Surveys

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The consultative process with OIRE and the Survey Working Group includes:

• Evaluation of Existing Datasets: Determining if there are data that already exist that may provide you with what you need
• Have similar surveys been administered?
• Modality Determination: Establishing the best method of collecting the information (e.g., online survey, paper survey, focus group). Please reach out to us or the Office of Information Technology for help with Qualtrics, the university's survey software.
• Instrument Design:  Developing items and response categories, ordering items, using white space to improve readability, etc.
• Population Selection: Determining the most appropriate population(s) to include, sampling, etc.

With regard to external surveys, there may be times when university personnel are approached by an external individual, group, or other entity, such as the CU Foundation, for the purpose of soliciting participation in a survey that involves University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus students, faculty, staff, or alumni. University personnel approached by such groups are strongly encouraged to contact OIRE to ensure the external survey does not overlap or otherwise conflict with a university-wide survey.

The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness supports the data collection and analysis of campus surveys that are administered to all students on the Denver and/or Anschutz Medical Campuses. This includes the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which is available to all freshman and senior-level undergraduates and is administered once every three years. It also includes system-wide University of Colorado surveys as they are released. Results from these surveys are made available on the OIRE website. 

Some surveys may be subject to review and regulation by the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board (COMIRB), the university’s institutional review board. COMIRB protects the rights and welfare of human research subjects who participate in surveys and other research activities. Please visit the COMIRB website for more information on what research protocols require COMIRB oversight.  

Some surveys may also require approval from the institutional unit (program, department, college, and/or school) enrolling the student population you seek to survey. For example, in the School of Medicine, requests to survey medical students are vetted through a subcommittee of its Curriculum Steering Committee. You may need to check with the appropriate institutional unit to ensure access to your survey population.