More on Planning for Your Survey Administration
In my last post, I talked a bit about the importance of paying attention to the details of survey administration, focusing specifically on things to consider before you launch a survey. So now the survey is out in the field, and students are responding. There are still important actions you can take that can positively impact the survey while the survey is open.
Be aware when choosing survey administration dates-Time your invitations, reminders and advertisements carefully. Do consult and cooperate with other constituencies on campus. Are your students over-surveyed? Do try to give students a break from a barrage of surveys by timing them or setting up a sampling structure.
Monitor your response rates-We sometimes hear from schools after their administration has closed that they had problems with their survey, but did not realize it until the survey was over and they looked at their response rate. It makes a lot of sense to look at how your students are responding while the survey is going on, because you can intervene when necessary—sending additional reminders about the survey, changing the date or time the reminders are being sent, altering the text of the reminders if the language you used is not effective or contains an error. You also can adjust your sample size as necessary to account for bad email addresses, students who have withdrawn from the institution, or were not present to complete the survey during the administration period.
Advertising-Take advantage of social media like Twitter and Facebook. Consider posting “fun facts” from previous survey administrations or highlighting items student care about in between “official” reminders to participate. Email announcements might get better responses if they come from a trusted or well-liked administrator or member of the student affairs staff. Where you have more time or space to get into detail, as with student newspapers articles or ads, it’s always nice to illustrate how the results have been used on campus, or what can be learned from the results. Time visits to important student venues (Convocations, Student Government meetings) to coincide with survey administration. Knowledgeable student leaders can be great advocates, and their advertisements may capture students’ attention.
Incentives-Some campuses have great luck with a small token for each respondent who completes the survey, for example a gift card to the bookstore. Other schools have greater luck with a drawing or raffle for larger prizes, like a parking pass for the academic year. Perhaps more importantly, talk with students about what they want, and what others on campus have done. Just because an incentive was valued last year does not mean it will work again, and what entices first-years may not work with seniors. Lastly, announce the winners of the prizes or the final response rate to the participants.
Troubleshooting-Are other administrators and faculty aware of the survey? It can be helpful to inform key faculty and administrators whom students trust that the survey invitations have gone out. If faculty and administrators value the survey and understand what they can learn from it, they are more likely to respond encouragingly to students interested in participating.
