Survey administration
Successful implementation of the European Survey on Language Competences depended not only on strong central SurveyLang management, but also on close collaboration with colleagues in each country where the Survey was administered.
For this reason, a National Research Coordinator was appointed in each country participating in the Survey. This person had overall responsibility for the in-country implementation according to the required standards and procedures set by SurveyLang. They played a vital role and worked closely with both SurveyLang and teams within their country to ensure the country was prepared for the Survey.
Key tasks National Research Coordinators were responsible for included:
- Organising teams of translators so that all necessary documentation was in the national (and sometimes local) language(s)
- Organising and monitoring a team of test administrators
- Organising and monitoring a team of data entry specialists after the survey took place
- Organising and monitoring a team of marking experts for the writing assessments
- Providing accurate information on schools and students in-country so that SurveyLang could undertake the necessary sampling procedures
- Providing SurveyLang with country specific information, e.g. legal issues that may impact on SurveyLang procedures
- Communicating in-country about the project to stakeholders to ensure awareness of the survey and actively engage school participation.
National Research Coordinators were also instrumental in supplying information for the Language Tests and Questionnaires and providing feedback on them.
Training
SurveyLang experts provided centralised training for National Research Coordinators in the areas of sampling, translation, marking of writing and general test administration. This training could then be cascaded down to those assisting the National Research Coordinator in-country.
Communications between SurveyLang and National Research Coordinators
Many of the tasks undertaken by National Research Coordinators and their teams were being worked to very tight time schedules. SurveyLang therefore set up a web-based communications and project management system which allowed National Research Coordinators and other people concerned with SurveyLang tasks to centrally coordinate and track the progress of all tasks allocated to them.
This system, which provided each country with their own working area, also allowed National Research Coordinators to contact any member of SurveyLang with questions or queries.
Custom web-based tools were also developed by SurveyLang to facilitate the management and tracking of specialised translation and sampling tasks.