Pinnacles and Pitfalls: Researcher Experiences from a Web-Based Survey of Secondary Teachers

This article examines the experience of conducting a web-based survey with secondary teachers in Queensland schools. The survey was designed to collect data concerning teachers' attitudes and understanding about students with learning difficulties in their classes. Rather than discuss survey findings, however, the present article focuses on sponsors as a vehicle for online survey promotion, as well as on aspects of survey coverage, rates of response and teacher motivations to participate. Gatekeeping and technical issues emerged as significant issues affecting teacher response. Two hundred and eighty teachers employed in state and non-government schools completed surveys for this exploratory research and constituted a convenience sample for the study.