TALIS Starting Strong 2018 Technical Report

This technical report details the steps, procedures, methodologies, standards and rules that the OECD Starting Strong Teaching and Learning International Survey 2018 (TALIS Starting Strong 2018) used to collect high-quality data. The primary purpose of the report is to support readers of the international and subsequent thematic reports as well as users of the public international database when interpreting results, contextualising information and using the data. A user guide complements this technical report and provides detailed guidance and examples for individuals using the TALIS Starting Strong 2018 data. The report is structured in the form of 12 chapters followed by 10 annexes. Chapters 1 to 12 provide an overview of the conceptual framework and questionnaire development processes, translation and translation verification, further survey operations and quality observations of the field work in the participating countries. It describes the sampling, weighting and adjudication procedures applied, as well as the preparation and structure of the international databases. Also included is an account of the scaling methodology and the results of that scaling along with information on the production and verification of the international results tables. Annexes A to J focus on the individuals and groups who prepared and conducted the survey, the technical standards, forms and questionnaires used, the achieved participation rates of the two populations of interest, and the scaling process and its results. The following summary highlights the key operational parameters and approaches applied in TALIS Starting Strong 2018 and further detailed in this technical report.