(A)
Purpose
The purpose of this rule is to provide
guidance and oversight in the management of surveys that have NEOMED students
as their target population. By requiring that these surveys be registered, the
university will be better able to guard against the over-surveying of students,
manage the frequency and timing of Surveys, and maintain an up-to-date catalog
of all surveys being disseminated to NEOMED students.
(B)
Scope
This rule applies to all persons,
internal and external to NEOMED, who wish to survey NEOMED students. This rule
does not pertain to: Surveys originating from accrediting bodies; course event
RSVPs; polls or election ballots; intra-course or workshop instruments that are
considered assignments (e.g., self-assessments, peer evaluations); or course
and instructor evaluations.
(C)
Definitions
(1)
"Survey" refers
to the gathering of information through written (electronic) questionnaires
that are distributed to NEOMED students and is inclusive of IRB-approved
research survey instruments.
(2)
"NEOMED
Community" refers to NEOMED students, faculty, and staff.
(3)
"Survey
registration form" refers to the online form that collects information about
Surveys that target NEOMED students.
(4)
"Institutional
review board" ("IRB") refers to the university body that governs research in
which human subjects are involved to ensure that the rights and welfare of
those participants are protected while participating in such
research.
(5)
"Research" refers to a systematic investigation,
including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or
contribute to generalizable knowledge. Activities that meet this definition
constitute research for purposes of this rule, whether or not they are
conducted or supported under a program that is considered Research for other
purposes. For example, some demonstration and service programs may include
research activities. (Language taken from the NEOMED IRB procedure
manual).
(D)
Procedure statement
(1)
Survey
registration
(a)
For surveys that have the potential to involve human
subjects research, those wishing to conduct a survey must confer with the
NEOMED IRB for review and approval. If the survey study constitutes research,
the party must forward evidence to the office of institutional research that
IRB approval was granted.
(b)
Completion of the survey registration form is required
for surveys being administered to NEOMED students. Information entered into the
survey registration form will become part of a catalog of all surveys
administered to NEOMED students.
(c)
College-specific
review of survey registration forms must be completed before any survey can be
disseminated to NEOMED students. The institutional research office will
coordinate the review with the colleges whose students are the target audience
of the survey.
(d)
Review of survey registration forms by institutional
research and the respective college(s) will be done within five business days
from the submit date. Parties wishing to conduct surveys should therefore
complete the survey registration form as early as possible before the desired
launch date. The institutional research office will communicate the results of
the review to the party submitting the survey registration
form.
(e)
Review of prospective surveys are done to ensure they
are not an unnecessary burden on the target population whether from redundancy
of content or conflicts with other events in the academic calendar. The review
will consider, at a minimum, the following matters:
(i)
The purpose of
the survey;
(ii)
The target recipients to the survey;
(iii)
The timing of
the survey administration;
(iv)
The frequency of
survey re-administrations; and
(v)
Whether recent
surveys had overlapping purpose(s).
(2)
Survey
administration
The institutional research office
provides overall administrative oversight for campus survey use. Although
parties seeking to conduct surveys are expected to build their own survey
instruments, the institutional research office is available for advice and
consultation on survey development. College-level personnel will also respond
to survey-related questions from members of their college.
(a)
NEOMED community
members, except in exceptional circumstances, are expected to build their
surveys in qualtrics, which is the university-designated survey platform.
Having a single survey platform allows for consistency in data collection and
analysis, saves time and resources, improves data security, and allows for more
efficient monitoring of survey traffic on campus.
(b)
All NEOMED
community members, who have NEOMED email accounts, can get a free qualtrics
account by contacting their college-level qualtrics administrator, or the
institutional research office if the community member is not affiliated with a
college.
(3)
If incentives are offered, the survey tool should
acknowledge to all survey recipients that the incentives do not compromise the
confidentiality or anonymity of the response.
Failure to adhere to the terms of this
rule may result in the inability to conduct future surveys on NEOMED students.
Research misconduct as well as any other survey-related misconduct will be
handled in accordance with rule 3349-20-62 of the Administrative Code, the
university faculty bylaws, the employee handbook and the student handbook, as
appropriate.
Replaces: 3349-3-105
Notes
Ohio Admin. Code
3349-1-105
Effective:
10/3/2024
Promulgated Under:
111.15
Statutory
Authority: 111.15
Rule
Amplifies: 3350.12
Prior
Effective Dates: 09/25/2023, 04/22/2024
