Research professionals at Penn State now have a new tool that may help to increase large-scale survey response rates. The Penn State Survey Calendar was developed by the Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research (OPAIR) to help researchers plan their surveys to minimize project overlap across the University.
Simultaneously releasing multiple, large-scale surveys to overlapping populations can reduce response rates for all projects by creating confusion between surveys and causing survey fatigue. With this new tool, researchers can consult the Survey Calendar to view the timing and sample populations of other large surveys being conducted throughout the University. After selecting an opportune timeframe, they can help buffer their own large survey by adding it to this calendar.
While there is currently no numeric definition of what constitutes a large survey at Penn State, large-scale surveys tend to involve all students or employees of the University, all students or employees of a single campus or college, or a sampling across multiple colleges or campuses.
All large-scale surveys should be submitted for inclusion on the Survey Calendar. Smaller surveys such as those sampling for a subset of students or faculty within a college, or members of a class or club do not need to submit for inclusion.
The Survey Calendar will gain utility as more surveys are added. To schedule your own survey, complete this short form with the following details:
- Survey name
- Primary contact person
- Survey dates
- Survey population
- Brief description of survey and research questions
For questions regarding the Penn State Survey Calendar, please contact Betty Harper, Interim Assistant Vice Provost for Assessment, OPAIR.