66.1 Overview

The PIRLS 2001 data collection was a very complex undertaking in each country, requiring close cooperation between the National Research Coordinator (NRC) and school personnel – including stu-dents and their parents, school principals, and teachers. Survey operations and procedures for administering the PIRLS 2001 assessment were developed by the international project team, and documented in a series of manuals provided to the national cen-ters. Each country was responsible for implementing the proce-dures according to the international standards. The PIRLS 2001 survey operations were designed collaboratively by the International Study Center (ISC) at Boston College, the IEA Data Processing Center, and Statistics Canada. They were based on proce-dures used successfully in TIMSS and other IEA studies, and refined on the basis of the PIRLS 2001 field-test experience. As well as providing data to inform the instrument development process, the field test, which was conducted in 30 countries in September 2000, allowed participating countries to gain practical experience with the procedures described in the manuals, and provided an opportunity to identify areas in need of improvement. This chapter describes the survey operations used to collect the PIRLS data, including: the procedure for sampling classrooms within schools and tracking students and teachers, the steps involved in administering the achievement tests and background questionnaires, and the requirements for monitoring the quality of the data collection. It also describes the activities involved in preparing the data files at the national center, particularly thos