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" . . . took care in [cleaning the data] to a high standard so that the estimates drawn from the data would be accurate . . . ."
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Surveys and Data Collection Project Descriptions
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Instrument Development
The U.S. Department of Education awarded a contract to DIR to determine the extent to which participants in the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program complete doctoral studies and obtain faculty or research positions at institutions of higher education. DIR identified McNair program participants, constructed a sampling frame, and designed the follow-up survey. DIR designed items in the survey instrument to obtain data to answer the research questions of interest regarding services received, statisfaction with services, educational and employment experiences, and demographic characteristics. DIR used computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) to administer the follow-up survey and obtain information about participants.
To fulfill the legislative and management objectives of data collection for Job Corps, DIR conducted telephone interviews with approximately 6,000 Job Corps graduates and former enrollees annually. DIR obtained identifying information about graduates and former enrollees from the Job Corps Data Center; developed the instruments for 90-day employer verification; and conducted 6- and 12-month follow-up surveys with all graduates and former enrollees of Job Corps. The data-collection instruments were programmed into DIR’s CATI system for ongoing survey administration. Results provided the input for Job Corps' performance measurements system and its performance-based contracting.
The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) National Center for Education Evaluation (NCEE) contracted with DIR to conduct a national evaluation of the Early Reading First (ERF) program. DIR developed all of the survey instruments and assessment tools for this study. For the survey of parents, DIR designed items to obtain information regarding early literacy activities at home, previous childcare experiences of their children, and demographic characteristics. In June 2007, ED published DIR's findings as a report to Congress. See http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pdf/20074007.pdf.
Survey Methods
Computer - Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) Surveys
The National Office of Job Corps contracted DIR to conduct CATI surveys with
Job Corps graduates and former enrollees or their employers and educational institutions. DIR obtained identifying information about graduates and former enrollees from the Job Corps Data Center (JCDC). DIR programmed
the data- collection instruments into its CATI system for ongoing survey administration.
The National Center for Educational Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education contracted with DIR to collect data for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Minimum Data Set. DIR collected a minimum
set of data from approximately 13,000 postsecondary institutes that are not required to provide IPEDS information and do not participate in Title IV programs. These data were then used to determine basic institutional characteristics such as size, level of control, and number of full-time faculty.
DIR used its CATI system to collect this information.
The City of Houston Building Services Department contracted with DIR to
assess the human services needs of communities served by multi-service centers operated by the Houston Department of Health and Human Services. DIR used its CATI system to conduct surveys with approximately 2,500 randomly selected households in the study areas. DIR used Sawtooth's WinCATI 4.2 to program this survey. WinCATI was selected because of its efficiency and because it has sample management, call scheduling, quota control, disposition monitoring, and call management capabilities.
Web-based Surveys
The Texas Guaranteed Student Corporation contracted with DIR to conduct customer surveys using a mixed-mode method of administration: secure Web-
based, fax, and telephone. DIR designed an approach for contacting sample members and conducting the interviews that motivated the business partners to participate in the survey. DIR averaged an 80% response rate for the data collection.
Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) contracted with DIR to conduct an assess- ment of organizational diversity by surveying all of BCM's faculty and staff. DIR collaborated with BCM's Diversity Council to develop a Web-based survey
about BCM's corporate culture and diversity initiatives. DIR developed
and pilot tested the survey instrument in a focus group consisting of a
cross-section of BCM's faculty and staff.
The Houston-Galveston Area Council of Governments, the administrative entity for the Gulf Coast Workforce Development Board, contracted with DIR to
collect data on education and training programs available in its 13-county service region. Data collected by DIR was used to create a Web-based, interactive, central directory for customers seeking information about education and training opportunities available in the Gulf Coast area. DIR established a system for identifying, collecting, recording, and verifying approximately 12,000 degree- and certificate-granting programs. DIR used a combination of data- collection activities, including telephone and faxed surveys and a Web-based survey response option.
Self-administered Surveys
At the request of Duke Energy Gas Transmission's diversity consultant, DIR designed and implemented a survey of employees in the Houston and
Charlotte locations. DIR researchers developed employee opinion surveys, which were self-administered.
For NEA, DIR conducted a multiphase, organization-wide climate study that combined the use of employee surveys and a series of focus groups. DIR conducted three rounds of data collection in which surveys were mailed to all employees to complete and return to DIR. NEA employees received the survey at their home address with a cover letter from NEA's executive director requesting them to complete the survey. DIR performed all analysis and presented results to the full staff of the NEA.
The U.S. Department of Education contracted with DIR to conduct a national evaluation of the Early Reading First (ERF) program. The evaluation included a survey of all teachers and preschool center directors whose students were included in the child sample for the study. The surveys were sent to center directors for distribution to teachers. Return mailing materials were provided for center directors and teachers to return the completed instruments directly to the evaluation contractor. Response rates for both teacher and director surveys were close to 90 percent.
In-Person Surveys
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. subcontracted with DIR to conduct a survey of young adults participating in the Quantum Opportunity Program Demonstration. DIR collected survey data by using a mixed-mode method, which included computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI), in-person cellular phone callback, and paper-and-pencil interviewing (PAPI). DIR's interviewers worked in demonstration sites throughout the country to administer the in-person surveys. DIR accomplished a 75 percent response rate
during this study for the 4-year follow-up.
MDRC awarded DIR a subcontract to conduct in-person interviews with former participants of the Opening Doors Demonstration project. DIR and Battelle, the
prime contractor, implemented a mixed-mode data-collection strategy, in which the majority of interviews were conducted through a centralized CATI system
and in-person interviews were conducted for households that did not have access to a telephone. DIR was responsible for hiring, training, and managing field interviewers in each of the five demonstration sites.
Sharpstown Center, a shopping mall in Houston, contracted with DIR to conduct a comprehensive market study to help them gain a better understanding of their existing and potential customers, merchants, and community members. DIR's comprehensive mix of market research techniques included an in-person intercept survey with Sharpstown customers as they exited the shopping center. DIR bilingual interviewers conducted 600 in-person interviews (450 in English and 150 in Spanish).
Focus Groups
The City of Houston Building Services Department contracted with DIR to assess
the human-services needs of communities served by multi-service centers (MSC).
To complete this comprehensive needs assessment, DIR developed and conducted a series of focus groups at each of the MSCs studied. Focus group members consisted of MSC staff, tenants, and community members. DIR reported the findings from the focus groups to the City of Houston.
DIR is assisting in evaluating programs and services for unwed new or expectant parents supported through the Building Strong Families initiative, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S Department of Health and
Human Services. DIR is recruiting participants and conducting a series of focus groups with young parents at 11 sites around the country to learn about their needs and interests to help inform program design. DIR is conducting focus groups in both English and Spanish.
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) has contracted with DIR to conduct a series of focus groups with 6-to-10-year-old African-American and Mexican-American girls, their mothers, and their fathers. DIR worked with MDACC to develop the focus-group protocols and is recruiting the focus-group participants; securing community locations for the focus groups; moderating the focus groups in English or Spanish; and reporting the findings from the focus groups to MDACC. The focus groups will be used to assess the participants' attitudes towards young girls' body image, growth and development, and other related health issues.
In-depth Interviews
DIR and several subcontractors conducted the national evaluation of the Youth Opportunity Grants Initiative (YO) for the U.S. Department of Labor. This evaluation included a process analysis to assess how each of the 36 sites implemented the grant and an ethnographic study to assess community well-being in the sites before and after delivery of YO grant services. As part of the process analysis and ethnographic study, DIR conducted a series of in-depth interviews with YO staff, service partners, participants, and community partners over a 5-year period.
Harris County, Texas, has contracted with DIR to conduct a quasi-experimental, longitudinal evaluation of the county's Success Through Addiction Recovery (STAR) drug court program. The evaluation assessed participants' success at various levels of program completion, assessed how participants' characteristics affect their ability to succeed in the program, and evaluated the process that STAR uses to move participants through the program. DIR collected data through in-depth interviews with drug court judges, attorneys, case managers, and other program stakeholders.
DIR partnered with Mathematica Policy Research, which used a matched-comparison group design, to evaluate the impact of alternative teacher-certification programs in schools throughout the country for the U.S. Department of Education. DIR recruited for the matched-comparison groups and conducted in-depth interviews with more than 50 school principals and directors of teacher-certification programs. We also conducted classroom observations.
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