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Undergraduate User Survey: The Results
Francine DeFranco, Reference/Liaison Librarian
The library conducts periodic user surveys to gather evaluative data from faculty, undergraduate students, and graduate students. The purpose of these surveys is to learn about the uses of and satisfaction with the Libraries' collections, services, and facilities. The first system-wide survey of all faculty was conducted in the Fall of 1996. A second survey, of Storrs campus undergraduate students, was conducted in the Fall of 1997; and a third survey, of graduate students, will be conducted this semester. The Sampling Plan-In surveying undergraduates, the library planned to gather data from both lower level (freshman and sophomore) and upper level (junior and senior) students. Data gathered for upper level students was to reflect the populations of major academic areas. Dr. Uwe Koehn of the Statistics Department helped to develop a sampling plan that would achieve these goals. The plan included approximately 400 lower level students to be surveyed, as well as approximately 400 upper level students from each of five major academic areas: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (including Education, Family Studies, Fine Arts, and General Studies); College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; School of Allied Health (including Nursing and Pharmacy); School of Business Administration; and the School of Engineering. The plan was to yield six samples of 400 each with a 95% confidence interval and a ñ 5% error rate. Methodology-The survey was conducted during the week of November 17, 1997 in 62 selected classes, using course and enrollment information that would generate the proper distribution required for an accurate result. Slightly more than 2400 surveys were distributed to students. Of the 1725 usable surveys returned, 401(23%) represented lower level undergraduate responses and 1324 (76%) represented upper level undergraduates.
Undergraduates' Overall Satisfaction Rates (1=Low, 5=High)
| Survey Group | Sample Size | Overall Satisfaction | Error Rate |
| Freshman/Sophomores | 396 | 3.58 | .04 |
| College of Agriculture & Natural Resources | 173 | 3.46 | .06 |
| College of Liberal Arts & Sciences | 332 | 3.53 | .03 |
| School of Allied Health | 319 | 3.49 | .04 |
| School of Business | 276 | 3.40 | .04 |
| School of Engineering | 202 | 3.41 | .05 |
Overall Satisfaction Rates
Upper-Level Undergraduates Compared With Faculty(1=Low,
5=High)
| Survey Group | Undergraduate | Faculty |
| College of Agriculture & Natural Resources | 3.67 | 3.46 |
| College of Liberal Arts & Sciences | 3.53 | 3.80 |
| School of Allied Health | 3.49 | 3.96 |
| School of Business | 3.40 | 3.27 |
| School of Engineering | 3.41 | 3.53 |
Areas of Highest & Lowest
Satisfation
Undergraduates Compared With Faculty
| Satisfaction Type | Faculty | Undergraduates |
| Overall Satisfaction | 3.67 | 3.47 |
| Highest Satisfaction | Library Liaison: 4.51 | SuperHOMER: 3.96 |
| ILL/Doc Delivery: 4.27 | Course Reserve/Print: 3.88 | |
| Library Instruction: 4.26 | Reference Collections: 3.88 | |
| Reference in Person: 4.21 | Electronic Databases/Library Use: 3.86 | |
| Course Reserve: 4.16 | Reference in Person: 3.86 | |
| Reference by Phone: 4.15 | Video Theatres: 3.86 | |
| Lowest Satisfaction | Public Copiers: 2.51 | Public Copiers: 2.94 |
| Audio Collections: 3.10 | Group Study Space: 3.13 | |
| Reshelving Speed: 3.11 | Reshelving Speed: 3.41 | |
| Study/Research Space: 3.13 | Microfilm/Fiche Readers: 3.42 | |
| Microfilm/Fiche Readers: 3.15 | Journal Collections: 3.16 |
The library's USER team was assisted in compiling and analyzing the undergraduate student survey data by the Bureau of Education Research.
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