seeing is believing

$$Chip$,$ I know the interviews took a long time, but they were worth it$,$ Anna says defensively as Chip enters her office with a worried look on his face. $$I$$m sure of that,$$ Chip says. $$You really made a good impression on them. People have stopped me in the hall and said they$$re glad we$$re working on the new system. I$$m not worried about the interviews themselves. But I was concerned that we didn$$t have time to discuss observations before you did them.$$Rest assured, I was all eyes,$$ Anna laughs. $$I used a technique called STROBE, or Structured Observation of the Environment, to see our decision maker$$s habitats systematically. You$$ll be interested in these notes I wrote up for each person I interviewed,$$ says Anna, as she hands Chip her written, organized observations from each interview.

EXERCISES

These exercises require that you visit the Web site to obtain observations of the decision makers$$ offices. Please visit the Web site at www$.$pearsonhighered.com$/$kendall and look for $$CPU Observations of Decision Makers$$ Offices.$$

E$-1.$ Analyze the five interviews. In a paragraph, discuss what type of structure each interview had.

E$-2.$ List each interview, $1$ through $5,$ and then write a paragraph for each, discussing ways that Anna might improve on her interviews for next time.

E$-3.$ Analyze the questions used in the five interviews. In a paragraph, discuss the question types used and whether they were appropriate for getting needed information.

E$-4.$ From the list of concerns presented earlier in this chapter, select the issues that would best be phrased as closed questions.

E$-5.$ From the list of concerns, select the issues that would best be phrased as open$-$ended questions.

E$-6.$ On the basis of Exercises E$-4$ and E$-5,$ design a questionnaire to be sent to the faculty and research staff.

E$-7.$ Pilot your questionnaire by having other students in class fill it out. On the basis of their feedback and your capability to analyze the data you receive, revise your questionnaire.