MIT Institutional Research

MIT Community Pulse Survey

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, MIT is administering surveys to our community to better understand the scope and scale of the impact. In addition, a survey to remote learners was administered at the end of the spring semester to all students (results available here).

  • The first MIT Community Pulse Survey was open May 26 - June 1, 2020.

  • The second survey was open June 29 - July 7, 2020.

  • The third survey was open September 21-28, 2020.

  • The fourth survey was open November 16-23, 2020.

  • The fifth survey was open March 15-24, 2021.

This survey is voluntary. Respondents may answer as few or as many questions as they wish. The data are confidential, and the results of any research or analysis using the data will be presented in a way that protects the privacy of respondents. For the purpose of aggregate analysis, like calculating response rates or creating reports by subgroup, we will add some data to the survey responses, such as organizational unit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What questions are on the survey?

  • An interactive preview of the March 2021 survey is available here.

  • A printable copy of the March 2021 survey is available here.

  • A printable copy of the November 2020 survey is available here.

  • A printable copy of the September 2020 survey is available here.

  • A printable copy of the June 2020 survey is available here.

  • A printable copy of the May 2020 survey is available here.

When will results be available? 

  • Overall results (in Tableau format) are available here (above) two weeks after each survey is launched.

Who manages the Community Pulse Survey?

  • The MIT Council on Family and Work works in close collaboration with Institutional Research (IR) in the Office of the Provost.

  • The Council on Family and Work is a Standing Committee of the Institute whose role is to advise the administration on work and family issues that affect faculty, staff, and students.

  • Prof. Amy Glasmeier (DUSP) and Assistant Dean Ken Goldsmith (SA+P) co-chair the Council.

  • The project also received guidance from John Carroll, Professor of Work and Organization Studies at MIT Sloan School of Management.

  • The survey was created by the Community Continuity Working Group.

Why should I participate?

  • This is an important opportunity to make your voice, ideas, and concerns heard.

  • Participation across a broad swath of MIT will help us better understand how our entire community is thinking and feeling in response to COVID-19.

  • More responses will provide more effective data to support Institute decision making.

 Do I have to take the survey? 

  • The survey is voluntary, and you may answer as many or as few questions as you would like. 

  • The more questions you answer, and the more candidly you answer them, the more effective the data will be.

 How long does the survey take?

  • The survey takes approximately 4 minutes to complete.

 What do you mean by survey data?

  • Survey data refers to individual responses.  

  • Survey results summarize survey data from multiple respondents (e.g., “60% of respondents feel proud of the work they do” is a survey result).

  • Survey results can be a powerful tool to inform decision-making across MIT.

 What is the difference between anonymous and confidential?

  • The only difference between anonymous and confidential is the data that analysts have access to. Because of the guidelines dictating how survey results are reported, the results from anonymous or confidential surveys look the same.

  • In an anonymous survey, it is not possible for an analyst to match survey responses to an individual.  

  • In a confidential survey, analysts could match responses to individuals, but they protect respondents’ privacy by restricting data access to a small set of highly trained analysts who abide by the rules set forth by COUHES.  

  • The Community Pulse Survey is a confidential survey.

Who will have access to the data?

  • A few professional Institutional Research analysts will have access to the survey data and they are committed to protecting the confidentiality of survey responses. Institutional Research analysts are trained in responsible data use according to the guidelines of the MIT Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects (COUHES).

  • John Carroll, Professor of Work and Organization Studies at MIT Sloan School of Management in collaboration with Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH) will also have access to the 2020 survey projects for academic research. Before data are shared for this purpose, direct identifiers (e.g. name and email) will be removed from the data file. The academic researchers will have access to the survey data as well as system of record data: gender, under-represented minority group status, role (admin staff, support staff, service staff, research staff, postdoctoral scholar, faculty, other instructional staff, student), and location (main campus/Lincoln Laboratory). MIT COUHES Protocol: E-2282.

 Who will have access to the results? 

  • Results aggregated at the Institute-level are made available to the general public on the Institutional Research website.

  • Results aggregated at the school, department, lab, center, or other unit level are made available to the associated deans, department heads, directors, etc.

Will my supervisor see my responses?

  • No. Your supervisor will not see your individual responses. The feedback that you provide will be combined with other people’s feedback, and if enough people respond, your supervisor may see the combined results from you and your colleagues.

Still have questions? Experiencing technical difficulties?

Email us: covid19-pulse@mit.edu