Imagine you are evaluating a program that is designed to stop bullying, particularly the kind of bullying that targets kids from specific groups. And you want to find out whether the kids fit into any of those groups—do they identify themselves as gay or bisexual, as a member of a specific ethnic group, or anything else that may be a target in your community. Seems reasonable!
Now imagine a sixth-grade, middle school class; the kids range in age from
11 to 13. They have diverse backgrounds, and widely varying sophistication with concepts like sexuality and identity. A young, shy student approaches a teacher, and asks a perfectly logical question to help them as they complete the survey – what does bisexuality mean? The teacher, unprepared, says that bisexuality is someone who likes both boys and girls. Now the student is equipped to take the survey – and identify as bisexual to friends and family – based on the definition they received.
We don’t want to put teachers, students, or any other survey respondent in a similarly awkward position, and are very fortunate to have avoided this problem over the years by thinking very carefully about our respondents, including:
- What language is most appropriate and comfortable
- What settings are most convenient and allow for any privacy needed
- What knowledge we can reasonably expect them to have
- What time commitment, resources and access are required to complete different types of evaluation activities
- Whether any issues might require extra sensitivity
Imagine you are evaluating a program that is designed to stop bullying, particularly the kind of bullying that targets kids from specific groups. And you want to find out whether the kids fit into any of those groups—do they identify themselves as gay or bisexual, as a member of a specific ethnic group, or anything else that may be a target in your community. Seems reasonable!
Now imagine a sixth-grade, middle school class; the kids range in age from 11 to 13. They have diverse backgrounds, and widely varying sophistication with concepts like sexuality and identity. A young, shy student approaches a teacher, and asks a perfectly logical question to help them as they complete the survey – what does bisexuality mean? The teacher, unprepared, says that bisexuality is someone who likes both boys and girls. Now the student is equipped to take the survey – and identify as bisexual to friends and family – based on the definition they received.
We don’t want to put teachers, students, or any other survey respondent in a similarly awkward position, and are very fortunate to have avoided this problem over the years by thinking very carefully about our respondents, including: