Collecting, analyzing, and reporting on data from small populations

Abstract

Quantitative and survey research depends heavily on large sample sizes, but there are a variety of reasons why larger sample sizes may not be possible. Participants in this session will discuss common issues and solutions associated with assessing small populations of college students and instructors, with considerations for special subpopulations (gender variant, multiracial, etc.) as well as considerations for small institutions. Participants will also learn about and discuss administration issues related to small populations such as increasing response rates and identifying special subpopulations. Next, participants will learn about and discuss strategies for analyzing and communicating about the results from small populations. Finally, participants will learn about and discuss approaches for communicating the validity and data quality from small sample sizes.