ClimateQUAL™ – Organizational Climate and Diversity Assessment (OCDA)

A Joint Project of the University of Maryland Libraries AND Industrial/Organizational Psychology Program and the Association of Research Libraries

The Organizational Climate and Diversity Assessment is a survey tool first administered in the University of Maryland (UM) Libraries in 2000 as a means of collecting information about staff perceptions about how well the Libraries were doing in achieving the climate for diversity and organizational health. The survey asked questions covering a range of issues including job satisfaction, fair treatment, relationship or task conflict, continuous learning, managerial practices and ethnic or gender harassment. The survey was repeated in 2004, with the addition of questions focusing on team issues, as a way of understanding if there had been in changes (positive or negative) in the Libraries' climate since 2000.

The UM Libraries have partnered with the UM Industrial/Organizational Psychology Program and the Association of Research Libraries to convert an existing print survey instrument (OCDA) to a Web-based assessment designed to be utilized by any number and types of library organizations. Phase I of this project involved piloting the existing survey in a Web-based administration among selected research libraries:

• Texas A&M University
• University of Arizona
• University of Connecticut
• University of Iowa
• University of Kansas

Phase II of the project began in January 2008 with ten additional libraries testing the survey based on revisions from Phase I findings:

• Arizona State University
• Cornell University
• Duke University
• Emory University
• Kansas State University
• New York University
• Northwestern University
• University of Houston
• University of Maryland
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst

ClimateQUAL™ – OCDA Project Updates Updates Phase II survey administration began February 23, 2008. Survey will be completed by May 5. Phase I sites Texas A&M University, University of Arizona, University of Connecticut, University of Iowa, and University of Kansas completed testing of the survey instrument in July 2007 with an overall return rate of 80.33%. Phase I sites have received the data and are currently reviewing the data to identify next steps.

For More Information

For anyone who has completed the survey and would like to provide feedback, go to the Feedback Form. This page is password protected. Obtain the password from your institution's survey contact.

If your institution would be interested in participating in the ClimateQUAL™ – OCDA project, contact: OCDA UM Team.

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