nicole kotras masters thesis

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(iii) The questionnaire may be completed at the respondent's convenience; (iv) Greater assurance of anonymity; (v) Standardized wording; (vi) No interview bias; (vii) Securing information. The mailed questionnaire allows the respondent to consult his or her records, confer with colleagues, or conduct research before answering; and (viii) Accessibility. The disadvantages of mailed questionnaires, as cited by Bailey (1987) include: (i) Lack of flexibility in the questions asked; (ii) Low response rate; (iii) Verbal behaviour only; (iv) No control over environment. There is no assurance that the respondent will be able to complete the questionnaire in private; (v) No control over question order; (vi) Any of the questions may remain unanswered; (vii) Cannot record spontaneous answers; (viii) Difficult to separate bad addresses from non-responses; (ix) No control over date of response; (x) Cannot use complex questionnaire format; and (xi) Possibly biased sample. Selltiz, Johada, Deutsch, and Cook (1959) listed a number of factors which could affect the number of questionnaires returned and the adequacy of data. Several of these factors were incorporated in the construction of the employed questionnaire. Regarding the questionnaire length, it is suggested that a less cluttered format is preferable, even if it requires a longer questionnaire. The cover letter, which explained the nature and purpose of the study, as well as the enlisting of the respondent's co-operation, was chosen to follow a personalized format. A personalized letter was typed rather than reproduced, addressed to the respondent and signed by the researcher (See Appendix B). Regarding the ease of completing and returning the questionnaire, this should be uncomplicated for the respondent to complete. Good questionnaires have clear and adequate instructions for completing the questionnaire, clear response categories, few open-ended questions, and are not too long. Furthermore, it is common practise for the researcher to provide explicit mailing instructions, and to supply a self-addressed and stamped envelope. Finally, regarding the nature of 57
espondents, many mailed questionnaires are sent to select groups. Generally special groups are good respondents because they tend to be interested, they are familiar with the subject and so are able to answer fully and with minimal instructions. Taking the above mentioned advantages and disadvantages of open-ended as well as, mailed questionnaires into account, the author decided that the benefits of mailed open-ended questionnaires outweighed the disadvantages for the qualitative phase of the study. Research Procedure The procedure for the qualitative phase of the study followed a number of stages. While referring to the guidelines reported by Hambleton (1994), the procedure followed in this study, for adapting/revising the pictures to make them more contemporaneous and culturally neutral, was completed in a number of sub-stages: Stage 1 The preparation of 20 small revised experimental pictures and 2 large pictures. One can differentiate between a subjective (mental "inner") picture, which is one that can form in the mind of an absent or even non-existent object; and an objective picture, which is one that is perceived by the senses. The latter (objective) picture is the concerned focus in this study. The word "picture" refers to "something which looks like something else. More specifically, a picture is defined as that which creates the appearance of something else" (Bower, 1977, p.2). It can therefore be said that a picture gives a visual representation of something else. We use the picture to provide for ourselves or for others, a visual representation of something which is itself not present. The extent to which a picture resembles the original depends also on subjective factors, such as the expectations of the viewer, the previous knowledge of the object in question, the viewer's cultural upbringing and socialization, as well as their emotional state (Ross & Lerman, 1970). To a child, a landscape drawing which ignores all the laws of perspective, may seem more realistic than an adult's drawing which adheres strictly to those rules. From this we can conclude also that the picture is really only an aid to the imagination. Bower (1977) proposed that young children see pictures as "surrogate objects" and not as representations of reality. 58
Page 1 and 2:
A REVISION OF A SECTION OF THE HEAR
Page 3 and 4:
TABLE OF CONTENTS ii Page ACKNOWLED
Page 5 and 6:
CHAPTER FOUR METHODOLOGY Problem fo
Page 7 and 8:
LIST OF FIGURES vi Page Figure 1 Po
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Table 24 The responses given to the
Page 11 and 12:
The major findings of the present s
Page 13 and 14:
Die hoof bevindinge van die huidige
Page 15 and 16:
Holt (1979) has comprehensively sum
Page 17 and 18:
Figure 1 Population of South Africa
Page 19 and 20: of disabled people increases slowly
Page 21 and 22: second language or culture. Hamblet
Page 23 and 24: ange from birth to three years of a
Page 25 and 26: Africa cannot be separated from the
Page 27 and 28: 14 Hence, this study was aimed at p
Page 29 and 30: highly verbal in nature which is li
Page 31 and 32: perceptual-performance, quantitativ
Page 33 and 34: acquisition of this complex ability
Page 35 and 36: assessment of young children in Sou
Page 37 and 38: Table 1 Griffiths (1960) scoring cr
Page 39 and 40: that the two scales produced signif
Page 41 and 42: 28 (GQ) and in their performance on
Page 43 and 44: 30 British counterparts with respec
Page 45 and 46: 32 concluded that the Griffiths Sca
Page 47 and 48: 34 languages are usually successful
Page 49 and 50: individual been assessed. Hence, wh
Page 51 and 52: Wilhelm Wundt, the founder of exper
Page 53 and 54: ecome evident. Questions include th
Page 55 and 56: Plays language games (pat-a-cake, p
Page 57 and 58: 36-54 months. Grammar developmental
Page 59 and 60: understands, and, if the child appe
Page 61 and 62: 48 the child's performance on each
Page 63 and 64: 50 manipulate simple toys according
Page 65 and 66: children's verbal responses. The re
Page 67 and 68: CHAPTER FOUR METHODOLOGY PROBLEM FO
Page 69: Bailey (1987) lists several advanta
Page 73 and 74: he studied the 2 Griffiths manuals
Page 75 and 76: 62 written responses of the complet
Page 77 and 78: Stage 5 The most frequently suggest
Page 79 and 80: 66 The subjects in the present stud
Page 81 and 82: Table 6 Demographic data for Sample
Page 83 and 84: In the present study, parents were
Page 85 and 86: Stage 6 Stage 7 For the large revis
Page 87 and 88: number of stimuli from the revised
Page 89 and 90: Table 10 The responses given to the
Page 93 and 94: 80 Table 13 indicates the responses
Page 95 and 96: Table 15 Frequency and percentages
Page 97 and 98: highest and lowest mean numbers of
Page 101 and 102: 88 Table 21 indicates the frequency
Page 103 and 104: 65 months elicited the highest mean
Page 107 and 108: Table 26 Means and Standard deviati
Page 111 and 112: impacted on the spread of obtained
Page 113 and 114: CHAPTER SIX CRITICAL EVALUATION AND
Page 115 and 116: proposed criteria. Regarding Griffi
Page 117 and 118: include: LIMITATIONS The limitation
Page 119 and 120: e included into the Hearing and Spe
Page 121 and 122:
BIBLIOGRAPHY Aldridge-Smith, J., Bi
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110 Development Bank of South Afric
Page 125 and 126:
112 Scale scores of 3-5 year old bo
Page 127 and 128:
University Press. Lister, C. (1981)
Page 129 and 130:
Kegan Paul. Kegan Paul. Kegan Paul.
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Minnesota Press. Thomas, H. (1970).
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APPENDIX A Letters and questionnair
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Questionnaire attached to above let
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APPENDIX C Letter to parents for th
Page 139 and 140:
Biographical questionnaire for pare
Page 141 and 142:
APPENDIX E Riordan (1978). The valu
Page 143:
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