Salary Equity 2017 Task Force
How the Salary Equity 2017 Task Force Developed the Survey Questionnaire
Karen Goodman, PhD (an epidemiologist with expertise in the design and analysis of questionnaire-based data collection in community settings), led the development of this questionnaire. The optimal approach for constructing a high-quality questionnaire should be as follows: consult available subject-matter information to arrive at the items to include; design questions that solicit the desired information in a manner that is unambiguous and avoids leading respondents toward particular responses; circulate the draft questionnaire for review by people with subject matter expertise; revise questions based on input from reviewers; pilot-test the questionnaire with people who represent the targeted respondent population (in addition to responding to the questionnaire, pilot test respondents should be asked to comment on the clarity, relevance, comfort level, appropriateness and comprehensiveness of the questions); revise questions based on input from pilot test to ensure that questions are meaningful and acceptable to respondents and capture useful information.
Karen Goodman consulted available information (results of previous surveys of academic faculty and the bargaining mandate document developed by constituency members before the last round of negotiations) and wrote an initial draft questionnaire.
The bargaining advisory working group (Heather Bruce, Adam Kemezis, Paul Melancon, James Muir, Richard Uwiera), led by Brian Fleck, reviewed the draft and provided feedback, which Karen Goodman incorporated into a revised questionnaire. Due to time constraints, we did not do extensive pilot testing. Instead, we sought review by constituency members outside our working group who had expressed opinions about bargaining-related issues on the Members’ Forum, and asked those who provided input to suggest others who they thought should review the questionnaire (a population sampling method known as “snowball sampling”).
In addition, we sought input from faculty with expertise in policy and negotiations. Several members (those who consented to be named: Laurie Adkin; Cameron Hutchison, Kathleen Lowry, Pearl Ann Reichwein, Rhonda Rosychuk; Carolyn Sale) reviewed the questionnaire and provided feedback in the form of comments and suggestions aimed at improving the clarity, comprehensiveness and relevance of the questionnaire.
Karen Goodman incorporated the suggestions that improved the questionnaire with respect to the goal of obtaining useful information on bargaining priorities of members.
The resulting questionnaire includes a section that summarizes the articles in the current agreement that address priorities previously identified by the constituency and highlights previously prioritized provisions that were not achieved in the current agreement. This section gives respondents the opportunity to indicate their prioritization of unachieved aspects of the previously developed mandate. The resulting questionnaire also includes a separate section on equity issues subject to legal protections.
Salary Equity 2017 Final Task Force Report