Creating a Comprehensible Item Pool for a Student Questionnaire: Challenges and Suggestions

Abstract

A survey is one of the most common tools used to elicit students’ voices in the process of curriculum development. Even though it is a common tool, it can also be challenging to design question items that elicit the information that researchers are interested in. This challenge is heightened if the topic of the survey is something very abstract such as self-directed learning (SDL). In this paper, we will share how we overcame this challenge during the generation of an item pool for a needs analysis survey about SDL, which was conducted as a part of a systematic evaluation of the current curriculum. The importance of administering multiple pilots and taking creative approaches to data elicitation when designing item pools will be discussed.