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Questionnaire 1

Stress at University

In order to establish evidence that there is indeed a gap in the market, I needed to identify the problem and find out how students feel about stress at University. By approaching this with a questionnaire, my aim was to gather as many responses from students as possible, with a target of at least 50 responses, in order to have a starting point to develop my research.

I was hoping to find that the responses would come back with the conclusion that there is indeed a problem, and that we need a space to de-stress on campus, however, my questions had to be elaborated in a way that was not persuasive so that I knew the data would be truthful and accurate. To begin, and establish quite clearly what I needed, there were closed questions with ‘yes & no’ answers, and the more in-depth questions were on a rating system so students could choose between ‘1 & 5’ and justify their answer. Finally, I wanted open-ended questions so that respondents could actually type their personal answers in a comment box, giving me a broader range of feedback.

 

What I wanted to find out from my first questionnaire was the following:

  • Do students have a general problem with stress at university?

  • How unhealthy is the level of stress?

  • Are they aware of spaces provided to solve that problem and de-stress?

  • Would they like a dedicated space to de-stress?

 

These were my questions & answers:

Q1. Are you Male or Female? Please also state your age.

51 Responses

36   x     Female

15   x     Male

Q1 Comment box: What is your age?

42 Comments:

2   x        age 18

1   x        age 19

5   x        age 20

6   x        age 21

19 x        age 22

9   x        age 23

2   x        age 24

1   x        age 26

1   x        age 29

 

Q2. Which of the following best describes your current education status? 

52 Responses.

43    x   I am a student at Nottingham Trent University      

1      x   I am a student at the University of Nottingham      

6      x   I graduated from university within the last 3 years

2      x   I am a student elsewhere (please specify)

Q2 Comment Box: Please specify 'elsewhere'.

2 Comments

1      x   London Metropolitan University

1      x   University of Central Lancashire          

 

Q3. Are you stressed right now? If yes, how much on a scale of 1-5?

49 Responses

10    x       No

39    x      Yes

Q3 Comment Box: How much? (1-5, with 1 being barely stressed and 5 being extremley stressed)

42 Comments.

2    x        level 1

6    x        level 2

15  x      . level 3

14  x        level 4

4    x        level 5

 

Q4. On a scale of 1-5, how stressful do/did you find university?

50 Responses

1     x      1 (Not at all)

3     x      2

10   x      3 (Moderate)

30   x      4

6     x      5 (Extremley stressful) 

 

Q5. How would you rate your level of stress when at it's worst? Please rate between 1-5.

50 Responses

1    x       level 1 (Very Mild)

1    x       level 2

3    x       level 3 (Bareable)

15  x       level 4

30  x       level 5 (High level of stress)

 

Q6. Are you aware of help provided by your university to support your well-being?

49 Responses

10   x     Yes

25   x     No

14   x     To some extent

Q6 Comment Box: What support are you aware of?

10 Comments:

  • lecturers support & careers counselling

  • Speaking to a councellor, student tutors, lecturers

  • n/a

  • Learning Support- dyslexia also a time management one, I think.

  • I'm pretty sure uni offers some help, but I never looked into it.

  • Yoga Classes

  • Well being room in clifton

  • Student services - for financial, academic organisation, and counselling

  • Not so much support but I know the Uni gym did relaxation yoga which helped a lot

  • Well-being room in Clifton, counselling services

 

Q7. Would you seek help from your University if you were not coping well with stress?

49 Responses

14     x      Yes, I would visit them if I felt the need

20     x      Maybe, if there was more information available

9       x      No, I would not seek any help

6       x      No, but I would seek help elsewhere (Please specify)

Q7 Comment Box: Please specify your 'elsewhere'

6 Comments:

  • Friends, or distractions such as partying, tv, sleep or gaming

  • Friends

  • Rather rely on friends and family instead of seeking help from university

  • friends and family

  • family and friends usually does the trick.

  • Friends, family

 

Q8. Do you usually need some "de-stress/breathing" time during/after intense amounts of work? (i.e. music, extra sleep, outdoors, meditation, socialising, films, etc.)

49 Responses

24    x      Yes, all the time

17    x      Yes, but only during my most stressful times

8      x      Occasionally

0      x      No

Q8 Comment Box: Please comment on what you like to do

25 Comments:

  • Walks, getting away from 'studying' areas such as bedroom and library.

  • Socialise, watch TV, listen to music, read, rest

  • All of the above

  • Sleeeeep!

  • Socialising, watching TV and films.

  • the gym is good, talking to friends to keep my mind off it all, music to block out all sounds

  • Smoke And caffeine

  • Get very drunk!

  • Listen to music, play sports, watch films

  • Extra sleep and films.

  • For me, socialising is the first thing I do after a period of stress. This is because many of my friends are usually in the same boat i.e. similar deadlines/ exam timetables and it's nice to celebrate and relax together. However, I also enjoy extra sleep, films, TV and gaming as these activities are usually the first to be cut out when workload is high.

  • play sport, go to the gym and drink

  • Sleep

  • Sleep, relax, watch films

  • sports, going out for a walk, socialising, more sleep

  • I listen to my favourite songs as i work.

  • Extra sleep and relaxing

  • Walk around, breathing exercises, stretches, socialise through talking and music.

  • watch a film, read, listen to the radio

  • tv shows, films, physical activities: pilates, yoga etc., extra sleep definitely

  • Sleep

  • Doing something to get my mind off work - socialising etc, getting away from my workspace/working environment

  • Sleep, socialise, watch TV

  • music, writing lists

  • relax, watch tv, listen to music, quiet spaces by myself, fresh air, extra sleep

 

Q9. Are you happy with the "Chill out" spaces provided at your university?

49 Responses

9      x     Yes

8      x     No

13    x     To some extent

19    x     I'm not aware of our "chill out spaces"

Q9 Comment Box: Please comment on your experience in these places. Where do you frequent?

13 Comments

  • hardly ever use them

  • Seldom use them

  • n/a

  • I only know of a few seats dotted around inbetween lecture halls which I don't find relaxing at all therefore choose to go home I relax

  • Studio, Newton building

  • Well I guess one of them would be that room next to the gym, under Costa in the SU? I never really used it.

  • I'm not aware of any spaces that are designated for de-stressing/chilling out! My student union could be a place but I personally would not class that as a relaxing area as it is mainly a noisy bar/restaurant.

  • the SU is one of my most visited places to chill out with in the university

  • The Costa is cosy, buts it's a small space so it's often rammed with people, not ideal when trying to chill out

  • It's not very comfortable and for chilling out. Mostly it is very cold

  • there aren't enough spaces to chill out at uni - the new students union isn't big enough to accomadate many people

  • Coffee shops in the Library or student union are the places I tend to go when stressed

  • I only enjoy them for socializing with people, but not when i want to be by myself. I would visit the SU for social gatherings

 

Q10. Would you visit a space dedicated to relaxing students? Do you think this is needed at your university?

49 Responses

20     x     Yes, definitly!

18     x     Yes, but only if both quiet and noisy areas were provided seperately

10     x     Maybe

1       x     No, there are enough relaxing spaces provided at university

Q10 Comment Box: Please comment.

5 Comments

  • I probably wouldn't use a space like this but I'm sure other students would appreciate it

  • Yes as long as students are notified of these areas by the university itself rather than word of mouth or stumbling upon it

  • Yeah, I'm pretty sure it would be a great idea to have more relaxing/chillout spaces around uni, but they also should be advertised better so students know where they are.

  • Yes! It would be great to have a space designated to relaxing. I have found that the only current form of "relaxing" at university is a night out which sometimes can be the exact opposite of relaxing.

  • There is a definite need for chill out spaces at uni - especially if you want to get away from the studio/library without having to go home

Chill out spaces question

Questionnaire Analysis

 

This survey was carried out between the end of November 2014 and open for responses till the end of December 2014. The majority of responses were from NTU students in their early 20’s, though I also had a few responses from recent graduates.

 

The general outcome of the survey showed me that yes, the majority of students are clearly going through stress at university and most of them experience it on quite a high level. Almost 80% of students said they were feeling a medium-high level of stress at the time of answering the questionnaire (rated on a scale of 1-5). Over 50% of respondents rated general feelings of stress at university as a level 4 out of 5, with 5 being labelled as ‘extremely stressful’, and almost 90% reported reaching a very high level of stress during their most intense times of study.

Even with such a high indicator that students are feeling this way, less than 50% of those who answered were aware that their university provided some sort of well-being support, and those very few who were aware, didn’t quite know what was actually available to them. Almost 75% of students replied that they would most likely seek help from their University if there was more information available and they felt the need for support.

 

When questioned about how they felt about the ‘Chill out’ spaces provided at their University, the vast majority of students felt that they were either unaware of such spaces, or were not happy with the ones they were aware of. The general feedback was that current spaces are noisy, busy, uncomfortable and only really practical for socialising, not for relaxing. There were mixed views on what people considered helpful for de-stressing, some of which were happy with socialising and others who preferred the idea of being somewhere quiet and peaceful to just relax and perhaps watch a film/listen to music.

 

This survey confirmed my original thoughts about spaces provided at NTU and this was further supported by the 80% who positively responded to the idea of a new space dedicated to relaxing students.

Q1 analysis

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