2002 OSU User Technology
Satisfaction and Needs Surveys Methodology

Description of Methodology and Sample
Between mid-April and mid-May of 2002, the OSU Center for Survey Research conducted a telephone survey of four university populations affiliated with the Columbus campus: faculty, staff, graduate/professional students and undergraduate students. The random sampling frames for the four populations were created from databases provided by the University Registrar and the Office of Human Resources. The four samples are described in the table below:

*In theory, in 19 of 20 cases, the results for each sample will differ due to sampling error by no more than the listed percentage points (in either direction) from what would have been obtained by interviewing all members of each category at the Columbus campus.

In addition to the sampling error noted in the above table, the Center for Survey Research notes that all surveys are subject to other potential sources of imprecision, including measurement error, non-response error, and coverage error. Factors such as question wording/ordering, response rate, and quality of interviewers, for example, could potentially lead to results that differ somewhat from the present findings.

The Center for Survey Research provided the PlanIT Core Project Team with frequency and percentage data from the four samples, along with verbatim responses to open-ended questions. The actual summary reports of the user satisfaction and needs surveys were written by members of the PlanIT Current State Assessment Team. Verbatim responses are difficult to quantify (e.g., problems with interviewer transcription, confusion over the meaning of certain terms, etc.). Numbers attached to summaries of verbatim responses are approximate.

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