ClimateQUAL® Survey FAQ

ClimateQUAL® Survey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:

What is the ClimateQUAL Survey?

ClimateQUAL®: Organizational Climate and Diversity Assessment is an assessment of library staff perceptions concerning (a) their library’s commitment to the principles of diversity, (b) organizational policies and procedures, and (c) staff attitudes. It is an online survey with questions designed to understand the impact perceptions have on service quality in a library setting. We are participating in ClimateQUAL® because it is trusted instrument from the Association of Research Libraries. For more information about ClimateQUAL®, please see: http://www.climatequal.org/about

What can the University Library learn from the survey results?

The University Library is committed to a just, diverse, and fair work place. With support from Dean Wilkin, this climate survey will help establish baseline data to inform library administration about appropriate steps to take in improving the library community. A morale survey was previously conducted in 2007 but only library civil service staff completed it.  We want a more complete assessment of the climate that includes all personnel.

 

Who can participate?

Just about everyone who works in the Library! All full-time and part-time library faculty, academic professionals, civil service staff, academic hourly library employees, graduate assistants and graduate hourlies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library (over 18 years old) are strongly encouraged to participate. Participation is voluntary and anonymous. The only group not targeted for this survey are the undergraduate student employees. Anyone with questions regarding participation eligibility should contact Cindy Ingold [cingold@illinois.edu], Chair of the ClimateQUAL® Working Group or Cindy Kelly [mokelly@illinois.edu], Head of Library Human Resources.

Incentives

Upon completing the survey, participants will have a chance to win one of the ten $50 Illini Union Bookstore gift cards by entering their email addresses for an incentive drawing. A participant can choose not to enter the email address if he/she does not wish to participate in the incentive drawing. The email addresses entered for the incentive drawing will not be saved with survey responses in order to protect participants’ privacy.

 

How long does it take to complete the survey?

35-50 minutes.

 

How and when do I complete the survey?

The survey should be completed during work time, and the time spent participating in the survey can be counted as time worked. The survey will be distributed via email and you can complete the survey at your own workstation OR at computers located at Grainger, ACES 509, and 314 Main Library. However, the survey must be completed in a single sitting on the same computer at which you began the process. Supervisors and unit heads are strongly encouraged to assist all eligible staff find time to complete this survey, either at their own worksite, or in the other locations provided.

 

What kinds of questions will the survey ask?

(from ClimateQUAL®): ClimateQUAL® consists of approximately 200 questions representing the nine climate dimensions, seven organizational attitude scales, and additional demographic questions. There is also a free-text comments box at the end of the survey. The first part of the survey asks respondents to answer questions related to their designated team or work unit.  In the second part, respondents answer based on individual membership in a group (i.e., membership in minority groups including, but not limited to: race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, rank, and age). 

Response to every question is optional. For example, if you do not wish to answer the question “What is your Race”, you may skip the question. Your answers to other questions will still be recorded for the final report.

 

Branching Question (Skip Logic)

A branching question in a survey is used to determine some of the subsequent questions based on how a participant answers that branching question. In ClimateQUAL®, the Question 26 (“Are you the supervisor of the team you designated above?“) is a branching question and everyone has to answer the Question 26 in order to proceed. However, ClimateQUAL® WILL NOT pair supervisory status with a department. Your responses are anonymous.   

How is the privacy of participants protected?

All data from the survey is anonymous. NO IP addresses will be captured. The Division of Management Information (DMI) is responsible for producing email addresses for potential participants and the Library has no way to link the participants’ email addresses or other personal information to individuals. Participants’ email addresses will only be used for incentive drawing.

Minimal demographic information such as title and academic field is captured through the survey. The responses are compiled offsite by ARL and no one at the University Library will have access to the raw data. The results are reported back in a way that will not compromise respondent identity or link responses to an individual. For additional details on the reporting of results: http://climatequal.org/about/faq#11

 

Survey Dates

Tuesday February 24, 2015 through Saturday March 14, 2015.

 

Dissemination of Results

ClimateQUAL® will deliver a report of results from the survey within three weeks of the close of the survey. The report will provide descriptive statistics along with visual and tabular reports for each question of the survey in a standardized format. The ClimateQUAL® Working Group (Jim Cotter, Cindy Ingold, Qiang Jin, Cindy Kelly, Sue Searing, and Jen-chien Yu) will work with Library Administration to review and communicate the survey results to the library. Library Administration promises to work with various groups to prioritize next steps.

 

Questions & Comments

If you have additional questions or comments, please contact Cindy Ingold [cingold@illinois.edu].

If you have technical problems with the survey form, please contact Jen-chien Yu [jyu@illinois.edu].

Note: The IRB has granted the exemption status to this study (IRB Protocol Number: 15516).