The Results of Student Ratings: Paper vs. Online

Author: Te-Sheng Chang(National Hualien Teachers College Graduate Institute of Compulsory Education)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 49, No. 1
Date：April 2004
Pages：171-186
DOI：10.3966/2073753X2004044901010

Abstract：

The purpose of this study was to compare the results of student ratings of their instructors via paper and online surveys. The sample consisted of students at 624 undergraduate courses at National Hualien Teachers College in the fall semester of 2001: 198 (31.73%) freshman courses, 161 (25.80%) sophomore courses, 146 (23.40%) junior courses, and 119 (19.07%) senior courses. The instrument was the Students' Rating of Instructors (SRI) form developed in 1995 at this college. The SRI form was composed of 13 questions rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from "strongly agree" (5 points) to "strongly disagree" (1 point). These 13 items were clustered around four teaching factors: Preparation/Planning, Material/Content, Method/Skill, and Assignments/Examination. The scores on these four factors were added to give the total score (rating) for a faculty member.
The paper scores are significantly higher than the online scores for all of the evaluation items. There are 573 (91.8%) courses for which the average total paper evaluation score is higher than the average total online evaluation score, but only 51 (8.2%) courses for which the average total online score is higher than the average total paper score. These results indicate that the majority of students in all courses give the instructors a higher score when they evaluate them using the more traditional method: sitting in the classroom and using paper forms.

Keywords：Student Rating of Instruction, Paper Survey, Online Survey

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