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 How long will the survey take?
Can I skip questions that don't apply to me?
Will there be any special incentives for participating?
What Web browsers are supported for the survey?
Is the survey exclusively web-based, or can I complete a paper version?
Why does the survey seem to repeat the same question(s)?
Why are reminders about this survey sent to people who have already completed the survey?
What discipline category should I choose?
LibQUAL+™ Survey Overview
What is the LibQUAL+™ survey?
What does the survey measure?
How will this survey benefit the NTU community?
How and when is the NTU Library Services survey being conducted?
Are responses confidential?
What survey instrument is being used?
Do all libraries use the same questions?
How can I get more information about LibQUAL+™?
Results
What will be done with the survey results?
What information is shared with other institutions?
What do the survey results look like?
Where and when will results be posted? |
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How long will the survey take?
The survey typically takes about 10 minutes to complete. |
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Can I skip questions that don't apply to me?
Do not skip any questions in the LibQUAL+™ survey! If you do not wish to answer a question or feel a question does not apply to you, select NA (not applicable). Surveys whose core questions are not completely filled out are not counted in the aggregate scores. |
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Will there be any special incentives for participating?
There will be no compensation per se for completing the survey, although an opportunity to be in the draw for incentive prizes will be offered to interested participants. At the end of the web-based survey, respondents may elect to include an email address, which will enter them in a drawing for the great prizes announced on the poster and banners. Award winners will be announced in February, via the "News and Updates" section on the NTU Library website, and by email. Showing valid NTU identification will be required for winners and only one entry per person is permitted. |
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What Web browsers are supported for the survey?
The NTU Library Services Quality Survey will use the LibQUAL+™ survey instrument that has been developed to work in many settings, including academic and research libraries. It does not rely on browser features such as Java or cookies. Any browser should work so long as it is not too old. |
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Is the survey exclusively web-based, or can I complete a paper version?
Respondents not able to complete an online questionnaire may send a request to: libqualsurvey@ntu.edu.sg. |
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Why does the survey seem to repeat the same question(s)?
The survey examines a variety of dimensions of library services, each represented by a number of questions. Repetition or redundancy in questions allows the survey designers to analyze the validity of each service quality dimension through statistical methods. |
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Why are reminders about this survey sent to people who have already completed the survey?
Due to security and confidentiality features, everyone in the random sample for the survey will receive thank you/reminders irrespective of whether they have responded yet or not.
When submitted, survey responses and identifying information are immediately separated, so we have no way of knowing who has already responded. Thank you/reminders, therefore, are distributed to everyone in the random sample.
Reminders are also sent because research indicates that the single highest predictor of response rates in web-based surveys is the number of contacts made, including reminders. (See: Cook, Heath, and Thompson, "A meta-analysis of response rates in web- or internet-based surveys", Educational and Psychological Measurement, v. 60, 2000, p.821-836.) |
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What discipline category should I choose?
Because this is designed as a multi-institution survey, discipline categories have been standardized for ease of comparison. This will assist with future benchmarking activities. We have customized the survey to try to equate the disciplines with terminology the NTU community will be comfortable with. Please select the one discipline which best fits your area of study, teaching, research, or responsibility. |
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| LibQUAL+™ Survey Overview |
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What is the LibQUAL+™ survey?
Service quality has always been the focus of libraries; LibQUAL+™ is intended to provide a measure of the value of library service quality across multiple academic and research libraries. The current LibQUAL+™ instrument measures library user perceptions of their libraries' service quality and identifies gaps between minimal, desired and perceived levels of service.
LibQUAL+™ is a suite of services that libraries use to solicit, track, understand, and act upon users' opinions of service quality. These services are offered to the library community by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in the United States. The program's centrepiece is a rigorously tested Web-based survey bundled with training that helps libraries assess and improve library services, change organizational culture, and market the library. As of 2011, more than 1200 institutions have participated in LibQUAL+™, including colleges and universities, community colleges, health sciences libraries, law libraries, and public libraries - some through various consortia, others as independent participants. LibQUAL+™ has also expanded internationally, with participating institutions in Canada, the UK, Asia, South Africa, Australasia and Europe. The growing community of participants and its extensive dataset are rich resources for improving library services. |
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What does the survey measure?
The instrument addresses three service quality dimensions that have been found to be valid in previous assessments of library services: Affect of Service, Library as Place, Information Control. Each question has three parts that ask respondents to indicate (1) the minimum service level they will accept, (2) the desired service level they expect, and (3) the perceived level of service currently provided. This design will permit analysis of gaps between expectations, perception, and minimum acceptance level of service. |
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How will this survey benefit the NTU community?
As NTU Library receives information about areas needing improvement, this will allow NTU libraries to compare their service quality with other peer institutions, to develop benchmarks, and to surface best practices. By using the LibQUAL+™ instrument and initiating action based on the results of this survey, NTU Library can be more responsive to user needs and provide services that are better aligned to user expectations. NTU will be participating with other libraries for comparative analysis of our services. |
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How and when is the NTU Library Services survey being conducted?
The survey is available to all undergraduate students, post graduate students, faculty and staff. On 9th January 2012, a random sample of individuals will receive an email message announcing the availability of the survey. Automatic reminder/thank you notices from the University Librarian will be sent during the next few weeks. The survey closes on January 31.
The data for participating institutions will be collected on secure servers located in the Texas A&M University Library in the USA. Each response will be stored separately as it reaches the server, and survey results will ultimately be reported back to the participating institutions. The NTU Library will receive initial results in February, and will share final results with the campus community soon after. |
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Are responses confidential?
Yes. The LibQUAL+™ approach to confidentiality is guided by the ethical standards of the American Psychological Association (see http://www.apa.org/ethics/code.html, section 5). Although some information is captured from respondents, such as network and email address, privacy is protected in two ways. First, only very indirect information is captured which would be difficult to trace back to an individual. Second, everything possible is done to separate personal information from survey responses. Email addresses are not saved with the responses, and once they are saved there is no way to link an individual's responses to their email address — assuring confidentiality when entering the incentive drawings. After the prize draw, the email addresses are discarded. |
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What survey instrument is being used?
The LibQUAL+™ survey evolved from a conceptual model based on the SERVQUAL instrument, a popular tool for assessing service quality in the private sector grounded in the "Gap Theory of Service Quality". It was developed by Leonard L. Berry (Distinguished Professor, Texas A&M University), A. Parasuraman, and Valarie A. Zeithaml. The Texas A&M University Libraries and other libraries used modified SERVQUAL instruments for several years; those applications revealed the need for a newly adapted tool that would serve the particular requirements of libraries. From 1999, ARL, representing the largest research libraries in North America, partnered with Texas A&M University Libraries to develop, test, and refine LibQUAL+™. This effort was supported in part by a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE). The questionnaire is straightforward and involves no deception or coercion. Potential respondents may read the guarantees of confidentiality and privacy. |
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Do all libraries use the same questions?
All libraries use the same 22 core questions and demographic questions. There are extra optional questions. |
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How can I get more information about LibQUAL+™?
For more information, see the LibQUAL+™ homepage at http://www.libqual.org/. To e-mail the national headquarters for LibQUAL+, contact the Association for Research Libraries at LibQUAL@arl.org. |
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Results
What will be done with the survey results?
Survey data are transmitted directly from the LibQUAL+™ server to a database. The data are then analyzed and reports are generated for individual libraries that provide information on how users perceive the quality of their service. Participating institutions will have access to summary results for each institution, allowing for comparisons among peer institutions and all participating academic institutions. This will aid in developing benchmarks and understanding best practices across institutions, and will help the NTU Library to align services with user expectations. |
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What information is shared with other institutions?
Only summary aggregate statistics are shared with other institutions. The summary results will be made available to participants via the World Wide Web on a password-protected Web site. Users' comments (from the comments section) will be made available only to NTU Libraries. |
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What do the survey results look like?
Survey results will include aggregate summaries, demographics by library, item summaries, dimension summaries, and dimensions measured for survey implementation. |
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Where and when will results be posted?
The survey results will be compiled and posted on the Library Web site: The results will also be announced in NTU Libraries newsletter, Library Xpress. |
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