The online survey tool Qualtrics has been accessible to users for more than 20 years. Thanks to the Office of Learning Design and Technology, it is now available to all Quinnipiac University students.
Qualtrics XM is a cloud-based software that allows users to create surveys and collect feedback for academic research, course improvement and other educational purposes. It offers tools for designing surveys, gathering data and analyzing responses.
“It is a pretty common tool to find in most institutional academic tool collections,” said Adam Nemeroff, director of instructional design and technology, who also oversees the Office of Learning Design and Technology. “We’re really excited to make it available to the community overall.”
Nemeroff noted that Qualtrics is a versatile tool that can be extended from undergraduate research, teaching and learning projects, to mid-course surveys and more complex research projects.
Qualtrics has been used by Quinnipiac students before, mainly by those in the School of Business and School of Health Sciences, as well as offices of academic affairs.
“What’s new is that we were able to get a campus-wide agreement for pretty much the same cost as we had for the pockets (we had),” Nemeroff said. “We were also able to make it more secure and integrated with Quinnipiac SSO and that also has other benefits because it allows us to set up collaborations more easily, so you can work with your faculty or other students.”
Nemeroff said that Qualtrics can be used by all majors, depending on the nature of the class.
“If you’re using it as a part of undergraduate research or capstone experience, I think there’s a lot of possibilities to built it into research methods courses and things like that,” Nemeroff said.
Qualtrics isn’t the only survey tool online. Other popular choices are sites such as SurveyMonkey, Google Forms or Microsoft Forms.
However, Qualtrics distinguishes itself from other tools as it is designed with academic needs in mind, enables large-scale data collections, provides comprehensive support resources and offers features for ethics compliance, according to the Quinnipiac Office of Learning Design and Technology informational website.
“Qualtrics is more advanced, more robust, has more customization,” Nemeroff said. “We’ve had Office Forms that still continue to be here and we actually recommend it a lot. In some cases it’s actually a better tool.”
Nemeroff said his team is always thinking about how to make new technology available to the campus community and how they can use it. In his words, they are “here to help people figure it out.”
“My team wants to be able to present the options available to people and then help them to know what kind of makes the most sense with that,” Nemeroff said. “There’s a lot you can do with it and dig into it.”
Even though Qualtrics has 4.8 out of 5 stars on Capterra, the destination for organizations to find the right software and services, many of the user reviews mention how difficult the software is to navigate.
“It is definitely something you need to learn how to use and wrap your head around it,” Nemeroff said.
He added that his team is thinking about ways to connect with those who use it and help them with resources.
“One of my colleagues went in (the software) and built out a premade theme,” Nemeroff said. “You can launch a quick survey and it’s got some QU branding and graphics going on with it too.”
Nemeroff added that if users have any questions or concerns, they can reach out to the Office of Learning Design and Technology or schedule a consultation.
