Frequently Asked Questions

Any survey that meets one of the following conditions should undergo the IUBSC review process

• Surveys that request a random sample of IUB students, faculty, or staff.
• Surveys that will generalize to the broader IUB population of students, faculty, or staff.
• Surveys that target specific subpopulations such as enrollment status, gender, ethnicity.
• Surveys used for institutional measures and improvement.
• Any survey intended for listing on the IUBSC website.

Small scale or focused intent surveys, such as academic faculty research surveys, assigned course work, focus groups, participants' event evaluations, or point-of-service surveys targeting specific users that do not meet one of the above conditions are not subject to this process or the survey approval form.

If you have questions about whether your survey needs Indiana University Bloomington Survey Committee (IUBSC) approval, contact the IUBSC by emailing Linda Shepard or Angie Gast.

The IUBSC review process is for surveys that target current Indiana University Bloomington students, faculty, and staff. If you are interested in surveying populations from other IU campuses, please contact University Institutional Research and Reporting.

To help us accommodate your request dates and sample needs, the following submission deadlines should be observed:

• Fall semester surveys — July 1
• Spring semester surveys — November 1
• Summer surveys — March 1

Please note that your requested start date may not fall into the expected semester. Please see the question “How do I determine which submission deadline is appropriate for my survey?” for more information.

Student names needed to administer a survey will not be made available until after classes have started. For the purposes of the IUBSC, surveys that begin administration within the dates below will be considered part of the corresponding semester.

• September 1 – December 31 — Fall semester
• January 1 – April 30 — Spring semester
• May 1 – August 31 — Summer semester

Please note that your requested survey start date may affect submission deadlines and the availability of semester based samples.

If you have missed the submission deadline and still want to submit a survey for review, please do submit a Survey Request Form. There is no guarantee that the IUBSC will be able to accommodate your requested dates; however, it may be possible to administer your survey the following semester. You will be contacted after the committee has reviewed your survey.

Please contact Angie Gast or Linda Shepard if you have further questions.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. It is the responsibility of the researcher to ensure FERPA compliance. For more information about FERPA, visit the Office of Research and Compliance page on FERPA Policies & Guidance, or visit IU’s FERPA website.

There are four classification levels of institutional data at Indiana University. For examples and descriptions visit Data Management at IU.

IRB approval is not required; however, ensure that you are aware of the IRB requirements for studies involving human subjects. For more information about IRB approval at IU, visit the Research Related Policies from the Office of Research Administration.

When you submit the Survey Approval Request Form, you should receive an email confirming your submission. This email contains a link to view a record of your survey request submission. To make changes to this record, click the edit icon at the top-right of the record.

If you didn’t receive this email, or if you no longer have access to this link, please contact Angie Gast.

Surveys that have been previously approved by the IUBSC and previously administered are required to submit for approval to re-administer the survey; however, this process is more streamlined than an initial submission. If you would like to apply to re-administer a survey, please contact Angie Gast to request access to the Survey Re-Administration Form.

If there have been significant changes to the purpose, population or design of your survey or if you are requesting the approval of a new survey please use the IUB Survey Approval Form.

If you would like to apply to re-administer a survey, please contact Angie Gast to request access to the IUB Survey Re-Administration Form.

If there have been significant changes to the purpose, population or design of your survey or if you are requesting the approval of a new survey please use the IUB Survey Approval Form.

Double check to make sure you have completed all required fields. If you are still having trouble contact Angie Gast.

Part of the mission of the Indiana University Bloomington Survey Committee (IUBSC) is to be mindful of respondent burden as well as the responsible use of university resources. When we observe response rates, we can identify benchmarks for other surveys, and possibly model future surveys after ones that are measurably successful.

The Indiana University Bloomington Survey Committee (IUBSC) encourages submitters to share their data and findings on the IUB Surveys Website. This is to provide transparency as well as, allow respondents to see how the data are being used and the changes that are made as a result of their input. If it is not appropriate to share results broadly, it is strongly encouraged that a contact person be listed to address questions about the survey results.