Ithaka S+R Faculty Survey 2015

What is Ithaka S+R Faculty Survey?

The Ithaka S+R Faculty Survey is a web-based survey. The survey allowed faculty at USF to express their attitudes and practices related to: Research Processes, Teaching Processes, Scholarly Communications. The survey was developed by Ithaka S+R, a non-profit research and consulting service, which includes JSTOR. The survey was launched by the University of South Florida (USF) Libraries on September 22, 2015 and was closed to on December 11, 2015, with a total of 168 complete responses.

What kinds of questions were on the survey?

The Ithaka S+R Faculty Survey focused on discovering how faculty conduct research and teaching activities, and the types of support and information resources they desire. Survey questions were related to:
  • faculty use of library collections and services
  • scholarly communication and publishing
  • faculty use of library materials to assist in undergraduate and graduate instruction

How is the survey data being used?

The survey responses and data are helping the USF Libraries make evidence-based decisions regarding the collections, programs, and services we provide to faculty. The results are also assisting in benchmarking the perceptions and experiences of faculty with national data from other institutions that have participated in the S+R Local Surveys. These institutions included

  • University of Florida
  • University of Central Florida
  • Texas A&M University
  • University of California-San Diego
  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
  • University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign
  • Virginia Commonwealth University

We have just received comparative data and national averages to the core survey. Once there is further review of these materials, the USF Libraries will provide additional summary information related to a comparison of USF responses to those on the national level. For now, you can see a side-by-side view of the USF and national responses by viewing this document:

2015 US & USF Comparison of Core Questions

The following document provides a summary comparison of the University of South Florida’s (USF) 2015 Ithaka results with the averages of those of the 2015 U.S. National Faculty core responses from all colleges and universities participating in this issuance.

2015 US & USF Faculty Comparative Summary of Results

Results and Future Directions

The USF Libraries Ithaka team reviewed the results and found that many of the major points fit into one of the following three (3) major categories:

  1. The USF Libraries are taking an active role in scholarly communication and publishing
  2. The USF Libraries play an integral role in student success
  3. The value of the USF Libraries is more than just collections
 

Future Directions:

  • Dissemination of assessment results and actions
    • Provide easy access to assessment activities through internal and external web presences
  • Campus partnerships
    • Maintain our strong relationships with the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), the Academic Success Center, and others
  • Continue to develop new services that reflect needs of the faculty
    • Copyright and intellectual property assistance
    • Data management
    • Provide a publishing platform (and help to use it!)
  • Keep doing what we already do well…
    • Support for research, teaching, and student success

For a more detailed executive summary (6 pages) on the above categories, including references to specific questions and data, please use this link:

2015 USF Ithaka Survey Summary

For the full USF Ithaka Report (126 pages), please use the following link:

Full Ithaka Survey Report of Findings

How was the privacy of participants protected?

The survey was anonymous. USF Information Technology was responsible for producing email addresses for potential participants and the Library had, and continues to have, no access to the participants’ email addresses or any information that might be used to link to individuals. Very little demographic information such as rank and department was captured through the survey. It would be very difficult to identify an individual based on responses.

Questions & Comments

If you have additional questions or comments, please contact Matt Torrence, Principal Investigator (torrence@usf.edu)