PBA Home > Institutional Research & Analysis > Surveys > Senior Survey 2001 > Respondents Vs. Nonrespondents
Senior Survey, Spring 2001
Respondents Vs. Nonrespondents
Response rates by various respondent characteristics were examined to determine if certain groups of seniors were more or less likely to return a questionnaire than other groups. The table below contains demographic and academic characteristics for the total sample and for respondents and nonrespondents. The last column shows the response rate for each demographic/academic category (e.g., the response rate was 46% for males and 53% for females).
| Group | Sample | Responded? | Response rate by demographic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Yes | |||
| Total Number | 2,020 | 986 | 1,034^ | 51% |
| Male | 53% | 57% | 50%* | 46% |
| Female | 47% | 43% | 50%* | 53% |
| Student of Color | 15% | 14% | 16% | 52% |
| White | 85% | 86% | 84% | 49% |
| Graduated Spring 2001 | 39% | 33% | 44%* | 57% |
| Didn't Graduate | 61% | 67% | 56%* | 45% |
| Arts&Sciences | 61% | 63% | 59% | 49% |
| Business | 13% | 13% | 13% | 52% |
| Engineering | 17% | 14% | 20%* | 61% |
| Journalism | 3% | 3% | 3% | 63% |
| Music | 3% | 3% | 3% | 48% |
| Arch & Planning | 3% | 3% | 2% | 35% |
| Low GPA (below median) | 50% | 55% | 46%* | 45% |
| High GPA (above median) | 50% | 45% | 54%* | 54% |
| ^ demographic data are missing for 35 students who responded but did not provide an ID number | ||||
As we have found in prior year's surveys, women and higher GPAs students are more likely to respond to the survey, as are students expecting to graduate at the end of the term. This year, using a completely web-based survey, we obtained a higher response rate for Engineering students than we have in the past.
Because all of the above characteristics are related to GPA, we examined whether questionnaire responses varied according to students' GPA. GPA has a low to moderate relationship with four items: students with lower GPAs skipped more classes during their last full term at UCB, say they would spend more time on academics and less on socializing, and would graduate sooner if they could start over at UCB.
Since GPA is only weakly related to other items on the questionnaire - accounting for only about 5% of the variance in satisfaction ratings - we have not weighted the data to correct for over-representation of high-GPA students, nor have we weighted the data to correct for different response rates by gender, ethnicity, or graduation date.
Last revision 07/16/03
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