As part of an international research consortium, we’re conducting a comprehensive survey of academics in New Zealand.
Why should I bother answering this survey?
It is a long time since the entire academic population in NZ universities has been surveyed on a broad range of topics, issues, and activities, and this comprehensive survey is part of an international research project on academic lives around the globe. We want to learn more about the experiences of the people who teach and research in universities in New Zealand. We want to find out how scholars’ experiences affect the institutions they work in and how they, in turn, are affected by their institutions. And, we’re interested in diversity in the profession and the future of tertiary education in Aotearoa. The survey will take you approximately 20-30 minutes to complete, and the aggregated results will provide us all with a better sense of the roles and responsibilities of academics in NZ universities, as well as the diversity of the profession.
Why only universities?
The international research project is seeking responses from university academics only, at this stage. We hope to expand the national NZ survey to include academics at other tertiary institutions in the future. For this first iteration, though, we’re focusing on university academics only, in order to contain the collection processes and to target the questions.
I’m a sessional academic. Can I answer the survey?
Yes!
Why is the survey so long?
Because we’re seeking a lot of important information about the current roles, responsibilities, and perceptions of academics in NZ universities. No-one has asked – at a national level – who university academics are, what they do, how they do it, who they’re doing it with, and how they’re supported to do their work. Some of the questions require you to think hard about your activities or outputs over the last few years; others are simple check box responses to statements. The survey is extensive because we want a full and robust picture of academic life in NZ universities. As this is an international survey, participating countries are obligated to ask the same set of questions, so that we have good comparative data. (Responses will be aggregated so you will not be identifiable in any way. More on this below).
Can I come back later?
Yes, you can save your answers and return to the survey later. The survey is open until the end of the year.
Can I share the link?
Yes please! We’re trying to reach as many academics in NZ as possible. Please feel free to share the link widely wherever you and your colleagues are active.
I work at more than one university. How do I answer?
You can answer questions about one or both of your institutions (as long as they are both in New Zealand).
Will my answers identify me?
We’re not going to analyse any of the data at an individual level, so rest assured that even if you work in a small field or are worried about your demographic data identifying you, we will be aggregating all the responses so that no single person is identifiable in any way, in accordance with university ethics requirements. The information sheet has more detail about confidentiality.
What is APIKS?
APIKS stands for the Academic Profession in the Knowledge Society and is an international research project, collecting survey data from university academics in more than 20 countries around the globe. The APIKS survey is the successor to the Changing Academic Profession (CAP) survey, completed in the mid-late 2000s, in 19 countries, which generated a 20-volume series of books, published by Springer. The CAP survey was, in turn, the successor of the Carnegie International Survey of the Academic Profession conducted in the 1990s in 14 countries. Find out more about APIKS here.
Who do I contact if I have further questions?
You can contact the research team at our email: nzapiks@vuw.ac.nz with any questions about the survey or the wider APIKS international project.
If you have concerns about the project ethics, you can contact the project leader directly, Associate Professor Kathryn Sutherland (email: kathryn.sutherland@vuw.ac.nz or phone (04) 463 5795) or you can contact the Chair of our Human Ethics Committee, Judith Loveridge: email: judith.loveridge@vuw.ac.nz.
APIKS New Zealand 