In order to avoid “survey fatigue” and reduce duplication, enhance survey effectiveness and preserve population resources, and to protect our campus community from improper survey collections, all surveys are subject to the following institutional approval process.
Approval Process
All surveys must be approved, but the level of institutional approval depends on the type and scope of the survey: The following steps walk you through the 3 step full approval process:
- All surveys conducted for research purposes must have IRB approval before requesting survey distribution approval. See the GS IRB website for more information.
- All surveys intended for distribution through GS email systems must obtain institutional approval based upon the following criteria:
| Survey Population Scope | Required Level of Approval |
|---|---|
| All students (including cross-college data collection, or using a Georgia Southern listserv) | VP for Student Affairs (slittle@georgiasouthern.edu) |
| Students within a college | Dean of College |
| Students within a department/program | Department/Program Chair |
| Students within a course | Course Instructor |
| All faculty (including cross-college data collection or using a Georgia Southern listserv) | Provost or designee (dcone@georgiasouthern.edu) |
| Faculty within a college | Dean of College |
| All staff | VP for Business and Finance or designee (rstalnaker@georgiasouthern.edu) |
| Staff within a division | Division Vice President |
| Mixed populations that include faculty, staff and/or student subsets | Provost or designee (dcone@georgiasouthern.edu), or VP for Student Affairs (slittle@georgiasouthern.edu) |
| External Survey Distribution Request(All external requests for access to a Georgia Southern population must be emailed to iroffice@georgiasouthern.edu.) | Provost or designee (dcone@georgiasouthern.edu) |
Use the following Email template for requesting survey distribution approval from the provost or VP. (This request should be submitted after obtaining IRB approval.) The Primary level approval will reply back to the applicant with approval, approval with conditions or disapproval.
Institutional Level Request Email Template
Subject line must include: Survey Policy request to distribute approval – for primary investigator’s Name
Email Body Must Include
- Name
- Survey Title
- Survey Purpose
- Population accessed
- Listserv requested
- Assistance requested for distribution
- Comments
Required Attachments
- Attachments for research surveys must include: a copy of your IRB approval letter, your IRB application, and the survey(s).
- Attachments for non-research survey distribution must include: the survey, recruitment text.
- All surveys with IRB and Institutional approval must obtain OIR scheduling approval. Email your request to iroffice@georgiasouthern.edu using the email template below:
Use the following Email template for requesting survey distribution approval from the OIR. The OIR will reply back to the applicant with approval, approval with conditions or disapproval.
Institutional Research Scheduling Request Email Template
Subject line must include: Survey Policy request to distribute approval – for primary investigator’s Name
Email Body Must include
- Name
- Survey Title
- Survey Purpose
- Population accessed
- Listserv requested
- Comments
Required Attachments
- Attachments for research surveys must include: a copy of your IRB approval letter, a copy of desired recruitment text, a copy of survey(s) with Informed consent text and documentation of Institutional Level approval (from step 2).
- Attachments for non-research survey distribution must include: the survey, desired recruitment text and documentation of Institutional Level approval (from step 2).
The full survey policy can be viewed here: Survey Distribution Policy