Overview

The responsibilities of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics Survey Review committee are to develop standards for and review surveys (except survey instruments certified by the appropriate department head as being copyrighted or published in another refereed form) that are conducted in the name of and/or funded through the College. The committee’s objectives are to ensure that surveys address the study’s objectives, the burden on respondents is minimized, no questions of an embarrassing nature are asked, and University regulations have otherwise been satisfied.

The committee will consist of at least two members from the Agricultural Biometric Service in the Agricultural and Extension Education Department and at least two members in the College with expertise in survey design. A member of the Agricultural Biometric Service will chair the committee. The committee will be administered by the Department Head in Agricultural and Extension Education. The department head will assist in nominating faculty to fill vacancies. All nominations must be approved by the Dean.

Requests may come to the committee either via the College administration or directly from individuals. Upon a request for review, two members (including one statistician) of the Survey Review Committee are assigned by the chair to work directly with the investigator(s). Reviews may range from a single contact to several exchanges, and may involve proposals for revisions of questions, data collection techniques, modifications of objectives, or sampling methods. At times, a survey may require extensive revisions or even redesign. When the survey is determined to be acceptable, the chair of the Survey Review Committee will sign and forward the recommendation form and accompanying documentation to the Dean for signature.

In most cases the relationship is that of a colleague – with the committee members providing survey expertise. The occasion may arise when the committee concludes that a survey does not adequately meet minimal methodology standards and will therefore not approve the survey without substantial revision.

The College recognizes that the review may be perceived as an unnecessary burden and as delaying the survey. For most proposed surveys, the process will be rapid. It is only when the committee perceives problems that delays may occur.