Frequently Asked Questions
- Introduction
- Survey Objectives
- How you will benefit
- Participation
- Frequently asked questions
- Further Information
Questions
What is the point of the survey?The objective of the survey is to establish a better understanding of the views and needs of Jewish Australians and New Zealanders, including:
- the experience of Jewish (and non-Jewish) education
- the constant and changing elements in Jewish identity
- the views of Jewish Australians and New Zealanders on the issues they see as of greatest priority
- the views of Jewish Australians and New Zealanders on the services provided by communal organizations and leadership
- the views of Jewish Australians and New Zealanders on areas of need in the community
- the challenges facing families, and Jewish youth
- the outlook for the future
It will provide information for better planning, funding and resourcing. It will help Jewish Australians and New Zealanders to understand the specific challenges we face for the future. It is vital research for Jewish continuity.
Is this survey like the census?No, this survey is quite different. The census collects demographic data (e.g. age, number of children, location of residence, income). This survey also collects some demographic data, to establish the background of respondents, but its main objective is to understand attitudes and experiences, the values and outlook of Jewish Australians and New Zealanders.
How often will I be asked to complete a survey like this?
A detailed survey like this is completed every ten or so years. This is the first national survey in the history of Jewish Australia and New Zealand.
The last comprehensive survey was undertaken in Melbourne in 1991, Wellington in 1983 and Auckland in 1996.
The survey has no specific fundraising purpose and the database will not be used for fundraising purposes.
Who should complete the survey?
All persons who are aged 18 and over, and who consider themselves to be Jewish, are invited to complete the survey. It is vital for the success of this project that there is broad participation by Jewish Australians and New Zealanders. For households that receive a specific request to fill out the survey, one person in that household (the one who most recently had their birthday) will be asked to fill in the survey. Anyone else in the community aged 18 and over and consider themselves to be Jewish can register for login details to complete the survey.
If you have received a password and an invitation to complete the survey by post or email, please logon to the survey using this password.
It is vital for the success of this project that a large proportion of Jewish Australians and New Zealanders participate in filling out the survey.
What if I don’t have access to the internet?
Internet is the preferred method to complete the survey and we encourage everyone to complete the survey online if possible. This will make it much easier and quicker to collate the responses, and it greatly reduces the cost of the project. If you do not have access to the internet, you can also request a hard copy of the survey to be posted to you by calling:
In Australia: free call 1300 880 371
In New Zealand: free call 0800 539 474 (0800 JEWISH)
If I lose my password, can I contact the survey group to re-issue my password?
For reasons of confidentiality, there is no record of the password that you have been allocated, so it is not possible to re-issue your password. We can, however, issue a new password to enable you to complete a new questionnaire.
The length of time taken to complete the survey varies with individuals. Some complete the survey more quickly than others. Further, the survey is designed in such a way that you only complete the questions that are relevant to you – for example, only immigrants who arrived since 1981 complete the immigrant section.
It can take up to one hour to complete – but bear in mind that it is one hour of your time that you may be asked to contribute once every ten years. There has been no such comprehensive study in any Australian Jewish community in the last fifteen years.
Why are there so many questions?
This is a long survey because it serves many different purposes. It is like ten surveys in one – but it is much better than ten separate surveys, because it makes possible the understanding of the views of different groups (for example, young people, or immigrants from a specific country) not just on one topic, but on many topics.
The broad understanding that it provides is far more useful for community planning than narrow, specific purpose surveys. It allows for depth and complexity, and a multi-dimensional rather than a one-dimensional approach to the challenges facing Jewish Australians and community organisations.
Do I have to answer all of the questions?Your involvement is entirely voluntary; you may chose not to answer questions by marking either the 'Don’t know' or 'Decline to answer' category. We would, however, urge you to complete as many questions as possible to assist in the achievement of the project objectives.
When do I need to complete the survey?
You should complete the survey within one week of obtaining your password. It is envisaged, however, that the on-line version of the survey will be available for over one month to ensure that no Jewish Australians and New Zealanders are denied the opportunity to register for a password and access the survey.
Ideally you will complete the survey in one session – but if for any reason you need to stop, you can simply exit the survey and your responses will be automatically saved. At a later time, when you enter your password to re-enter the survey, you will see the next question to be answered.
Why can't I return to questions I have already completed? I might have made a mistake in one of my answers and wish to go back to correct it.
There are two important reasons why it is not possible to go back to completed questions:
[a] a number of 'skips' are built into the program, so that the sequence of questions that you see is determined by your previous answers (for example, if you indicate that you were born in Australia, you do not see questions directed to those born overseas); if you go back and change an answer, the survey programming is disrupted;
[b] as indicated by pre-testing, the survey is at the limit in terms of length of time to complete an on-line questionnaire. Length of time to complete would be considerably increased if people were to go back to review their answers (assuming that programming difficulties could be overcome).
Given that it is not possible to go back, please consider your responses very carefully.
Is the survey anonymous? Is it possible to identify individual respondents? Can my password be used to identify me?
The survey is entirely confidential and anonymous. Passwords do not connect to individuals or households. No records of the allocated passwords will be kept. This project is being conducted under the strict ethics and confidentiality procedures of Monash University.
Monash University and the Australian Research Council are supporting the work of the lead researchers, Professor Andrew Markus and Dr Nicky Jacobs. Additional funding is being provided by the partner organisations, Jewish Care Victoria and the Jewish Communal Appeal, Sydney. Funding has also been provided by the Pratt Foundation, the Gandel Charitable Trust, the Besen Family Foundation, the Slome-Topol Family Charitable Trust and R Swart Family.
Is this just university research, or is there community involvement?
The initiative for this project came from Professor Andrew Markus of Monash University, but it is being conducted in partnership between the university and leading community organisations, Jewish Care in Victoria and the Jewish Communal Appeal in NSW. There are three steering committees, chaired in Melbourne by Laurence Joseph, in Sydney by Jillian Segal AM and in New Zealand by Dr Jim Salinger. Committee membership includes:
- in Victoria, Grahame Leonard, Past President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Anton Block, President of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, and Bruce Salvin, CEO Jewish Care
- in NSW David Knoll, immediate past President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Bettina Cass, Professorial Fellow, Social Policy Research Centre, University of Sydney, Susi Brieger , education consultant, and Gary Eckstein, demographer
- In New Zealand Professor Paul Spoonley of Massey University, Stephanie Markson Senior Outreach Consultant, Cyril Nevezie School Principal and Arthur Berman.
Findings will be released through the Australian Jewish News, the New Zealand Jewish Chronicle and on the survey website.
What if I have a complaint about the project, or find the questionnaire to be distressing?
It is unlikely that completing the questionnaire will cause any distress, but should this occur, participants can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or www.lifeline.org.au/
If you have a complaint concerning the manner in which this research is being conducted, please contact:
Human Ethics Officer
Standing Committee on Ethics in Research Involving Humans (SCERH)
Monash University, Victoria 3800
Phone: +61 3 9905 2052
Fax: +61 3 9905 1420
Email: scerh@adm.monash.edu.au
The reference number for this project is CF08/0441 - 2008000207