Surveys

Overview

Surveys can be very useful tools for gathering information about an array of topics and obtaining feedback for assessment or evaluation purposes. However, if the survey is poorly constructed, the results could be invalid, biased, or misleading. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Planning (OIESP) is here to help you with your survey process.

A survey is most useful when it has clear goals, a succinct purpose and is easy to navigate. Ideally, surveys are used to gather insights from a sample and the data is used in tandem with other data sources to inform decision-making.

Th procedures outlined below aims to provide all Nassau Community College (NCC) constituents with specific standards and procedures to ebsure good survey practices are being used and guard against survey fatigue among student, faculty and administrator/staff respondents.

Survey Procedures

• All surveys sent to NCC students, faculty, administrators/staff and alumni, unless otherwise approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), must be administered via Survey Monkey or Microsoft Forms.
• Surveys must be designed using the campus approved templates for Survey Monkey or Microsoft Forms.
• To request a Survey Monkey account, please contact OIESP at: oir@ncc.edu.
• All surveys, regardless of their intent, use and sample, must be reviewed by the IRB.
• Surveys seeking IRB review must be submitted at least 60 days prior to their launch.
• Surveys without an IRB approval number included on the instrument will be immediately terminated.
• Surveys that are not collecting any personally identifiable information will undergo Expedited Review. Personally identifiable information includes but is not limited to: home address, personal email address, personal telephone numbers, writing samples, biometric or healthcare data.
• The survey launch date, regardless of the survey’s intent and use, must be approved by OIESP at least 60 days prior to the survey’s proposed start date.
• External stakeholders including consultants, vendors and grant partners must adhere to the College’s survey procedures.

Steps for Successful Surveys

A survey may not be the best way to gather the information you are looking for. Be sure to review these considerations first, before proceeding:

• Are you looking for specific, in-depth information from students? Perhaps a focus group is a better fit. Consult with OIESP if a focus group is being designed.
• Conduct a literature review on the topic with respect to your target population. What is already known about the topic you are interested in? Could you generalize that information to meet your needs instead?
• Are there national data sets available that would provide the data you need?
• Are there surveys already conducted by NCC that you could use? (i.e., Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), Graduating Student and Internship Survey, etc.)
• Are there data available via the NCC dashboards that could provide you with the information you are seeking?
• Consider survey fatigue. Surveys should be thoughtful on design, length, and schedule. Contact OIESP to inquire about the NCC’s survey schedule and determine if your survey will interfere.
• Consider the benefit to the survey taker, and if the survey responses will be actionable.