Survey Administration Process

The institutional survey process mandates that all non-academic research surveys administered at the University be reviewed by Institutional Analysis and Planning (IAP) on behalf of the Survey Advisory Committee (SAC), per Policy 55. This ensures survey coordination to maximize the opportunity for strong response rates and to obtain reliable data.

An overview of the survey administration process is outlined below.

Are my survey questions available in existing surveys?

IAP regularly administers campus-wide surveys to current students (undergraduate and graduate) and alumni, with results typically available by Faculty and program.

University of Waterloo stakeholders are encouraged to review existing surveys to determine if their needs can be met by existing data, and send a request to IAP through the Survey data request form.

IAP will assess the data requested to see if the sample size (the number of survey respondents) is large enough for effective analysis; after which we will generate a report for the requesting party.

If the required information is not available, programs and Faculties may want to develop their own survey. A Survey Toolkit is available as a resource to support survey development and administration. This resource provides information about how to plan and implement a survey, best practices in survey administration, and offers support materials (e.g. sample questions, invitation letters).

Is my survey for academic research?

There are two groups of surveys discussed in this section: (1) Academic research surveys, and (2) all other surveys as described in the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS2) such as quality assurance, assessment, administrative, program review and evaluation surveys etc.

Academic research surveys are to be reviewed for ethical compliance by the Office of Research Ethics (ORE) while all other surveys receive a delegated review by IAP per Policy 55. The University of Waterloo expects all surveys to follow standard practices in ethical behavior. IAP reviews all surveys according to ethical guidelines and may consult the ORE for additional guidance. The ORE website offers some helpful resources.

  • Action: Consult the ORE decision tree to determine if your project requires an ethics review by ORE (academic research surveys) or by IAP (all other surveys).
    • Please note that an academic research survey may be referred to IAP for purposes of awareness, timing and coordination with other institutional surveys.
    • Also note that IAP reserves the right to determine whether the survey requires an additional ORE review.
  • Action: If the survey is for non-academic purposes, submit your survey project to IAP for review via the survey review form.

What is the survey review process?

If the survey project is for non-academic purposes such as quality assurance, assessment, administrative, program review and evaluation surveys and targets a sample of 500 or more, and/or poses higher than minimal risk, the survey need only be reviewed by IAP, on behalf of the Survey Advisory Committee (SAC).

If you are unsure about the type of review needed, please review the Survey Risk level webpage or consult the Survey Risk Level Flow-Chart.

  • Action: To begin the IAP survey review process, please send the following items to IAP through the survey review form:
    • the target population,
    • a brief description of the purpose of the survey,
    • your proposed survey start and end dates
    • a description of proposed incentives (if any), and
    • attach a copy of the survey instrument, invitation and reminder letters, incentives contest rules and privacy policy (as applicable)

During the course of a year, many Faculties, departments and campus groups send surveys to similar student and alumni populations. To limit survey burden on respondents and to optimise the response rate, it is important to coordinate survey timelines with IAP.

  • Action: Review IAP's survey calendar to select an appropriate survey timeline with minimal overlap with other surveys.

Survey review requests are usually fulfilled within two weeks of the request date. However, please note that the nature and complexity of the survey may require additional consultation from subject matter experts such as the Office of Research Ethics, Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-racism, and even the Survey Advisory Committee (SAC), which may impact review completion date. In such cases, you will be notified accordingly and may be asked to provide more project details or complete the Survey Advisory Committee (SAC) review form. Every effort will be made to process your request in a timely manner.

Once these survey project and resources have been reviewed, you can then go ahead with obtaining a contact file and sending out the survey.

How do I access the survey population?

Once your survey questions have been reviewed and approved by IAP, you will need to request permission from the data steward of the appropriate survey target population to access the population.

Contact information for different population groups are maintained by related campus groups (known as data stewards). Each data steward has its own procedures for how to obtain contact information (names and e-mail addresses) and send out surveys.

  • Action: Contact the appropriate data stewards to request permission to to access your survey population and send your survey out.

How do I program and send out the survey?

Stakeholders interested in administering a survey will need to program and send out the survey themselves or with assistance from the data stewards listed above, as dictated by their processes. 

  • Action: Select the appropriate survey data collection tool that best meets your needs

There are a number of online tools that can be used to program, collect, and analyze your survey data. The Qualtrics survey tool is available to all University of Waterloo students and employees. Please visit the Information Systems and Technology (IST) department Qualtrics catalogue for more information on how to request access.

Stakeholders can use other tools that suit their purposes such as: Fluid Surveys, Survey Monkey etc. IAP does not endorse any specific software or service. It is advisable to consult with IST on data security when selecting a survey tool.

Additionally, the Statistical Consulting and Survey Research Unity (SCSRU) is available to those who need help planning, administering, and analyzing their survey. For more information, please contact SCSRU by email or complete the Survey research services checklist form.

Send survey results to IAP

After the survey has concluded, high-level summary reports should be shared with IAP for our records, and can be included in the survey repository with the stakeholders permission. Reports will be restricted to the Waterloo campus body.