Frequently Asked Questions

Is research data stored securely? What data will be destroyed at the end of the study?

Your names and e-mail addresses are retained only for the sake of COACHE research, including reminding respondents to begin or to complete their survey, for limited and IRB-approved follow-up studies, and in cases where respondents specifically permit COACHE to retain contact information for future studies. COACHE will never further disseminate your contact information.  Otherwise, at the conclusion of the survey, we remove any links between the address and its associated responses.

For two reasons, the research data itself will be stored beyond the conclusion of the study on...

Read more about Is research data stored securely? What data will be destroyed at the end of the study?

What will my institution do with the data?

Institutions will use the information from the COACHE Survey in different ways. Most will share the results in summary form with board members, academic administrators, and other groups that need to understand what it's like being a faculty member at your college or university. Some institutions will analyze information from the survey report and use it in their long range institutional planning. Your institution may also share the results with others to help recruit new faculty members. Perhaps the most important use is for your institution to learn about you and your colleagues, and...

Read more about What will my institution do with the data?

What will you do with the data?

The information from this survey will be used in several ways. First, your answers will be combined with those of others colleagues at your institution, analyzed and summarized in the aggregate. COACHE will generate a survey report that provides a compilation of all quantitative findings from your institution. The report will also compare survey results from your institution with five other COACHE institutions that were pre-selected by your institution as peers. Each report is several hundred pages long, with question-by-question summaries that highlight major findings relative to peer...

Read more about What will you do with the data?

I am at an institution which opted for unit-record data - how do I know my anonymity is safe?

Your institutional representative has signed a confidentiality agreement stating that only aggregate data with no cells smaller than five respondents will be shared with broader audiences at your institution, and that no individuals in a position to make or influence individual faculty personnel decisions will have access to the record-level data. If you wish to receive further information about the institutional official assuming responsibility for the data at your institution, send an email message to COACHE, whose staff will give you the name of your institution's responsible official...

Read more about I am at an institution which opted for unit-record data - how do I know my anonymity is safe?

I am worried about my answers not being anonymous. Can my identity be determined in any way?

Confidentiality and anonymity are assured in all COACHE analyses and reports. Your name and email addresses are retained solely for the sake of COACHE research, including reminding respondents to begin or to complete their survey and for limited and IRB-approved follow-up studies. When we submit the survey report to your institution, only the aggregate data is shown in the report. No identifiers are matched to reported responses, and no disaggregated data will be presented for any subgroup with fewer than five respondents. For some institutions, administrators have requested unit-record...

Read more about I am worried about my answers not being anonymous. Can my identity be determined in any way?

I am having trouble opening the survey link. What should I do?

If clicking directly on the survey link in your email does not open the survey for you, you may find it easiest to simply copy and paste the link into the address bar of your web browser and then hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard.

Sometimes, problems may be caused by your browser's pop-up blocker. Although our survey is designed not to be hindered by the default settings of such pop-up blockers, the more stringent blockers have caused a problem like the one you are describing.

To temporarily disable your pop-up blocker, hold down the CTRL button as you click the link that...

Read more about I am having trouble opening the survey link. What should I do?

I had to stop in the middle of completing my survey. Do I have to restart the survey all over again?

You do not need to start the survey all over again.  If you choose to suspend the survey to take a break, if your computer shuts down, or if you lose your Internet connection, you will be able to resume where you left off.

Simply log back in using the link you received in the email we sent you.  You will be offered a link on the welcome page that lets you resume where you left off, or you may start your survey over by clicking the "Continue" button at the bottom of the welcome page.  If you start over, you'll see that responses to the questions you've already answered...

Read more about I had to stop in the middle of completing my survey. Do I have to restart the survey all over again?

Pages