Respondents

An invitation to participate in the survey was sent on November 12, 2023, to 102,604 members of the campus community, which included students enrolled in the fall of 2023, all faculty, and all staff in non-temporary roles. 

As an incentive to participate, respondents could enter a drawing for a chance to win one of 100 gift cards worth $30. The survey closed on January 16, 2024, with six reminder messages sent between those dates to people who had not yet completed the survey. 

17,395 people filled out at least some portion of the survey for a 17% response rate, and 15,753 people completed the full survey for a 91% completion rate. (Although a 17% response rate sounds low, it is better than most Ithaka-administered library surveys.) 

After data processing, 15,116 participants were retained in the data set that was used for analysis, which is 15% of the invitation pool. The 637 people who were dropped from the data set after the survey closed had, for the most part, not completed enough of the survey for their responses to be meaningful.

Respondent demographics

In order to provide context for the results, we conducted analyses that allowed us to describe the roles and identities of people in the sample. Highlights of these analyses are presented below. Statistics on other aspects of the sample — such as first-generation status of students and the academic concentrations of students and faculty — will be presented as they are used in analyses.

Primary Campus Role

Shown below is the distribution of participants in the finalized dataset by their primary role. Note also that 13.3% of people in the sample have patient care duties. 

We compared the primary role of respondents to the roles’ proportions in the campus population and found all were similar percentages across survey responses and the total campus population. (Note that three groups were added to the faculty group due to their small sizes and similarity to faculty: postdocs, visiting scholars, and house officers.) Because percentages are similar across sample and population, these groups are used in main analyses throughout.

Gender Identity

Participants were asked if they would be willing to answer questions about gender identity, and those who consented were presented a text-box in which to describe their gender. Responses were categorized with OpenRefine. When a participant did not self-describe, their institutional data were used to fill in that information when possible.

Sex, as a binary variable, is compared against campus data; however, U-M does not keep data on gender identity. Although percentages of women and men vary across campus roles, the overall percentages were similar across the sample and the population. 

Respondents identifying as gender-fluid, non-binary, and gender-queer and as transgender are combined as one group only when smaller group sizes can’t be reliably compared. 

Racial Identity

Participants were asked if they would be willing to answer questions about racial identity, and those who consented were presented a text-box in which to describe their race. Responses were categorized with OpenRefine. 

Most survey respondents completed the questions to self-describe their race. Some respondents described themselves in ways that did not match standard descriptors used by the University for required reporting. When a participant did not self-describe, their institutional data were used to fill in that information when possible. 

Given the similarities between the sample and population for race, including for campus role, we did not apply survey weights during analysis.

Disability Status

In our sample, roughly 12% of people indicated they have some form of disability, and the proportion of those reporting they have a disability is similar across roles.