Abstract  

  Primary  research  was  conducted  among  the  students  of  Grand  Valley  State  

University.  The  purpose  of  this  was  to  gain  real  insight  into  the  thoughts  and  

perceptions  of  Grand  Valley  Students  to  help  Grand  Valley  Emergency  Services.  A  

focus  group  and  a  survey  were  completed  to  help  find  possible  solutions  for  GVES,  

and  also  to  provide  the  client  with  solid  research.  Research  shows  that  Grand  Valley  

students  are  unaware  of  Grand  Valley  Emergency  Services,  and  also  mostly  have  a  

negative  perception  with  GVPD,  of  whom  they  believe  GVES  is.  Primary  research  

proved  to  be  helpful  in  provide  answers  and  ideas  for  solutions  for  Grand  Valley  

Emergency  Services.    

Methodology  

Focus  Group  

  The  focus  group  for  the  primary  research  took  place  on  a  Wednesday  night  in  

a  private  room  inside  the  honors  college.  A  moderators  guide  was  created  to  

organize  the  information  we  wished  to  obtain  from  the  participants.  The  questions  

asked  during  the  focus  group  ranged  from  their  general  knowledge  about  Grand  

Valley  Emergency  Services  to  their  opinions  on  several  different  aspects  of  GVES.  

These  included  the  website,  the  Rave  Guardian  App,  and  Safewalk.  The  

demographics  of  the  group  were  two  male  and  three  female  participants.  These  

students  all  came  from  different  majors  excluding  Advertising  and  Public  Relations.  

The  focus  group  results  were  genuine  in  the  sense  that  the  participants  were  not  

afraid  to  speak  among  each  other  about  their  opinions.  The  focus  group  results  are  

crucial  to  the  campaign  in  getting  a  firsthand  look  at  the  information  needed  for  the  

primary  research.  The  diversity  among  the  group  was  very  helpful  in  getting  

information  that  secondary  research  and  a  survey  could  not  provide.  It  was  very  

telling  to  see  the  student’s  facial  expressions  and  talking  face-­‐to-­‐face  with  these  

participants.  The  focus  group  helped  in  getting  a  feel  of  what  would  work  with  the  

students  and  how  they  really  feel  about  Grand  Valley  Emergency  Services.  

Survey  

  After  the  focus  group  was  conducted,  a  survey  was  created  to  get  answers  to  

information  that  was  not  fully  developed  or  answered  during  the  process  of  the  

focus  group.  The  survey  was  comprised  of  ten  different  questions.  These  questions  

asked  about  demographics,  current  knowledge  of  Grand  Valley  Emergency  Services,  

opinions  on  services  the  client  offers,  and  a  couple  questions  regarding  where  

students  spent  most  of  their  time  while  at  school.  These  questions  were  composed  

with  focus  group  results  in  mind.  Anything  that  did  not  get  answered  in  the  focus  

group  was  created  into  a  question  and  included  in  the  survey.  Through  the  survey  

we  were  able  to  obtain  valuable  information  with  a  quantifiable  aspect  to  it.  The  

survey  results  are  important  in  obtaining  hard  facts  from  the  students.  The  survey  

was  sent  out  via  email  to  students.  The  majority  of  respondents  for  this  survey  were  

Advertising  and  Public  Relations  majors,  Graphic  Design,  and  Communication  

majors,  as  well  as  a  few  others.  The  majority  of  respondents  were  juniors,  however,  

there  were  respondents  from  every  class  standing.  Females  were  also  the  majority  

within  the  respondents.  This  survey  was  very  helpful  for  the  primary  research  and  

to  the  client  because  there  was  a  wider  range  of  students  that  were  reached.  Instead  

of  the  five  members  of  the  focus  group,  there  were  98  respondents  that  answered  

the  survey  questions.  The  feedback  from  the  survey  was  exceptional  in  the  fact  that  

there  were  98  respondents,  and  also  a  very  low  amount  of  questions  that  were  

skipped  within  the  survey.  The  focus  group  proved  to  be  a  very  helpful  part  to  

getting  more  information  to  configure  possible  solutions  for  the  client.    

Results  

Focus  Group  

  During  the  focus  group,  many  different  questions  were  asked.  The  questions  

began  with  just  stating  your  name,  major,  and  class  standing.  Participants  were  also  

informed  of  the  ground  rules  for  the  focus  group.  These  included  making  sure  the  

participants  knew  that  they  did  not  have  to  answer  a  question  if  they  felt  

uncomfortable,  and  they  were  allowed  to  leave  any  time  they  felt  necessary.  

Participants  were  also  informed  that  the  information  they  would  provide  was  very  

important,  and  honesty  was  crucial  in  answering  these  questions.  First,  the  current  

perceptions  of  the  Grand  Valley  Police  Department  and  Emergency  Service  were  

discussed.  Participants  revealed  that  they,  along  with  their  peers,  think  that  GVPD  is  

intimidating  and  they  do  not  have  a  good  overall  perception  of  them.  Participants  

also  shared  that  they  do  not  really  have  a  current  perception  on  Grand  Valley  

Emergency  Services,  nor  did  they  know  that  it  was  separate  from  GVPD.  Participants  

said  that  they  were  more  intimidated  by  the  “real  police”.  During  the  focus  group  

participants  also  shared  that  they  were  not  very  aware  of  what  the  Rave  Guardian  

app  was,  some  even  saying  they  knew  nothing  about  it.  Half  the  group  had  at  least  

heard  of  the  App  but  did  not  know  the  specifics  of  it.  Participants  said  that  they  

would  use  it  if  they  believed  there  was  a  need  for  it;  however,  they  feel  very  safe  on  

campus.  One  of  the  male  participants  said  he  would  use  it  if  he  were  a  girl.  Safe  Walk  

was  more  heard  of  than  the  other  services,  but  again  it  was  believed  to  be  a  service  

that  was  not  needed,  especially  on  the  Allendale  campus.  For  the  most  part,  there  

was  a  lack  of  knowledge  regarding  the  service  that  GVES  offers.  Another  issue  

regarding  the  services  was  that  participants  did  not  know  how  to  use  the  service.  

Specifically,  they  did  not  know  who  to  call  for  Safe  Walk.  As  with  the  survey,  

discussed  after  this,  students  felt  very  safe  for  the  most  part  on  Allendale  campus,  

but  felt  significantly  less  safe  on  the  Pew  campus.  Next,  social  media  was  discussed.  

Participants  believed  that  the  best  way  to  consume  information  was  through  

Facebook  and  Twitter  and  also  receiving  emails  about  the  information.  Participants  

revealed  that  they  did  not  follow  any  social  media  accounts  affiliated  with  the  

university.  Lastly,  the  website  was  discussed.    Participants  said  that  they  had  never  

been  to  the  website  and  would  not  even  know  where  to  begin  in  locating  it.  When  

shown  the  homepage  they  said  that  it  was  not  very  attractive  or  interesting.  They  

would  not  have  gone  searching  any  further  on  the  page  just  because  of  the  

homepage.  When  shown  the  ‘Do  You  Know  What  To  Do?’  page  students  thought  that  

should  be  the  homepage  and  is  much  more  inviting  and  interesting.  

Survey  

  As  mentioned  previously,  there  were  98  respondents  in  the  survey  that  was  

distributed  via  email  to  students.  Also  mention  earlier  was  class  standing.  The  

majority  of  respondents  were  juniors.  The  least  amount  of  respondents  were  

freshman,  however,  the  respondents  were  relatively  equal  in  regards  to  class  

standing.  The  gender  of  respondents  was  largely  female.  Over  72%  of  respondents  

who  answered  were  female  and  only  27%  were  male.  There  were  two  questions  in  

the  survey  that  asked  about  how  safe  students  feel  on  campus.  This  question  was  for  

the  Allendale  campus,  and  a  separate  question  for  the  Pew  campus.  The  survey  

asked  on  a  scale  from  1-­‐5  how  safe  they  felt,  5  being  the  safest.  Students  responded  

that  they  felt  very  safe  on  the  Allendale  campus.  45%  of  students  responded  with  a  5  

on  the  safety  level  and  44%  responded  with  a  4  on  the  safety  level.  Together  this  

makes  89%  of  students  who  feel  very  safe  or  generally  safe  on  the  Allendale  

campus.  For  the  Pew  campus  however,  results  were  much  different.  The  majority  of  

responses  were  a  3  on  the  safety  scale  with  39%  of  respondents  choosing  that.  

Another  35%  of  students  chose  4.  However,  the  rest  of  the  results  varied  between  1,  

2,  and  5.  Students  were  asked  which  of  the  two  campuses  they  spent  more  time  on  

and  the  results  were  that  an  astounding  91%  of  students  spent  more  time  on  the  

Allendale  campus.  Next,  the  services  GVES  offered  were  asked  about.  66%  of  

students  felt  that  they  would  use  an  app  that  could  help  them  get  to  their  

destination  safely  while  walking.  However,  over  72%  of  these  students  do  not  know  

what  the  Rave  Guardian  App  is.  

 

Next,  students  were  asked  if  there  was  a  difference  between  the  Grand  Valley  Police  

Department  and  Grand  Valley  Emergency  Services.  The  vast  majority  of  students  

responded  that  they  did  not  know  if  there  was  a  difference  between  the  two.    

 

The  knowledge  about  services  offered  from  GVES  by  students  was  also  very  

important  to  determine.  A  question  was  formulated  to  see  how  much  students  knew  

about  the  services  that  Emergency  Services  offer.  The  majority  answered  that  they  

did  not  know  much  or  anything  about  the  services  offered.  Very  few  respondents  

answered  that  they  knew  about  the  services.  The  last  point  covered  in  the  survey  

was  how  approachable  students  felt  that  campus  security  is.  The  results  were  all  

over  the  board.    

 

The  survey  results  were  very  informative  in  the  information  that  we  were  

looking  to  find.  Results  also  covered  ground  that  was  not  covered  in  the  focus  group.    

Discussion  &  Analysis  

Focus  Group  

  The  focus  group  results  were  very  interesting  and  important.  Students  

showed  that  they  do  not  know  much  about  Grand  Valley  Emergency  Services  or  the  

services  they  offer.  Their  responses  offered  valuable  insight  into  what  the  first  steps  

of  action  should  be.  The  GVES  homepage  should  be  redesigned  or  relocated  to  show  

the  ‘Do  You  Know  What  To  Do?’  page  as  the  homepage,  if  the  client  does  not  desire  

any  drastic  changes.  Another  issue  that  needs  to  be  addressed  is  the  lack  of  

knowledge  about  Emergency  Services.  The  department  also  needs  to  push  their  

social  media  sites.  By  having  separate  social  media  sites  that  offer  information,  

students  may  have  a  better  idea  of  what  the  Rave  Guardian  app  is,  or  who  to  call  

when  searching  for  a  Safe  Walk.  The  focus  group  definitely  provided  feedback  of  the  

larger  issues  that  are  currently  happening  with  the  Grand  Valley  Emergency  

Services  image.    

Survey  

  The  results  found  gave  a  lot  of  information  about  student’s  behaviors  and  

perceptions.  Now  knowing  the  answers  to  these  questions,  it  can  help  the  client  

determine  what  course  of  action  to  take.  It  was  good  that  students  responded  from  

every  class  standing  to  know  that  there  is  not  any  large  inconsistency  in  the  

knowledge  between  classes.  Also,  the  majority  of  respondents  being  female  may  

have  been  an  issue  in  any  other  case;  however,  a  lot  of  GVES  services  are  geared  

more  toward  a  female  audience.  This  is  very  helpful  in  determining  what  the  female  

student  body  knows  about  the  services  offered.  Now  knowing  that  students  feel  

very  safe  on  the  Allendale  campus  may  show  why  the  use  of  the  Guardian  Rave  app  

have  not  been  to  where  GVES  wants  them  to  be.  With  the  knowledge  of  students  not  

feeling  as  safe  on  the  Pew  campus,  perhaps  the  client  can  give  thought  to  extending  

more  services  on  that  campus  and  heavily  promoting  them  to  make  students  feel  

more  safe  on  the  downtown  campus.  On  the  contrary  to  this,  however,  students  do  

spend  far  more  time  on  the  Allendale  campus.  This  should  be  taken  into  

consideration,  but  should  not  deter  the  decision  of  marketing  further  services  to  the  

Pew  campus  since  Allendale  is  in  a  very  rural  area,  and  the  Pew  campus  is  in  a  

heavily  populated  urban  setting.  Also,  knowing  that  66%  of  people  would  use  an  app  

that  would  allow  them  to  get  to  their  destination  safely  while  walking  is  a  key  piece  

of  information  in  knowing  that  students  would  respond  well  to  marketing  the  Rave  

Guardian  app  further.  More  information  that  goes  along  with  this  is  the  fact  that  

students  do  not  seem  to  know  about  the  app  at  all.  If  promoted  properly,  the  app  has  

the  potential  to  gain  many  more  users.  A  large  issue  is  the  fact  that  students  do  not  

know  what  Grand  Valley  Emergency  Services  is.  Not  only  do  they  not  know  what  

GVES,  they  also  have  a  very  weak  knowledge  of  the  services  that  are  offered  through  

Emergency  Services.  This  is  the  first  thing  that  needs  to  be  fixed.  Once  students  are  

aware  that  Grand  Valley  Emergency  Services  is  a  branch  off  of  GVPD,  they  can  start  

promoting  their  services  more.  

Conclusion  

  Overall,  primary  research  proved  to  be  very  useful  in  determining  the  

current  knowledge  and  attitudes  that  students  hold  about  Emergency  Services.  This  

information  will  help  formulate  strategies  and  tactics  to  get  the  client  to  where  it  

needs  to  be  with  the  student  community.  Through  these  strategies  and  tactics,  the  

hope  is  that  the  campaign  will  start  to  come  together  with  a  plan  of  how  to  reach  the  

students  to  increase  awareness  and  improve  perceptions  of  Emergency  Services.