|
Online survey available again
An online cultural assessment survey that was discontinued earlier because of technical problems has finally been made available again.
The survey, prepared by Washington, D.C., consulting firm Nichols & Associates, Inc., had been made available online in February. However, many people complained about some technical dif�ficulties that they experienced when they logged onto the survey. Because of that, the survey was taken off the Net while the problems were fixed. With all the problems eliminated now, the survey has come back online, as of Friday.
Larry Chambers, SCSU director of human resources, said that students, faculty and staff would be able to take the survey until Sunday.
"It will be available 24 hours a day," Chambers said. "We are asking all those who took the earlier survey to retake it now."
Nichols & Associates was hired to assess the cultural diversity climate on campus. The first step of the process involved structured interviews with individuals and focus groups to obtain first-hand data and opinions on issues of cultural diversity on campus. Nichols researchers were on campus in November and conducted about 40 focus groups and also met individually with faculty, staff and students who had requested personal interviews.
Questions for the survey were based on the results from the focus groups and interviews. Some problems that participants of earlier surveys encountered were problems with the screens that appeared on the computer. In some cases, partici�pants would scroll up after answering questions and find their answers missing. This raised con�cerns about whether the survey was capturing the correct information.
There were also concerns about how the ques�tions were developed and how they were phrased. Another concern was the fact that some people were taking the survey multiple times. They used different names, or different ID numbers.
However, this was not too much of a worry, as Nichols & Associates has a mechanism in place to ensure that the integrity of the survey is not harmed.
There is a way in which the survey administra�tors can check ID numbers with SCSU's enroll�ment. Participants of the survey will be asked for an SCSU e-mail account, along with other identifying factors, such as their SCSU ID number. Chambers said this information would only be used by Nichols & Associates to safeguard the integrity of the survey and would not be used to connect an individual to the answers he or she pro�vided.
Chambers said the survey would take about 20 minutes to complete. One difference in the layout of the survey is that it is divided into different sec�tions with several questions in each. Respondents can go over their answers in each section, but once they submit the section and go on to the next, they will not be able to go back and review those answers or change them. Another big difference between the current survey and its predecessor comes at the end of the survey.
"(The respondents) will have the opportunity to comment at the end of the survey about whatever they want," he said.
The survey is one of four different assessments of the racial climate on campus. Two have already been completed, while the results of another has yet to be disclosed.
The online cultural diversity survey can be accessed at http://www.nicholsandassoc.org
Leslie Andres can be reached at: [email protected]
|
|
|
|
|
|
