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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