Return-Path: <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id i7NHjuc16374; Mon, 23 Aug 2004 13:45:57 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 13:45:57 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <87.13e8697b.2e5b86c7@aol.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: MarkH38514@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:4523] Survey readability X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: 9.0 for Windows sub 5032 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Status: O Content-Length: 1426 Lines: 32 I was asked a couple of years ago to do a "readability" analysis of a consumer health survey. After looking at the questions and multiple-choice alternatives, my recommendation was not to use readability formulas. How do you define a "sentence" when you have a question followed by four alternatives? It that one long sentence? Five shorter sentences? There's no way to get a grade level on multiple choice questions. Of course the formulas were not designed for this kind of analysis, but that doesn't stop agencies for asking for it anyway. I suggested that they do some cognitive testing with consumers, which they had planned to do anyway, but the federal sponsor was insisting that the questions be written at a particular grade level. Grade level is meaningless if you have data on how well people actually understand multiple-choice questions and their alternatives. I told the contractor to tell the federal agencies that such analysis couldn't and shouldn't be done. As I recall, they still wanted a grade level for multiple-choice questions and answers, which is ridiculous. Too often people who ask for readability statistics don't understand when it's appropriate to use readability formulas and when it's not. Mark Hochhauser Mark Hochhauser, Ph.D. Readability Consultant 3344 Scott Avenue North Golden Valley, MN 55422 Phone: 763-521-4672 Fax: 763-521-5069 Email: MarkH38514@aol.com
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