Survey Policies and Resources

The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) serves as the University of Puget Sound survey clearinghouse. It holds delegated authority to review, approve, and coordinate efforts to survey members of the Puget Sound community for operational activities and internal management purposes. Survey activity affected by this policy includes, but is not limited to, research conducted for program evaluation, quality assurance, fiscal or program audits, and marketing studies. OIR survey oversight applies to all Puget Sound affiliated faculty, students, and staff. OIR approval is encouraged, but not mandated, for surveys used for student academic work or faculty scholarship, provided that the information gathered will not be used for any of the types of research listed above.

OIR survey oversight does not supersede the policies and procedures of the Institutional Review Board. Regardless of whether a given survey is subject to OIR oversight, researchers are still responsible for obtaining required IRB exemptions or permissions before implementing any survey or other research tool.

Goals

In executing its survey oversight responsibilities, OIR will pursue the following goals:

1. Protect the rights, privacy, and safety of potential survey respondents
2. Facilitate the development and administration of high-quality survey tools
3. Minimize over-surveying of college groups
4. Eliminate collection of duplicate information
5. Ensure effective dissemination of survey results within the Puget Sound community
6. Promote the use of Qualtrics, the College's online survey tool

Puget Sound Survey Resources

• Puget Sound Survey Policies and Procedures (pdf version)
• University of Puget Sound Information and Use Security Policy
• Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects: Principles and Procedures Governing the Use of Human Subjects in Research (DOC)
• Survey Request Process

Puget Sound Survey Calendar

A calendar of currently scheduled surveys, including survey abstracts and descriptions of target populations, is available to members of the Puget Sound community via the Microsoft Outlook calendar function. To view the Puget Sound Survey calendar, perform the following:

1. Log on to any campus computer.
2. Open Microsoft Outlook
3. Select the “Calendar” tab
4. Select “Open a Shared Calendar”
5. In the Name box, enter the “survey.”
6. Select “OK”

If you cannot access the Puget Sound Survey calendar, please contact OIR at (253) 879-3174.