CSWEP: Annual Survey
Since 1972 CSWEP has undertaken the collection of data on the gender composition of faculty and students in both Ph.D. granting and non-Ph.D. granting U.S. economics departments. This 40+ years of data is unique in the social sciences and beyond and is presented in the CSWEP Annual Report.
Departments in the survey pool are sent an invitation in early October. The survey can also be accessed through the following:
- Fall 2016 Survey for PhD Departments [PDF version]
- Fall 2016 Survey for Non-PhD Departments [PDF version]
For queries about taking the survey, please consult our Frequently Asked Questions. Note that the FAQ is a work in progress. If you don’t see your question answered, please send an email to cswep@econ.ucsb.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
General Survey Questions
Q: Why does CSWEP conduct an Annual Survey?
A: The American Economic Association (AEA) created the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) with a charter to monitor the position of women in the profession and undertake professional activities to improve that position. Since 1972 CSWEP has undertaken the analysis of data on the gender composition of faculty and students in U.S. economics departments. These data are unique in the social sciences and beyond and are presented in the CSWEP Annual Report. Many chairs find this report useful in advocating for their department.
Q: What happens with the results?
A: Analysis of results from the CSWEP Survey is presented in CSWEP’s Annual Report, published at the CSWEP website, and delivered to the Executive Committee of the American Economic Association at their January meeting. The report is also published each year in Issue I (formerly called the Winter Issue) of the CSWEP News. All survey departments are mailed a hard copy of this issue. In 2016, we will for the first time send individual PhD granting departments an analysis of their own departmental data relative to their peers.
Q: Is the CSWEP Annual Survey different from the American Economic Association’s (AEA) Universal Academic Questionnaire (UAQ)?
A: Yes. However, there may be overlap in some questions for some departments. CSWEP surveys a smaller number of departments than the AEA’s UAQ and does not ask for faculty salary data. Therefore we get a much higher response rate – in 2014, CSWEP had a 100% response rate from PhD departments and an 86% response rate from non-PhD departments. We are working with the AEA to minimize respondent burden while maintaining the scientific integrity of the CSWEP Survey, which is unique within the social sciences and beyond. For the 2016 survey year, we ask that you still complete both the UAQ and CSWEP Survey.
Q: I am not comfortable submitting my contact information through the online survey. What can I do?
A: Departmental contact data is essential in helping us to successfully deliver the survey to the right individuals in your department. Contact data submitted through the online survey will be viewed only by CSWEP office staff and Board members. However, we understand your concern. Please consider submitting a PDF version instead or contacting cswep@econ.ucsb.edu to arrange an alternate submission method.
Q: Can I submit partial data?
A: Yes. While the integrity of our survey depends on receiving as complete data as possible, we would still prefer to receive partial data than no data at all. The “Faculty” section of the survey is the most important for our analysis.
Q: Can I make edits to my survey after I submit?
A: Yes. To edit a survey you have already submitted – for example to add data to a survey initially submitted with partial data – send an email to Amber Pipa, CSWEP Administrator, at cswep@econ.ucsb.edu. She will respond with a unique URL you can use to make edits.
Faculty Questions
Q: Who are tenure track faculty?
A: Tenure-track faculty are those who hold voting rights in your department and carry titles such as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor.
Q: Who are non-tenure track faculty?
A: Non-tenure track faculty do not hold voting rights in your department. They are typically teaching faculty and may hold multi-year contracts. Non-tenure track faculty typically carry titles such as Professor of the Practice or Adjunct, Instructor, Lecturer or Visiting Professor.
Q: Dr. Smith is on sabbatical from her full-time faculty appointment at University A. She is spending her sabbatical visiting our department and teaching a few courses. Do I include Dr. Smith in the faculty counts?
A: No. Faculty visiting from another institution should not be counted, even though they are teaching for you.
Q: I have a some faculty on sabbatical this year who are teaching at another institution. Should I include them in my faculty counts?
A: Yes. Include faculty on sabbatical who are expected to return to your department should be counted.
Q: Dr. Jane Doe teaches one course for our department each year, but does not have a multi-year contract. Where should she be counted?
A: Include individuals who teach less than full-time for you and do not have voting rights in your department in the category “Part-time Non-tenure Track.”
Q: We have some Economists who are tenured in other departments on campus, but we pay part of their salaries because they teach for us. Since they are not formally in our department, they do not have voting rights with us. How should they be counted?
A: This survey seeks to understand the gender composition of faculty working in myriad capacities in U.S. economics departments, both those with and without departmental voting rights. Faculty who hold a secondary appointment in economics and have voting rights should be included in the counts of tenure-track or non-tenure track professors, associate professors or assistant professors. Faculty who do not hold secondary appointments and do not hold voting rights in your department, but teach in the economics department should be counted under full or part-time non-tenure track or all other full-time instructors.
Q: I am uncertain where to count a particular faculty member. What should I do?
A: Please make a note of the count and the faculty’s relationship with your department in the comments box in the online survey or email: cswep@econ.ucsb.edu.
Q: Our department has both finance and econ faculty. Who should be counted?
A: Include only econ faculty in your counts.
Q: Our department is a business school/finance department, not an econ department. Do we need to complete a survey?
A: Yes. Please submit an Annual Survey for departments without PhD Programs. Question 1 on that survey is a business school screen. Let us know you are a business school and we will remove your department from the survey pool.
Q: Should accounting faculty be counted?
A: No.
Student Questions
Q: Should student counts be based on graduation term (final semester prior to conferral) or conferral date (term awarded)?
A: For the purposes of this survey, an academic year refers to Fall, Spring and Summer terms (i.e. Academic Year 2015-16 = Fall 2015, Spring 2016 and Summer 2016). For example, it is assumed that students completing their studies by Summer 2016 will graduate in Academic Year 2014-16. If you are still uncertain how to enter student data, or if your institution observes a different academic year, please make a note explaining your situation in the comments box on the online survey, by adding a text note to the PDF version or by sending an email to: cswep@econ.ucsb.edu.
Q: How do I count “Job Placement Status” for a PhD graduate who I know obtained employment, but I don’t know where?
A: Please note this count in the comments box on the online survey, by adding a text note to the PDF version or by sending an email to: cswep@econ.ucsb.edu. In future years, we will consider adding an “unknown category” to “Job Placement Status.”
Q: Our department offers an MS degree, but not an MA degree. Should MS degrees be counted?
A: Yes, but please also indicate MS degree and count in the comments box on the online survey, by adding a text note to the PDF version or by sending an email to: cswep@econ.ucsb.edu.