Hi Margaret,
In my reading you are raising at least two quite different questions.
The first is about a term: "conceptual clarity". (I am assuming by 'term' you mean a linguistic descriptor, and not an element or input in a equation.) The problem is whether or not 'conceptual clarity' (the term) would be understood well? And also, would respondents share an understanding of 'conceptual' and would their responses therefore be useful? Should a different word be used instead? I think there is a good chance they would all share a general idea of what 'conceptual' means in the context you propose, but is 'conceptual' necessary at all. Isn't plain 'clarity' much the same thing?
The second is about a "measure" or indicator of quality. The problem is whether or not 'conceptual clarity' (the measurable) is a useful (or even measurable) indicator for quality of learning resource content? I am not sure if it is quantifiable, but you should get a measurable sense of quality by asking the question. The question remains, however, as to whether the results reveal information about the clarity of the learning resources, or about the abilities of the students.
A better thing to measure, in that case, might be "How well did you feel the resources provided matched your current ability to understand the material independently?" That could be backed up by "How well equipped were you to find additional resources or people to assist you?"
Hope this helps,
Mark
________________________________________
From: learning development in higher education network [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Margaret.MacDougall [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2015 4:42 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Assessing learning resource quality in terms of conceptual clarity - please respond to this version
Dear Colleagues
I would be interested to learn your views on whether or not 'conceptual
clarity' is a useful term to include in a questionnaire designed for
students to evaluate learning resources.
Are there alternative but related measures of quality of learning
resource content which could be more meaningful to the respondent?
Thanks in advance.
I have corrected a few typos in my previous message so please kindly
reply to this version.
Best wishes
Margaret
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Dr Margaret MacDougall
Medical Statistician and Researcher in Education
Centre for Population Health Sciences
College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
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Edinburgh EH8 9AG
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