MATH3831 – Assignment 2, Part 1: Questionnaire Design

1. Key Question(s) of Interest

The question for our survey is：
"What do UNSW students think about artificial intelligence? What factors influence their
attitudes?"
This survey aims to explore UNSW students’ views on artificial intelligence (AI) in general
and in education in particular. The AI tools such as ChatGPT and other generative models
become more widely used in learning and assessments. By understanding students' attitudes
can provide valuable insights for educators, administrators and policy makers.

We chose to keep the original question that was provided in the assessment brief rather than
refine it because it allowed us to collect different perspectives without a special case. This
approach also supports an open-ended exploration of factors that influence attitudes, such as
age, gender, academic background, experience with AI, perceived usefulness, and concerns
about ethics and academic integrity.
Some previous research has shown that student attitudes toward AI can be affected by
different factors such as their background and personal characteristics. For example,
Norweigan university students’ opinions about AI were different depending on their gender
and what subject they studied (Møgelvang & Grassini 2025). Similarly, a student’s social
environment and how much they trust technology can influence how they think about and use
AI tools like ChatGPT (Ursavaş et al. 2025).
In this study, we use an open and student-focused approach to better understand how UNSW
students feel about AI. We also hope to find out what challenges or opportunities AI might
bring to university life and learning.

2. Target Population of Interest

The target population of interest would be all students that are currently enrolled in UNSW.
This population includes both domestic and international students studying any program
types such as undergraduate, postgraduate coursework/research or diploma/foundation.
Hence, each student will have diverse backgrounds, and this diversity will provide a range of
views on AI.

3. How we plan to survey this population
As MATH3831 students, we don’t have access to the database to conduct a true random
sample with the entire school. We will create an online survey using google form to be shared
across to UNSW students via social media, student forums and approaching random students
on campus. This survey will be quick, voluntary and anonymous and each member of the
group (6 members total) will need to collect at least 10 responses and record how many non-
responses they have had if approaching students in person. We will have a total of at least 60
responses.
See appendix for draft questions for the survey.

4. Justifications for the above approach

The target population has been chosen to include the entire student body, to ensure a broad
and diverse range of perspectives on AI. This also considers different levels of study and
different disciplines also.
The survey is in an online format as online surveys are an efficient and cost-effective data
collection strategy, especially when collecting data from a large and geographically spread
student population. It also offers flexibility for students to complete questionnaire at their
convenience, which could lead to improved response rates.
UNSW students are digitally literate and regularly engage with the internet/online platforms.
This online method aligns well with the responders preexisting communication habits, such
as frequently checking Moodle. The anonymous nature of the online survey will also
encourage more honest answers as AI can be considered a sensitive topic.
Using an online survey also will also minimise interviewer bias that can come from an in-
person interview. Since the respondents will use the online survey, the questions are
thoughtfully phrased to avoid bias, and do not come with added emphasis to certain words,
for example, that could occur when being read aloud.
While the online survey method has many benefits as outlined above, the online method is
also easy to ignore. We account for this in our survey method by including the option to
approach random students on campus. This also means we may reach students who are not
generally online and may have differing perspectives on AI that otherwise would not be
represented.
The questions in the questionnaire are designed to be clear and simple, using neutral language
to avoid bias. Loaded response categories have been avoided by ensuring the question scales
are balanced and even. Research shows that questions should be as short as possible, should
avoid grammatical complexities, and should endeavour to be as specific as possible (Lietz,
2010). The questions included have been designed to include these principles.
The questionnaire has also been designed to minimise respondent exhaustion. The majority
are closed rather than open ended questions, decreasing the chance of a respondent failing to
complete the survey. Multiple choice questions have a small number of options per question
to similarly reduce respondent burden.
The structure of the questionnaire has been designed to have a logical flow. It begins with
easier questions about demographics, then looks at general awareness. Questions about
attitudes towards AI are located towards the end as they may be more sensitive for the
respondents. This decreases the likelihood of respondents ending the survey early. Similar
questions are grouped together in the questionnaire so that it is easy for the respondent to
follow the flow of the questionnaire. The questionnaire ends with an optional open-ended
question for any other thoughts the respondents wish to share on AI. This is placed at the end
so that it will not impact completion of the rest of the questionnaire.

5. References
Møgelvang, A & Grassini, S 2025, 'Validating the AI attitude scale (AIAS-4) and exploring
attitudinal differences in a large sample of Norwegian university students', Discover
Education, vol. 4, no. 1, DOI: 10.1007/s44217-025-00657-6.
Ursavaş, ÖF, Yalçın, Y, İslamoğlu, H, Bakır-Yalçın, E & Cukurova, M 2025, 'Rethinking the
importance of social norms in generative AI adoption: investigating the acceptance and use of
generative AI among higher education students', International Journal of Educational
Technology in Higher Education, vol. 22, no. 1, DOI: 10.1186/s41239-025-00535-z.
Lietz P. Research into questionnaire design: A summary of the literature[J]. International
Journal of Market Research, vol. 52, no. 2, DOI:10.2501/S147078530920120X.


6. Appendix
Survey: UNSW Students’ Attitudes Toward Artificial Intelligence
Introduction:
This survey aims to understand how UNSW students perceive Artificial Intelligence (AI) and
what factors influence their attitudes toward it. Your responses will remain anonymous and
will ONLY be used for academic research purposes.

Questions about the UNSW student:
1. What is your faculty?
❑ Arts & Social Sciences
❑ Business
❑ Engineering
❑ Law & Justice
❑ Medicine & Health
❑ Science
❑ Built Environment
❑ UNSW Canberra
❑ Other:

2. What is your degree level?
❑ Undergraduate
❑ Postgraduate coursework/research
❑ Diploma/foundation

3. Are you an international or domestic student
❑ International
❑ Domestic

4. Age：
❑ 18-25
❑ 25-30
❑ Other: _____

5. Gender:
❑ Male
❑ Female
❑ Non-binary
❑ Prefer not to say

Questions about student experience with AI
1. How familiar are you with the term ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI)’?
❑ Very familiar
❑ Somewhat familiar
❑ Not familiar at all
2. Have you ever taken a course related to AI or machine learning?
❑ Yes
❑ No

3. How often do you use AI technologies?
❑ Frequently (several times a week).
❑ Occasionally (a few times a month)
❑ Rarely (once or twice ever)
❑ Never

4. Which AI tools have you used? (If you selected ‘Never’ in the previous question, you
may skip this section)
❑ Generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, Claude, etc.
❑ Grammarly
❑ Virtual assistants such as Siri
❑ Other


5. What is your purpose/s for using AI (If you selected ‘Never’ in the previous question,
you may skip this section)
❑ To assist with studying for university
❑ To find information quickly
❑ To assist with personal tasks such as writing emails
❑ I don’t use AI
❑ Other

Questions about attitudes towards AI
Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements about AI (1 = Strongly
Disagree, 5 = Strongly Agree)
1. AI makes my life so much easier.
2. AI will benefit my lifestyle and future.
3. AI will impact society positively.
4. I am confident using AI for my needs.
5. AI has helped me so much with my studies.
6. There are risks and concerns with AI such as privacy.
7. I feel anxious about relying on AI too much.
Factors Influencing Attitude
1. Which of the following factors influence your attitude toward AI? (Select all that
apply)
❑ Academic background
❑ Media portrayal of AI
❑ Personal experience with AI
❑ Government policies on AI
❑ Other (Please specify): ___________
Final Thoughts
1. In your opinion, should AI be more heavily regulated?
❑ Yes
❑ No
❑ Unsure

2. Would you be interested in learning more about AI and its implications?
❑ Yes
❑ No

Is there anything else you would like to share about your thoughts on Artificial Intelligence?

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