Adviser Update Winter 2017 | Page 32

Infographic by Northern High School ’ s Patriot Press News Magazine
every possible step to avoid the appearance that the school administration or particular teachers are actively involved in administering the survey ,” LoMonte explained . “ If a teacher stops class five minutes early and announces that it ’ s now time for everyone to complete a survey , then that gives the appearance of school involvement even if participation really isn ’ t school-required . If possible , avoid using classrooms entirely . Use the lunchroom or after-school time instead . A disclaimer accompanying the survey , which includes the word ‘ voluntary ,’ would be a good idea .”
LoMonte says that the absolute safest way to administer a survey is anonymously using an online instrument . The problem with that , as anyone who ’ s studied survey research knows , is that any survey in which the population self-selects whether to participate is , by definition , an unscientific survey and should be labeled as such . Students who dislike the school dress code , for example , might be much more inclined to express their opinions about it than would those who don ’ t really care about the policy . Therefore , such a survey would be skewed against the dress code .
“ That ’ s the safest method ,” said LoMonte , “ but it involves compromises that may or may not be journalistically acceptable . Obviously , you have problems of verification . Anonymity brings the risk that a person might fabricate , play pranks or complete the survey multiple times . So the editors would need to decide whether those compromises are livable .”
LoMonte also notes that a key trigger of the federal regulation is whether the survey is required by the school . It ’ s important to conduct surveys in a manner that makes clear that participation is optional .
Marilyn Hess ’ students at Plainwell High School in Plainwell , Michigan , who create the Trojan Torch newspaper , have found a way to make all this work . “ Recently , my students , unprompted by me , started using