Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment: consultation analysis

Appendix C: Technical appendix

Method

1. The survey data was collected by online survey designed and scripted by the Scottish Government and hosted on Smart Survey. CCG responses were collected by the Independent Review Group, established for this purpose.

2. The Review survey was sent to schools and colleges in Scotland.

3. 331 valid survey responses were received via Smart Survey, of which 311 were valid (that is contained data). A further 34 responses from schools and colleges were submitted directly to Scottish Government via email.

4. The Review consultation was issued on 3 March 2023. This report contains responses received until 14 April 2023. A supplementary report containing responses received between 15 April and 2 May 2023 will be produced under separate cover.

5. Respondents to internet self-completion surveys and consultations are self-selecting and complete the survey without the assistance of a trained interviewer.

6. The Independent Review Group ran a series of allied discussion groups with the Consultative Community Groups (CCGs). These covered a broad range of stakeholder groups including learners, teachers, parents/carers, policy makers and users of qualifications. In total, detailed responses were received from 19 CCGs and allied discussion groups, representing the views of over 400 people.

7. All research projects undertaken by Progressive comply fully with the requirements of ISO 20252, the GDPR and the MRS Code of Conduct.

Data processing and analysis

8. Raw data was imported into Progressive's SNAP analysis software package. Data that could not be automatically input was entered manually. Responses were checked for completeness and sense.

9. Responses to open-ended questions were spell and sense checked.

10. A coding framework was developed to support the analysis of responses and reviewed by the executive team. Responses were coded by Progressive's experienced team of coders. Non-standard and CCG responses were analysed separately.