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Feedback is always gathered from participants in NZSSN courses and activities, in order to show where we are succeeding and where improvements could still be made. For the 5th NZSSN Summer Short Course Programme, February 2009. full course evaluations were completed by all attendees. The feedback was positive in general. Ideas for improvement continued to focus on the facilities and/or the teaching rooms, specifically with regard to excessive heat in the computer labs, which after three years of courses in Wellington seems to remain insoluble. Other suggestions proposed changes in the length of courses/sessions, but there were comments in both directions on such points.
Descriptions of the courses and some of the data from the analysis of the course evaluations are presented below. Over three weeks in February 2009, 6 five-day short courses were held in the Railway Building, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington. The online questionnaire that we asked previous short course attendees and others in our target audience to answer in May 2008 showed a strong majority vote to continue with Wellington as the site for the courses, despite issues brought up in previous years' evaluations. With the organisation based in Auckland, it is possible that this will change in the future. In the meantime, thanks to the School of Government for continuing to provide quality facilities for our short courses! The following courses were offered this time around. INTRODUCTORY ANALYSIS OF LINKED HEALTH DATA 913 Februrary 2009 A course in the theory and practice of analysis of large sets of linked administrative data, mainly in the health area but with applications throughout the social sciences. Provides theoretical grounding and hands-on practical exercises with statistical software packages. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH TECHNIQUES 913 February 2009 An introductory course consisting of lectures and practical workshops, designed for those with no background in research and no previous experience with qualitative techniques of data collection and analysis. INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS 1620 February 2009 An introductory course in statistical methods with an emphasis on statistical techniques applicable to the social sciences, and focusing on concepts rather than mathematical theory. DATA ANALYSIS IN SPSS 1620 February 2009 This course provides the beginner in quantitative data analysis with the basic requirements for analysis in an SPSS computing environment. It focuses on the analysis of survey, administrative and/or census data. Some basic knowledge of descriptive statistics, Introduction to Statistics, or equivalent experience presumed. USING MIXED METHODS IN RESEARCH AND PROGRAM EVALUATION 1620 February 2009 An introductory-level course intended for current and emerging researchers who want to know more about using both qualitative and quantitative methods in their research activities. INTERMEDIATE STATISTICS 2327 February 2009 A follow-up to the introductory course, with use of the statistical software package R. Topics covered include analysis of variance, time series, regression, and tests appropriate for categorical data. COURSE EVALUATIONS OVERVIEW The results presented below have been aggregated across all of the courses; the responses from each were very similar on most points. Course participants were asked why they chose to do the course specifically with regard to what their motivation was in improving their research skills. The results from this are shown graphically below.  Along with this, participants were asked what area they were employed in.  Critique of course presenters The participants were asked to judge the performance of the course presenters on four aspects using a 10-point scale with 1 = poor and 10 = very good. The aspects, and mean scores for each, were: course organisation (9.0) knowledge of the subject matter (9.7) presentation of course material (8.9), and responsiveness to participants needs/questions (9.1). Critique of course amenities The participants were asked to judge the quality of the amenities and support that were provided during the course, again using a 10-point scale. The variables examined, and mean scores for them, were: morning and afternoon teas (8.2) teaching rooms (8.4) computing resources (8.1), and course schedules and timetable (8.6). Course evaluations provide helpful feedback that is used to help us improve subsequent activities. We followed up on some of the findings from the 2008 mid-year questionnaire in the organisation of the 2009 Summer Programme: catered lunches were dropped and course fees were reduced; we tried to offer the most requested courses from our repertoire (and yet had to cancel two of them); we were able to offer one new course, which also came with the promise of a follow-up. The other suggestions that we made for future courses in questionnaire will be investigated for feasibility in our next Summer Programme or two.
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