This study explores dissatisfaction and neutrality metrics from 12 years of a national-level undergraduate student survey. The notion of dissatisfaction is much less prevalent in the narratives surrounding student survey outcomes, and the underpinning metrics are seldom considered. This is despite an increasingly vociferous debate about…

Measures of student satisfaction are commonly used to compare universities. Student satisfaction with higher education institutions in the UK is assessed yearly using the National Student Survey (NSS). The most recent revision of the NSS suggests that the satisfaction questions form eight different subscales. The aim of this research was to…

For 27 years, the Adult Participation in Learning Survey has provided a unique insight into adult learning across the UK. It adopts a deliberately broad definition of learning, reflecting the fact that learning is about much more than formal courses and qualifications. The 2023 survey shows almost one in two adults took part in learning in the…

The aim of this paper is to foreground network analysis as a statistical lens through which higher education institutions can articulate their own process of striving for teaching excellence, and how it is constituted in their own contexts. The paper offers an approach to analysis that extends the frontiers of methodologies in 'measurement' of…

Arbitrary placing cut-offs in data, i.e. binning, is recognised as poor statistical practice. We explore the consequences of using arbitrary cut-offs in two large datasets, the National Student Survey (2019 and 2022). These are nationwide surveys aimed at capturing student satisfaction amongst UK undergraduates. For these survey data, it is common…

In this paper, we report data from the first national survey of secondary Shakespeare teaching in the UK, conducted online in 2017-18 with a sample of 211 teachers distributed throughout Wales, England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. In this article, we outline the pedagogical practices which are dominant. Specifically, we examine the group of…

This study explores the relationship between satisfaction and engagement survey items through an institutionally based survey, drawing on the two largest higher education student experience surveys in the world. The UK-based National Student Survey (NSS) was designed to inform student choice and drive competition and the US-based National Survey…

Aim: This article explores ways of maximising engagement of intellectual disability staff as research participants, research advisers and research implementers. Method: The authors describe and reflect on a three-phased strategy in recruiting front-line staff (n = 690) working for intellectual disability service providers (n = 25) to participate…

The increasing prominence of neoliberal agendas in international higher education has led to greater weight being ascribed to student satisfaction, and the national surveys through which students evaluate courses of study. In this article, we focus on the evaluation of feedback processes. Rather than the transmission of information from teacher to…

The UK National Student Survey (NSS) has high status on the agenda of UK universities. Its rise in status is linked to its influence on national rankings and associated funding streams referenced to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). Consequently, many universities have implemented further assessments of student satisfaction, thereby putting…

The UK census authorities have proposed guidance for the 2021 census indicating that the sex question may be answered according to subjective gender identity. This raises issues about the measurement of sex and gender identity which other data collection exercises are also contending with. This paper addresses the questions that have arisen…

Test-retest reliability assessments rarely investigate whether reliability itself is stable or change in reliability affects findings from substantive models. Research across the social sciences often recognizes that measurement error could influence results, yet it rarely applies established error correction methods. Focusing on gender wage…

High levels of stress, anxiety, negative thoughts and emotions are being increasingly reported amongst university students and all impact negatively upon academic performance and student satisfaction. A cross-sectional design was adopted to explore how personality traits and attitudes relevant to wellbeing (i.e. mindfulness, positive and negative…

Much is made of students generally rating assessment lower than other aspects of their educational experience. It is frequently cited in research literature as evidence for a general crisis in assessment, and it strongly influences institutional enhancement efforts and media coverage of student feedback. Focusing on the UK's National Student…

This article replies to the responses to my article on "Sex and the Census: Why surveys should not conflate sex and gender identity". Fugard conflates sex itself with the characteristics associated with sex, such as finger length ratios, leading to the erroneous implication that binary sex is not a useful explanatory variable. Hines…