Finishing week 2 a little late...

Reading 3: OECD (2005) E-learning in tertiary education: where do we stand?
Activity 2.8: Reflecting on methods (2 hours) - considering the report:
Did the survey elucidate both good practice and international trends?
The study uncovered a wide range of issues, but not necessarily good practice, as it was difficult to benchmark institutions against one another; what is ‘good practice’ would depend on the degree of e-learning in place, technological capabilities. Etc. so the practice heavily depends on the context in which it is placed.
While diversely geographical institutions were mentioned, it is not apparent that any trends were revealed, as much of the information related to correlation between western culture and level of engagement, rather than global indications of development.
How could the questionnaires be improved?
The questionnaires were difficult to follow, due to the variety of questioning syles used. The quality of the data collated would be questionable, as much was derived from ranking variables and providing estimates; results of these were personal perspectives, liable to great variability due to bias and preferences.
What alternative sampling strategies might be considered, and why?
Out of the total population for institutions within the OECD, a ‘fairer’ sample may have been obtained by ensuring the sample was selected to balance the range, size, status, locality, etc. of institutions. This would mean that any overall trend may have been easier to extract from the data and provided a clearer picture for the OECD as a whole.
If you were to do this research, what might you do differently? Would these alternative methods have disadvantages?
Any statistical data should be clearly derived from secondary data streams, to ensure the most realistic figures (not ‘guestimates’, as asked for in the survey). It may be difficult to ensure there are current and valid data available, but comparable years could be ‘index-linked’, for example. A decision should be made early on if the study was to produce findings for elearning in general or for the OECD area, as this did not seem clear; the survey is perhaps ‘too big’ to any draw generalisations. However, if an overall OECD survey is what is required, the sample selected would be vital to the research and this would be a key consideration. Also, the selection of who was to complete any questionnaires needs to be considered, as this was another variable in the collection process, which could perhaps have been more controlled. The use of greater standardisation in the style of questions and on the wording would need to be addressed, to try to reduce personal preferences; I would additionally look at using e-forms/on-line methods for distribution as the collation and analysis of data may be helped by PC software.