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Campus Surveys & Survey Panels

Background

In the Fall of 2015, the Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning in cooperation with several other UM units, created the Survey Panel Group (SPG) to centralize procedures for requesting student/faculty/staff/alumni sample panels or distribution lists for surveys. This effort began because individuals in IREP and other UM units observed that numerous University of Mississippi units receive internal and external requests for information related to surveys (e.g., email addresses, FERPA-protected student data, personnel and alumni addresses and data).  With no established central guidance, diverse units could provide inconsistent responses and risk violations of federal and state regulations and individual privacy.

Purpose

The Survey Panel Group manages centralized procedures for requesting student/faculty/staff/alumni sample panels for surveys and/or focus group.

The SPG guidelines exist to:

  • Coordinate surveys, potentially resulting in
    1. less “survey fatigue” for UM students, faculty, staff, and alumni – who are frequently asked to complete surveys or participate in focus groups
    2. increased survey response rates resulting in more valid survey results
  • Ensure federal and state regulations and laws are met
  • Protect personal information
  • Ensure best practices related to online security

Definition – survey panel

A survey panel is list of individuals who will be asked to complete a survey and/or will be invited to participate in focus groups.  This list typically includes publicly available directory information, but may include other data about individuals (e.g., classification, gender).

Guidelines

These guidelines apply to all requests for survey panel information (e.g., email addresses, FERPA-protected student data, personnel and alumni addresses and data) for the purpose of directly soliciting individual participation from UM students, faculty, staff, and/or alumni in a survey (online or paper-based data collection tool) and/or focus groups.

Guidelines exclude the following:

  1. Surveys within an office or academic department where the survey author already has access to the sample panel
  2. Surveys evaluating an event or program where the survey author already has access to the sample panel (e.g., surveys sent out to individuals who attended a workshop or event)
  3. Institutional or organizational elections
  4. Surveys that recruit participants indirectly using tools such as social media, UM Today, or the Daily Mississippian

Survey Timing & Processing Priority

  • Generally, requests for sample panels are filled on a first-come, first-served basis
  • Surveys of an institutional nature or those required by a state, federal, or accreditation body have highest priority
  • Moratorium periods for survey distribution, depending on target sample, include but are not limited to:
    • Last week of classes
    • Final exam periods
    • Periods when university is closed
    • Institution-wide survey time periods will be made public at the beginning of each academic term

Fall 2023 Survey Panel Period
Requests for survey panels will be considered from August 21, 2023-November 6, 2023.

Researchers outside of the University of Mississippi

Requests for survey panels from individuals or organizations outside of the University will rarely be approved.  However, an electronic copy of the UM directory can be purchased from the Office of the Registrar.

Administration of University of Mississippi Survey Panels

Individuals preparing to survey individuals (students, faculty, staff and/or alumni) at the University of Mississippi must review the Administration of University of Mississippi Survey Distribution Panels guidelines and following procedures.

These guidelines apply to all requests for survey panel information (e.g., email addresses, FERPA-protected student data, personnel and alumni addresses and data) for the purpose of directly soliciting individual participation from UM students, faculty, staff, and/or alumni in a survey (online or paper-based data collection tool) and/or focus groups.

Exemptions

The following is a list of exemptions to the survey policy application. If your survey meets one of these criteria, you do not have to submit a survey panel application form.

  • Surveys within an office or academic department, where the survey author already has access to the sample panel
  • Surveys evaluating an event or program, where the survey author already has access to the sample panel
  • Institutional or organization elections
  • Surveys that recruit participants indirectly using tools such as social media, UM Today or the Daily Mississippian

Procedure for requesting a survey panel

  1. Prepare survey and/or focus group study.
  2. Submit survey and/or focus group study to IRB for review.
    • Internal researchers conducting surveys that are systematic investigations of individuals designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge must first submit an application to the IRB for approval.  Surveys that receive approval from IRB to sample UM students, faculty, staff, and/or alumni do not automatically receive access to sample panel information.
  3. Complete the Survey Panel Application which requires the following:
    • Purpose of the survey and/or how it will be used
    • Contact information, including department or unit
    • Proof of IRB approval, if applicable
    • Description of the sample, sample size, and justification for the sample size (requests for sample panels greater than 30% of the total population will rarely be approved)
    • Recruitment procedures and timeline
  4. If approved, Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning (IREP) coordinates providing the survey panel to requestor
    • Only one survey panel per survey project will be provided. Multiple panels will not be provided due to low response rates
  5. Allow 3-5 business days for the survey panel application to be reviewed and an additional 5-7 business days for approved panel applications to be fulfilled.

If you have questions, please contact umsurveys@olemiss.edu.

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