Description
Despite knowing the importance of surveys in improving not only their university experience and quality, many students, persistently choose to decline this offer. This is especially pronounced in the context of giving feedback on tutor experiences in their classes, likely due to nervousness and uncertainty of confidentiality of their feedback.
Hence, as educators it has always been a challenge to persuade students to participate. Although there is no single number that defines an acceptable survey response rate, it is generally accepted that higher response rates will likely lessen the possibility of non-response bias. The challenge of improving response rates is further exacerbated when surveys are conducted online, where response rates are typically lower ~44.1% [1], as compared to paper-based surveys of ~65% [2].
In an attempt to improve survey response rates, the following interventions were implemented:
• allocating time at the beginning of classes,
• letting students know how and where to access the surveys,
• assuring students that their responses will make a meaningful difference,
• and empowering students by letting them know that their honest response will not be seen by the tutors involved.
Although we were able to achieve survey response rates above 50% for all three first-year physics units at The University of Sydney, the quality of individual student responses was poor in general. Nonetheless, by analysing the survey responses along with data on student demographics, we were able to identify a number of factors that correlate to student perceptions of tutors.
REFERENCES
[1] Wu, M.J., Zhao, K. and Fils-Aime, F., 2022. Response rates of online surveys in published research: A meta-analysis. Computers in human behavior reports, 7, p.100206.
[2] Nulty, D.D., 2008. The adequacy of response rates to online and paper surveys: what can be done?. Assessment & evaluation in higher education, 33(3), pp.301-314.
| I am the presenting author | Yes |
|---|