Guidelines and Principles for Conducting Surveys at UMBC

It is the responsibility of the survey administrator:
  • to be aware of institutional policies and procedures outlined in this document with respect to
    •  the use of human subjects;
    •  protection of students, faculty and staff privacy; and
    •  sharing/reporting/publishing results accurately and in a responsible manner.
  • to design and conduct a survey that is methodologically sound.
  • to ensure that, with the exception of approved (IRB) studies that may be conducted to answer specific research questions, the primary purpose of the survey is to benefit the UMBC community, i.e. to assist in the design and development of instructional and other educational programming, and to inform practices, policies and procedures.
  • to ensure that survey questions and related communications reflect the values of UMBC as an honors university, including academic integrity, inclusiveness and diversity, social responsibility, and intensive intellectual inquiry.
  • to confer, prior to administering the survey, with appropriate programs, departments, and units whose students may be a primary targeted audience for survey participation (i.e. students in particular majors, students participating in scholar programs, residential students, etc) or whose programs and/or services may be included in the assessment.