BPS Member Survey

About the member survey

This rolling survey will allow us to better engage with our members to understand their thoughts, opinions and needs.

Feedback from our members will provide us with insight so we can deliver a valuable service and create a vibrant member-centred community for all.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the member survey work?

The member survey is a short online survey which takes around 10 minutes to complete.

It's emailed to a randomly selected group of BPS members, chosen to be representative of the overall membership by membership grade.

The survey ran on a monthly basis in 2023 between April and December, and will run quarterly in 2024.

It's also sent to those who have recently joined the BPS and those who recently left BPS membership.

The survey includes questions asked every survey wave about overall views of the BPS, as well as questions which change each survey wave on topical issues of importance to the BPS.

This will enable us to gain frequent, timely feedback on topical issues.

Where applicable, responses to the survey will be compared with other information the BPS holds about our members such as membership grade and age.

The purpose of this is to help us understand how representative the survey is compared with our overall membership, and better understand the views of different groups of our members.

All findings will be reported in aggregate.

Why have I been sent this survey?

You've been sent this survey because you're either a current member of the BPS or you recently left our membership, and we want to hear from you to understand how we can improve our services for our members.

All of our current members are being invited to complete a survey at least once, over the course of the year.

This approach will allow all of our members the opportunity to contribute their views of the BPS.

What will taking part involve?

You'll be asked to complete a short online survey, taking approximately 10 minutes to complete. Your participation is voluntary. 

Will I be sent reminders to take part in the survey?

If you don't open the initial email invitation to complete the survey, you'll be sent a reminder email one week after the initial invitation email was sent. If you don't open either the initial invitation email or the reminder email, you'll be sent a second, final reminder a couple of weeks later. You shouldn't receive any further reminders.

Will I see the results from this survey?

As the survey explores membership experience, we want to share the results with our members, along with some information about the work we're doing off the back of the survey findings.

We have shared some initial insights from the survey here.

We plan on sharing more findings from the member survey throughout the year on the BPS website and in our newsletters.

Will taking part be kept confidential?

The answers you provide in the survey will be kept confidential and no identifiable information be shared outside of the BPS.

Information about how we use personal information can be found in our Privacy Policy.

I haven't received a survey invitation, but others I know did – why is this?

We're selecting a random sample of members to invite to participate in the survey each survey wave – it may be that you were not randomly selected this wave, so did not receive an invitation to take part.

We're also only able to invite people to take part in the survey who have ticked the 'Please send me information by email' option in their email preferences in MyBPS.

If you have not ticked this option, you won't have received the survey invitation.

Access MyBPS and update your preferences.

Can I opt-out or withdraw from the study?

You can choose not to respond to the survey (taking part is voluntary), or you can opt-out of receiving survey invitations from the BPS by changing your email preferences in MyBPS email preferences, or by unsubscribing from all BPS emails.

Access MyBPS and update your preferences.

If you've completed the survey and would like to withdraw your survey data, you're able to up until the survey data is aggregated for analysis and reporting.

Data from the survey is downloaded and aggregated for analysis and reporting on specific dates throughout the year. For 2024, these are planned to be:

• March survey wave: data aggregated Tuesday 23 April
• June survey wave: data aggregated Wednesday 03 July
• September survey wave: data aggregated Thursday 03 October
• December survey wave: data aggregated Friday 10 January 2025

All requests for withdrawal can be made to [email protected].

The survey is being run online. What about members who are not online and/or do not have an email address?

We've chosen to use an online methodology for this survey because it's a cost effective way of reaching many of our members.

While the majority of our members have email addresses we can use to send them the survey, we do accept that some BPS members do not have an email address or would prefer to complete the survey another way such as be telephone or on paper.

Alternative survey methods such as using telephone or postal surveys can take a long time and can be costly, which is why we aren't offering them currently.

Who is organising and funding the research?

This research is organised and funded by the BPS. No third parties are involved.

How will the research comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?

The information will collect from you will be stored within the UK and comply with requirements of the UK GDPR (2021).

The BPS is the data controller and will not share your information with any other organisation. Data processing is based on the legitimate interests pursued by the data controller (BPS).

You have the right to request access to any personal data will collect from you and the correction (rectification), removal (erasure) of such personal data.

Any such request can be made by emailing [email protected].

What if I have any concerns about the handling of my data?

If you have any concerns around the handling of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

To raise a complaint with the ICO you can visit the ICO website or call the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113.

What if I have any other questions about this survey?

If you have any further questions or queries about this survey, please get in touch by emailing [email protected].