MCQ Scanning and Interpretation of Data

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MCQ Scanning and Interpretation of Data

• Developed by
• Dr Robert E Gerber

Centre for Teaching, Learning and Media
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Issues for discussion

• Service procedure
• Dos and don'ts for the MCQ test paper
• How to use the scanning answer sheet
• Preparing the scanner memorandum
• What you will receive back
• How to interpret the data
• Importing data to an Excel spreadsheet
• Manipulating the data in Excel
• Contact persons

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Service procedure

• Before the MCQ Test
• E-mail Phikisa Hobana (Ext 9056) at CTLM to
  request the number of scanner sheets you require.
• She will send the scanner via internal post to
  the Media Centre at South Campus.
• Collect the scanner forms from the BLUE BOX at
  the Media Centre.
• After the MCQ Test
• Deposit the completed scanner forms in the
  envelope provided with the information completed
  on the form on the outside of the envelope in the
  BLUE BOX at the Media Centre at South Campus.
• Internal post Services will collect the box and
  bring it to North Campus.
• Phikisa will scan the forms and send the data via
  e-mail to the lecturer.
• Collect the scanner forms in the envelope from
  the BLUE BOX at the Media Centre at South Campus
  the day after you received the e-mail from
  Phikisa.

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Dos and don'ts for the MCQ test paper

• On the question paper indicate how to answer the
  questions, eg
• For each question, select the CORRECT answer from
  the list of alternatives (A D) and indicate
  your choice on the scanner sheet provided. ONLY
  ONE answer per question is allowed.
• You may allow a maximum of ONE correct answer
  plus 5 distractors. NB 3 distractors is normal
  practice.
• YES/NO or TRUE/FALSE questions are allowed, BUT
  indicate with A or B which is YES/NO or
  TRUE/FALSE.
• A maximum of 100 questions are allowed per test
  or exam.
• If you use the open spaces for open-ended short
  questions you have to mark them yourself
  scanner cannot mark it.

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How to use the scanning answer sheet

• Fill in the information required in the top left
  hand corner of one of the scanner answer sheets
  i.e. student name, name of lecturer,
  subject/module code and date.
• Immediately before the test or examination, show
  students where to fill in the students name,
  lecturers name, the subject/module code and date
  on their scanner sheets.
• Take students through the instructions on how to
  mark the circles on the answer sheet in response
  to the set MCQ items.
• Also show students how to write their student
  number in the red and white blocks allocated and
  how to mark the circles under each number
  specified. For example, if the student number is
  20625256, the student marks the number 2 in the
  first column, the 0 in the second column and so
  on.
• Students then write their ID number in the
  adjacent red and white blocks allocated and mark
  the circles under each number specified as
  exemplified above.
• Indicate to students whether any open-ended
  questions are set in the question paper and where
  to write down the answer on the scanner answer
  sheet.
• The scanner sheet allows up to six response
  options (one key answer and five distracters).
  Point out to students if you have varied the
  number of response options or kept them the same.
  
• Ask the students to indicate the best possible
  answer to each question on this sheet.
• Warn students not to fold the scanner sheet or
  dog-ear the corners as this will influence the
  way in which the computerised optical scanner
  captures data in the scanner sheet and translates
  this into digital data in order to allocate
  marks.

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Preparing the scanner memorandum

• Use a scanner answer sheet for your memorandum
  template.
• Complete the Lecturer, Subject Code, Date
  section with the correct information.
• Colour in ALL the number 1s in the Student
  Number and ID Number section bubbles. If this
  is not done, the programme computing the results
  will compute a no result.
• Colour in the correct option next to the question
  numbers. NB The scanner programme does not
  allow more than ONE possible answer option.
• CTLM can not be held responsible for wrong
  memorandums or changing data in the output files
  as a result of defect memoranda.

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What you will receive back

• An e-mail from Phikisa containing 3 files
  attached
• LPT
• TXT
• DT1, and
• instructions for using the data.
• The scanned forms with a number, in the same
  sequence as the documents that have been returned
  to you, indicated on each form.

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How to interpret the data

• Check the correctness of the number of questions
  indicated in the DT1 file before you import any
  files to Excel.
• In the data files errors are indicate with an
  asterisk () for more than one option indicated
  or an underscore (_) for an empty/non-selected
  option. In the case of the asterisks () you can
  change the selected option in the DT1 file and
  follow the procedure indicated in 3.
• 1 You can print the LPT file with MS WordPad  -
  use left and  right margins of 10mm and top and
  bottom margins of 13 mm otherwise it will not fit
  the page nicely and also waste blank pages if the
  margins are as huge as the defaults which I have
  seen.
• 2 The TXT file can be imported into an Excel
  spreadsheet if you wish once you have done this
  you need to throw the last line away.  It is
  there to prove that everything has been imported.
• 3 The DT1 file is a file of the data in the same
  sequence as the documents have been returned to
  you. You can use the error list and the documents
  to decide on corrections which can be done to the
  DT1 file using MS WordPad.  You can then run the
  Multiple Choice program yourself using this file
  as input and re-creating the LPT and TXT files.
  It prints nicely in landscape mode. It can also
  be printed with MS WordPad but use landscape mode
  and the same margins as mentioned above.

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Importing data to an Excel spreadsheet

• Open an Excel spreadsheet.
• Copy your class list with student surname,
  student name and student number in this order in
  3 different columns A-C to sheet 1.
• Sort ascending according to student numbers.
• Open sheet 2 of the spreadsheet.
• Import your TXT file as external data using fixed
  width and not delimited.
• Click on Data in the top toolbar.
• Click on Import External Data in the drop down
  menu.
• Click on Import Data in the drop down menu.
• Select your Data Source.
• Select All Files in File Types and click on the
  TXT file.
• Select Fixed Width and click on Next.
• Click Next again and then Finish and then OK.
• Your data will appear in sheet 2.
• Delete the ID column column B.
• Column A student number column B mark out of
  total number of questions set and column C .
• High light all and Sort ascending according to
  student numbers.
• High light and Copy columns A-C
• Paste in columns D-F in sheet 1.
• Check 2 student number columns for congruency and
  manipulate by Cut and Paste if not congruent.

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Manipulating the data in Excel

• Check 2 student number columns for congruency.
• If NOT congruent Cut from columns D-F and Paste
  next to similar student number in columns A-C.
• See example sheets.

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Contact Persons

• Queries, scan forms, problems, etc
• Phikisa Hobana (Ext 9056) e-mail
  phikisa.hobana_at_nmmu.ac.za
• For urgent problems
• Dr Robert Gerber (Ext 3492) e-mail
  robert.gerber_at_nmmu.ac.za