Confidential vs. Anonymous Surveys
How do we Decide When a Survey Will be Confidential or Anonymous?
Every time we design a survey, we consider if it should be confidential or anonymous. Both approaches safeguard your privacy while allowing us to use your feedback responsibly.
Confidential Surveys
Your identity may be collected for additional analysis, but your responses are protected and reported only in aggregate. This means we never share survey results in a way that identifies individual students. We only share information about groups of students.
When possible, we implement confidential surveys. This allows us to reduce the length of surveys by eliminating questions that ask for information we already know about the respondents.
For example, in a confidential survey, we do not need to ask every respondent to include their year standing, major, or whether or not they live on campus. Since that information is already connected to your student ID or email, we can add that to the responses after you submit your survey.
Anonymous Surveys
No identifying information is collected. Your responses cannot be linked to you.
When we decide to keep a survey anonymous, it is usually to encourage candid, honest feedback when we are asking questions that may be sensitive or personal.
When Does IRB Review Apply?
What is IRB? The Institutional Review Board ensures that research involving human participants is ethical and protects participants’ rights.
When IRB Review is Required:
- If a survey is part of a research study intended for publication or generalizable knowledge.
- If data will be used beyond internal program improvement.
When IRB Review is NOT Required:
- Most student surveys conducted by UConn offices for program assessment or service improvement do not require IRB review because they are considered internal evaluation, not research.
- Why This Matters: IRB oversight ensures that any research involving students meets strict ethical standards.
Ethical Data Storage and Privacy
Survey data is stored securely following university and federal guidelines — only authorized staff access survey data. We prioritize transparency and confidentiality in every step of the process.
If you have any questions about why we are collecting certain information or how it is being used, you can contact the Director for Planning, Assessment, and Evaluation: liza.boritz@uconn.edu.
SERU Survey
Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) is a survey allowing both undergraduate and graduate students to share their experiences, engagement, and overall satisfaction with UConn.
Another Survey
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