Best time of year to distribute faculty surveys?

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Joyce Chapman

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Jul 25, 2022, 12:01:41 PM7/25/22
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Hi all,

 

When have academic libraries found to be the best time of year to distribute a faculty survey and get the best response rate? The last time we did a faculty survey we selected mid Sept through mid-October as the distribution period. We’re wondering if you have found other times of year that work well.

 

Thanks!

Joyce

Laura Baker

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Jul 25, 2022, 12:55:14 PM7/25/22
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We've tried those general dates as well as slightly later times in the fall and spring semesters and have had only moderate response, so I'm not sure timing is the issue.

That said, here are times we try to avoid:

beginning of semester
midterms
finals times
any time when other entities are going to issue a survey

On our campus, we have to coordinate with a central office to send out surveys.  They help space the surveys out between groups in an attempt to avoid survey fatigue.

What does seem to help:

Keeping track of departmental response rate and urging those unrepresented to respond.
Presenting results of the survey.
Showing what the library does as a result of the survey.  If you can demonstrate that the survey influences decisions that affect faculty, they are more likely to take the time to give feedback.

Of course, these things take more time, but the follow-through paves the way for future communication.

I'm interested in other schools' experiences as well.

Laura Baker

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laura Baker
Librarian -- User Experience and Assessment
Abilene Christian University Library
221 Brown Library / ACU Box 29208
Abilene, TX  79699-9208

bak...@acu.edu
phone: (325) 674-2477
fax:   (325) 674-2202
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Maloy, Frances

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Jul 25, 2022, 1:13:53 PM7/25/22
to Laura Baker, arl-a...@arl.org
I asked the faculty on my library committee and they recommended distributing it during finals. We sent the survey out just before the last day of classes and sent reminders during reading period and during finals. The Ithaka S and R team was very surprised at the high response rate.  

Frances Maloy
College Librarian
Schaffer Library
Union College
807 Union Street
Schenectady, NY 12308
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Elizabeth Brown

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Jul 25, 2022, 2:44:18 PM7/25/22
to Maloy, Frances, Laura Baker, arl-a...@arl.org
Our last Ithaka Local Survey administration for faculty and students was from mid-November to early-December. We had a reasonably good response rate. Our OIRA head strongly advised not administering a student survey before November in the fall semester. 
Beth

Nicole Betancourt

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Jul 29, 2022, 9:24:22 AM7/29/22
to Elizabeth Brown, Maloy, Frances, Laura Baker, arl-a...@arl.org

Hi All,

 

I thought I might weigh in here with some information on what we recommend and have seen in recent years.

 

When fielding surveys in the fall, October tends to be the most popular time to field surveys. Launching in October gives folks a few weeks to settle in for the semester or term. We also see institutions run both surveys of faculty and students in the fall, though some institutions prefer to survey students in the spring so that any new students starting out in the fall have had some time to get more familiar with the institution and the library. Fielding surveys in the spring gives a much wider window of time to work with – we’ve seen some institutions launch their surveys in winter (January/February) and some in the more traditional spring period (March, April, May).

 

We do recommend avoiding any break periods or holidays if possible (Thanksgiving week, winter or spring breaks, etc.) or if a break does occur during fieldwork, extending fieldwork by an additional week and not sending out any communications during the break week. It is also always good to check with your IR office or any other relevant folks about what surveys are coming up so that you can slot in your surveys or ensure that fieldwork does not overlap with another large-scale survey if possible.

 

In terms of response rates, it varies. Ever since the start of the pandemic we have seen slightly lower response rates – likely for a variety of reasons. We were indeed surprised by the high response rates we saw at Union College given that they fielded their faculty survey during the end of the semester, which we usually recommend against. For some institutions an approach like this might make sense.

 

I hope this information helps! Happy to weigh in on this thread a bit more if there are any questions on this.

 

Nicole

 

Nicole Betancourt
Survey and Research Operations Analyst, ITHAKA S+R

One Liberty Plaza, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10006

Phone: 646.884.5968

Cell: 347.499.0880

Pronouns: she/her
Email:
nicole.b...@ithaka.org

 

ITHAKA is a not-for-profit with a mission to improve access to knowledge and education for people around the world. We believe education is key to the well-being of individuals and society. Through our work, we make higher education and access to knowledge more affordable, improve outcomes for students and researchers, and preserve knowledge for future generations.

 

From: 'Elizabeth Brown' via ARL ASSESS <arl-a...@arl.org>
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2022 2:44 PM
To: Maloy, Frances <mal...@union.edu>
Cc: Laura Baker <bak...@acu.edu>; arl-a...@arl.org
Subject: Re: [External Email] Re: [ARL-ASSESS] Best time of year to distribute faculty surveys?

 

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