How Important are High Response Rates for College Surveys?

Fosnacht, Kevin; Sarraf, Shimon; Howe, Elijah C.; Peck, Leah K.

doi:10.1353/rhe.2017.0003

Cited by 311 publications

(184 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…The response rate of the Finnish group was relatively low (17%), which could cause nonresponse bias. However, earlier research has shown that in studies where the sampling frames are large, reliable information can be obtained even with a response rate of 5% (Fosnacht et al, 2017). Therefore the Finnish response rate can be taken as adequate for this study.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relatively low response rate (17%) of Finnish students is probably due to a global trend of rising survey nonresponse rates (Massey & Tourangeau, 2013), and is another potential source of bias in this study. However, the results of Fosnacht, Sarraf, Howe, and Peck (2017) suggest that when at least 1000 students from each institution are invited to participate in a study, even a response rate of 5% should provide reliable information. Therefore, the Finnish response rate (17% with 17 922 students sampled at nine universities) can be regarded as adequate for further analyses.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perception of Workload and its Relation to Perceived Teaching and Learning Environments among Finnish and Chinese University Students

Hernesniemi¹,

Räty²,

Kasanen³

et al. 2017

IJHE

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Earlier research has shown that an excessive workload has a substantial negative effect on students' well being. The present study examines how Finnish and Chinese university students' perceptions of workload are related to their perceptions of the teaching and learning environments (TLE). This is done in order to determine whether the perceived workload of students could be reduced by improving the quality of their TLE. Also the levels of experienced workload of Finnish and Chinese students are compared in this study. The group of participants consisted of 3035 Finnish students and 2309 Chinese students. Since this work is cross-cultural in nature, the adequacy of the level of structural equivalence of the research instrument was confirmed, and, when appropriate, the effect of different response styles on the results was taken into account. Both standard and robust statistical methods were used for the analyses. The results show that in both the Finnish and the Chinese groups the students' perceptions of their workload and TLE are significantly but rather weakly related. Furthermore, irrespectively of whether the response styles are accounted for or not, the results indicate that Chinese students perceive a heavier workload than do Finnish students.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception of Workload and its Relation to Perceived Teaching and Learning Environments among Finnish and Chinese University Students

Hernesniemi¹,

Räty²,

Kasanen³

et al. 2017

IJHE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The response rate is consistent with the national trend in declining survey response rates (National Research Council, 2013). Furthermore, a National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) study (Fosnacht, Sarraf, Howe, & Peck, 2017) concluded that even relatively low response rates provided reliable institutionallevel estimates. Also, in other studies the total number of respondents has been shown to be more important in assuring reliable estimates than response rates (Fosnacht et al, 2017;Pike, 2012).…”

Section: Data and Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

Parental Financial Socialization: Is Too Much Help Leading to Debt Ignorance among College Students?

Letkiewicz

Lim

Heckman

et al. 2019

Family & Consum Sci Res J

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Evidence suggests that college students are unaware of their debt obligations. This study utilized the National Student Financial Wellness Study to examine whether aspects of financial parenting contribute to debt ignorance among college students. Reliance on parents for advice, parental financial support, and credit card payment responsibility were positively associated with ignorance of debt. Financial knowledge and working while in college reduced the likelihood of debt ignorance. We discuss implications for how parents can help their children become financially responsible young adults.

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“…However, even relatively low response rates have been found to produce reliable estimates, and total numbers of respondents are considered to be more important than the response rates. For instance, as few as 25 to 75 respondents (Fosnacht, Sarraf, Howe, & Peck, 2017) or 50 respondents (Pike, 2012) can provide reliable unbiased results. Except for one institution (n=71), the rest of institutions in our sample had between 160 and 935 respondents, with a total of 1,533 respondents.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sense of Belonging and Its Contributing Factors in Graduate Education

O’Meara

Griffin

Kuvaeva

et al. 2017

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: The purpose of our study was to gain a better understanding of the factors that contribute to graduate student sense of belonging and gain insights into differences in sense of belonging for different groups of students. Background: Sense of belonging, or the feeling that a person is connected to and matters to others in an organization, has been found to influence college student retention and success. Literature on sense of belonging has, however, focused primarily on undergraduate students and little is known about graduate students’ sense of belonging. Methodology: We conducted an exploratory, cross-sectional survey study of graduate students at four public doctoral and comprehensive universities in Maryland, USA. All four institutions were participating in the NSF-funded PROMISE program, which strives to support the retention and academic success of women and underrepresented minority (URM) graduate students. A total of 1,533 graduate students from these four institutions completed the survey. To analyze our data, we used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test direct and indirect effects of multiple latent variables (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, STEM affiliation, critical mass of women, participation in the PROMISE program, sense of belonging) on each other. Contribution: Research found that sense of belonging influences graduate student retention and success. Thus, gaining a better understanding of the factors that influence graduate student sense of belonging can help improve retention and completion rates, an important issue as national seven-year completion rates have hovered around 44% in the United States. Completion rates have been even lower for women and URM students (i.e., African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders) compared to White students, making sense of belonging an important topic to study for these populations. Findings: We found that professional relationships matter most to graduate student sense of belonging. Professional relationships influenced graduate student sense of belonging more than reported microaggressions and microaffirmations, though they also played a role. We also found differences based on students’ identity or group membership. Overall, microaffirmations played a bigger role in female graduate student sense of belonging and the eco-system of non-STEM programs seemed to have more facilitators of sense of belonging than the ecosystem of STEM programs. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend that graduate programs think strategically about enhancing sense of belonging in ways appropriate to the distinct culture and nature of graduate education. For example, departments can make efforts to support sense of belonging through creating community-oriented peer networks of students, transparent policies, and access to information about resources and opportunities. Programs such as PROMISE can support the retention and success of women and URM graduate students, but aspects of these programs also need to be incorporated into graduate programs and departments. Impact on Society: Because graduate student sense of belonging has been found to impact stu-dents’ interest in careers in academia, fostering graduate student sense of be-longing could be a tool for improving pathways to the professoriate for groups that are typically underrepresented in academia such as women and racial or ethnic minorities. Increasing the number of women and URM faculty could, in turn, positively impact the support available to future URM students, which could positively influence future URM students’ sense of belonging. Future Research: Sense of belonging is an important area for future graduate education research and should be studied through survey research with a larger sample of U.S. students than the current study. Sense of belonging is relevant to graduate education worldwide. Future studies might explore graduate student sense of belonging in different national contexts and the role culture plays in shaping it. Moreover, changes in graduate student sense of belonging over the course of their program should be assessed.

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How Important are High Response Rates for College Surveys?

Cited by 311 publications

References 38 publications

Perception of Workload and its Relation to Perceived Teaching and Learning Environments among Finnish and Chinese University Students

Perception of Workload and its Relation to Perceived Teaching and Learning Environments among Finnish and Chinese University Students

Parental Financial Socialization: Is Too Much Help Leading to Debt Ignorance among College Students?

Sense of Belonging and Its Contributing Factors in Graduate Education

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