Subject Line: “Research Invitation for the Diversity Mapping Project” (via email and UA website)
Dr. Jennifer Greer, Associate Provost for Administration and Principal Investigator from the University of Alabama, is conducting a study called “Diversity Mapping Project for the University of Alabama in collaboration with Halualani & Associates, an external diversity consulting firm.1 S/he wishes to find out the different kinds of diversity efforts across all campus divisions and units within the last five years.2
Taking part in this study involves completing a web survey3 that will take about 18-20 minutes.4 This survey contains questions about diversity efforts that the voluntary participant/respondent has been involved in over the last five years and the type of diversity effort and its target population as well as its definition of diversity (among other characteristics of that effort).
We will protect your confidentiality by providing an open web access survey link that cannot be traced to any email address or computer station. In addition, no individual respondent demographic questions are posed; the information that is requested through the survey pertains only to the identified diversity effort.. Only one research team member, (who is external to the University of Alabama) Dr. Rona Tamiko Halualani, managing principal and founder of Halualani & Associates, will have access to the data. The data are password-protected in Dr. Halualani’s private Qualtrics account and no other individual will have access to any of the raw data. Only summarized data will be presented in the final diversity mapping report.5
You must be at least 18 years old to participate. You must also be a current UA student, staff member/employee, faculty member, and or administrator.
There will be no direct benefits to you in this study. The findings will be useful to help Halualani & Associates examine and analyze all of University of Alabama’s diversity efforts within the last five years so as to provide recommendations for future diversity strategy and action. 6
There are no anticipated risks in this study as the survey is purely informational. You may skip any questions you do not want to answer. 7
If you have questions about this study, please contact Dr. Jennifer Greer, Associate Provost for Administration and Principal Investigator from the University of Alabama (investigator) at (205) 348-6304 or by email () or Dr. Rona Tamiko Halualani, a research team member at 650-996-9255 or . If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about your rights as a research participant, contact Ms. Tanta Myles, the Research Compliance Officer, at (205) 348-8461 or toll-free at 1-877-820-3066. If you have complaints or concerns about this study, file them through the UA IRB outreach website at http://osp.ua.edu/site/PRCO_Welcome.html. Also, if you participate, you are encouraged to complete the short Survey for Research Participants online at this website. This helps UA improve its protection of human research participants.
YOUR PARTICIPATION IS COMPLETELY VOLUNTARY. You are free not to participate or stop participating any time before you submit your answers.8
(With the passage above, participants will be asked to click on an answer of “I understand that my participation is voluntary and have received information about informed consent. I agree to participate.” If this answer is pressed, the participant is enabled to continue with the survey.
The following is the survey link to Halualani & Associates’ Diversity Efforts Survey:
https://survey.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_2obc7461sRBLaiV
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1 A statement that the study involves research
2An explanation of the purpose(s) of research
3A description of the procedures to be followed
4The expected duration of the person’s participation
5A statement describing the extent to which confidentiality will be maintained
6A description of benefits to the individual or society that may reasonably be expected
7A description of any reasonably foreseeable risks or discomforts
8A statement that participation is voluntary, refusal involves no penalty or loss of benefits to which the participant may be entitled, and that the participant may discontinue participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which s/he may otherwise be entitled.
Revised June 2015 Page 1 of 3