DSAA Consulting

How can I get DSAA to consult on my project and what do I need to know about the process?

• Contact the Department of Student Affairs Assessment to schedule an intake meeting (706-542-3564).
• Upon arriving at your meeting be prepared to discuss the following information:
1. Does the project fulfill degree or course requirements? (If so, see note)
2. What is the sponsoring unit/commissioning unit?
3. Have you begun the IRB process? (Sample forms will be given to guide you in this process)
4. Do you intend to publish the findings of this project?
5. Is the data simply for administrative purposes?
6. Description of the study, purpose, research questions, and type of data you seek to collect.
7. Do you need information directly from people or institutional databases?
8. Sample size and sample composition (gender, ethnicity, etc).
9. Deadlines and time frame for the study.
10. Data collection method (if other than Perseus) ex: telephone survey, focus groups, paper survey, etc.
11. What types of analysis are you considering to understand your data?
12. Who will be doing your analysis (you, faculty member, Statistics Lab, Unit, Aderhold Educational Psychology Lab Assistant, etc.).
13. Do you want us to prepare a written report?
• Complete the IRB process. This includes IRB application and other supporting documentation.
• Schedule a training meeting with the office. Bring the following materials:
  1. Final copy of survey instrument.
  2. Final copy of IRB and supporting documents.
  3. Bring your IRB approval number.
  4. Bring all permissions required to conduct the study.
  5. Bring updated timeline for study.
• An account will be created for you that will allow you to have access to the Terminal Server. You will be provided with a log in name and password. This account gives you remote access to Perseus and SPSS software as well as your online web folder and files.
• At the conclusion of the study, you will contact our office and discuss the format (SPSS, Excel, Access) in which you would like to receive the data set.
• You will submit a brief summary of your findings to the office. (For record keeping purposes only).
• Complete an online exit survey about our services (confidential).
• If additional help is needed in the process (forms, questions, etc.) you can contact the Office of Student Affairs Assessment at any time. We are here to be a resource for you!

NOTE: If your project is being completed for academic credit, or to fulfill an academic requirement please be prepared to do your own analysis and report writing. We will support and assist you with the process; however, we are here to serve as consultants.

Resources Available Through DSAA:

• Resources to create an IRB application
• IRB application review, specifically those utilizing online surveys
• Perseus training
• Terminal server access:
1. SPSS
2. Perseus
3. Institutional specific data
4. Survey development
5. Training on assessment and research principles
6. Training on conducting focus groups
7. Research planning process
8. Qualitative research process

Creating a Web-Based Survey Using Perseus Software

• Be aware that converting a paper survey to the Web may require changes in the formatting (e.g. question sequence, layout, number, and type of response options).
• The Web format most likely will not be identical to the paper format.
• Perseus is restrictive in how it operates. Note the following:
1. There is only one submit button at the end of the form.
2. There is a preformatted skip function.
3. There are other built in defaults (coding conversions).
• The Office of Assessment reserves the right to add policy statements and other phrases to cover letters, consent forms, email/other invitations to participate in the research, the survey and any other web based form involved in the study.
• The following items will need to be submitted prior to Perseus Survey being fully launched.
1. IRB approval.
2. Appropriate permissions from authors/copywrite holders of instruments used.
3. If you are using an instrument designed by someone other than yourself, or if it is not in the public domain (e.g., published in a journal somewhere), then we will need a copy of a letter granting permission to place the survey on the web and use it in the Web environment.
4. If the survey is published in the public domain, we need a hard copy of the article before we will agree to post it on the Web (even on a temporary basis for viewing by a publishable paper committee).
5. Your final draft of the survey should include any format changes. (font, font size, layout etc.) Once we receive your final draft we will not make any additional changes, so please be sure it is in its final form.
6. Please be sure that your email invitation/solicitation is sent from a UGA email address and has a subject appropriate to your research project.

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