Survey Policy

Policy Statement

The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) will coordinate and manage survey development, administration, and data collection for SUNY Oneonta. OIR will maintain a survey calendar and assist academic and non-academic departments in collecting survey data from relevant populations that include students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The purpose of this policy is to ensure the appropriate methodological survey practices are applied when conducting survey design, administration, analysis, and reporting.

Rationale

Surveys are an increasingly popular method for gathering information and feedback from college constituencies. It is important to provide a coordinated approach when conducting surveys in order to:

1. Ensure that survey design, administration, analysis, and reporting are methodologically sound.
2. Ensure that surveys conducted on behalf of the College adhere to high and consistent standards of quality that maintain the integrity of the College’s reputation.
3. Minimize collection of duplicate data and “survey fatigue” by combining data collection needs whenever possible and appropriate, and managing the number and timing of multiple surveys to the same group of respondents.
4. Maintain a thorough record of survey tools and aggregate results.

Applicability of the Policy

The policy covers all instances of survey deployment to the SUNY Oneonta community (students, staff, faculty, alumni, etc..) or those who have a business relationship with the campus (donors, Sodexo, etc..). Students conducting a survey outside of the classroom are required to follow this policy with the guidance of a faculty or staff member. The few exceptions to this policy include the following:

• Surveys conducted by a faculty member within their course for the purpose of assessing course comprehension, evaluating instruction, and/or advising of students
• Students surveying students within class for a class assignment
• Survey research utilizing the SONA System on campus.
• Faculty and/or students conducting survey research using a population outside of the SUNY Oneonta campus or alumni community

Acronyms and Definitions

1. Acronyms

1. OIR: Office of Institutional Research
2. ITS: Information Technology Services
3. IRB: Institutional Review Board

2. Definitions

1. Survey: a form of data collection that presents respondents with questions for the purpose of evaluating College programs, functions, or services; or gathering feedback from respondents for decision-making and continuous improvement of same.
2. Institutional Review Board (IRB): Committee that ensures ethical conduct and the protection of human subjects in research according to federal regulations and College policy.
3. SONA System: SUNY Oneonta’ online research participant management system utilized to manage the campus subject pool. Surveys posted on the SONA System must have IRB approval.

Procedures

To review the full procedure of this survey policy, click the URL link or copy and paste the URL into your web browser: https://oneonta365.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/oir/EQx-wLsWzXBEi0NuIgXNRCQBPRrS0TEd4YJN9Zmc-ASfEw?e=CHJ8oi

Forms

Survey Coordination Request Link

Contacts

Questions related to the daily operational interpretation of this policy should be directed to:

Office of Institutional Research

607.436.2844

Oir@oneonta.edu

Related Documents/Policies

• Responsible Conduct in Research
• Confidentiality Policy

Effective Dates

Approved by President/Provost: October 17, 2017

Latest Revision: August 20, 2020

Next Renewal: August 20, 2025