Checklist
Checklist for a study-hours question
Eight checks so the answer options don't tell students what normal looks like
A checklist for quality and institutional research teams writing the study-hours or workload question in a course evaluation. Answer categories act as a frame: Schwarz and colleagues (1985) showed that the range of options changes the behaviour people report, and Kember (2004) found perceived workload is only weakly tied to hours. Use it when drafting or revising an instrument. Koji can ask the hours question as an open answer with a follow-up about a specific week.
What's in this checklist
- Ask for the number as an open answer where you can
- Say what counts: reading, assignments, group work, revision
- Say whether scheduled classes are in or out
- Fix the period: a typical teaching week, or the revision weeks
- If you use bands, base them on diary or pilot data
- Keep bands identical across modules you plan to compare
- Put the hours question after the appropriateness and difficulty items
- Ask separately what made the workload feel heavy or light
Use this image
Free to use in your docs, decks and posts under CC BY 4.0, as long as you credit Koji with a link to this page. To embed it, paste this into your page:
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/study-hours-question-checklist-course-evaluation"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/study-hours-question-checklist-course-evaluation/study-hours-question-checklist-course-evaluation.png" alt="Checklist for a study-hours question in a course evaluation: eight checks on answer ranges, what counts as study time and the reference period." width="1080" height="1080" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/study-hours-question-checklist-course-evaluation">Checklist for a study-hours question</a>, Koji</p>
