a limited number of options．Are you for or against a masquerade ball? Do you prefer events like A, B, or C?
M: I see．So a poll probably wouldn’t give us a lot to go on, but we could probably reach more people tha way.
W: That’s right．You know there’s an excellent book thai explains the pluses and minuses of each of these methods．It’s called How to Measure Attitudes, and it’s in our library ..．and probably the bookstore as well because it’s used in some of our graduate courses．It shows you how to word questions to get the information you want, and there are lots of gooc samples of surveys.
M: I’d better write this down．How to Measure Attitudes.
W: I’d lend you my copy, but one of my assistants is using it.
M: Oh, that’s all right．I’m sure I can get a hold of it．If we do, uh, if we decide to go with a printed survey, could you, uh, would you be willing to look at my draft first?
W: Of course．You could just slip it into my mailbox, or stop by anytime during my office hours.
M: OK．That would be great．I’ll put the draft in your mailbox．Thanks．I really appreciate your time．Now I’d better get going and see if I can find that book.
W: OK, Patrick．Good luck.