Attachement A - Institutional Contacts

Attachment A: Institutional Contact Materials

Attachment A – Protocol for Institutional Contact

Using available information, academic institutions and FFRDCs will be assigned to a single protocol stratum prior to initiating contact. Reassignments to other protocol strata will be made, in some cases however, based upon information obtained either during or after the initial contact. The protocol stratum assignment determines the contact strategy and data collection protocol that will be applied to institutions. In addition to being assigned to a protocol stratum, institutions will be randomly assigned to one or two experimental conditions, referred to as the NSF and the High Authority (HA) treatments. Assignment to the two conditions primarily determines the type of communications the ECDs will received about the Web Survey. Under NSF treatment, ECDs will receive all notifications regarding participation to the Web survey from NSF. Under the HA treatment, two notifications – the initial pre-notification and final appeal – will be sent by an institutional HA figure instead of NSF. Therefore, with the exception of the first contact (pre-notification) and last contact (final appeal) the notifications are the same across the two conditions. The advantage to this approach is that it maximizes the power of test of institutional involvement in the initial contact with ECDs and the follow up of ECD nonresponse.

Table 1 provides the strategies for initial contact with institutions.

Table 1. Strategies for Initial Contact with Institutions

	Other approachable GSS respondent, well-placed	Other approachable GSS respondent, not well-placed	Other unapproachable GSS respondent or no other GSS respondent
IRO respondent in GSS, approachable	A:  Contact IRO GSS respondent to request data or otherwise best contact	A:  Contact IRO GSS respondent to request data or otherwise best contact	A:  Contact IRO GSS respondent to request data or otherwise best contact
IRO respondent in GSS, unapproachable	C:  Contact well-placed GSS respondent to request data or otherwise best contact outside of the IRO	E:  Contact best GSS respondent to request best contact	F:  Contact high admin office (e.g., President) for permission and to obtain best contact
IRO, but respondent not in GSS	B:  Contact well-placed GSS respondent to request data or otherwise best contact	D:  Contact the IRO directly to request data	D:  Contact the IRO directly to request data
No IRO	B:  Contact well-placed GSS respondent to request data or otherwise best contact	E:  Contact best GSS respondent to request best contact	F:  Contact high admin office (e.g., President) for permission and to obtain best contact

NOTE: IRO = Institutional Research Office

The proposed contact materials and timing of the notifications vary by experimental group. A summary of the contact materials and timing of the notifications are provided in Table 2 on the next page.

Attachment A.0 – Institutional Contact Timing Table 2. List of Notifications to Institutional High Authorities
	Contact #
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Institutional High Authorities		Day 1	Day 5	Day 15	Day 15	Day 19	Day 22	Days 29-50	~Day 55	~Day 95
FedEx Letter to High Authority		x
2-1a Strategies ABCE * NSF group
2-1b Strategies ABCE * HA group
2-1c Strategy D * NSF group
2-1d Strategy D * HA group
2-1e Strategy F * NSF group
2-1f Strategy F * HA group
HA institutional approval to participate form		x
Brochure to include in mailing to HA - NSF group		x
Brochure to include in mailing to HA - HA group		x
Follow-up phone call with HA (outline script)			x
Letter of Support template			x
Request to HA to send pre-notification email									x
Request to HA to send final appeal email										x
Communication to POC
Introductory phone call to POC (outline script)				x
Information Packet Mailing to POC
Cover letter					x
Brochure					x
Description of data fields and specifications					x
Profiling call with POC (outline script)						x
POC "Welcome to the ECDS" packet
Welcome letter							x
Certification of Appreciation							x
Reminder/Help phone calls								x
*HA means High Authority
*POC means Point of Contact
*NSF group means NSF does all contacts with the ECD
*HA group means the institutional high authority does the first and last contact with the ECD

Attachment A.1 – Institutional Contact

Lead Letter to High Authorities (Strategies ABCE-HA Group)

<Date>

<<Institution President Name>>

<<Title>>

<<Address>>

Dear [Dr/etc.] [Institution President Last Name]:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) needs your assistance with the Early Career Doctorate Study, a pilot study of individuals who received their doctoral degree within the last 10 years. Your institution is one of only 80 nationwide selected to participate in this study. We need your help in designating a point of contact at [institution name] who can prepare a list of all early career doctorates at your institution. This list will be used to sample 40 respondents for a 20-30 minute questionnaire on their work experiences since receiving their doctorates.

In addition to designating your institution’s point of contact, we would like you (or your designee) to notify participants of their selection for this study and send a final appeal e-mail toward the end of the data collection period. These actions will greatly improve our survey’s response rate. [NOTE: Content of letters differs slightly based on protocol strategy to which institutions have been assigned and these contents are provided on the next page]. A member of our survey staff at RTI International will call you in a few days to answer any questions you may have and will send you templates of these emails at that time.

It is important to understand career paths and plans of early career doctorate recipients for the long-term interests of our nation’s scientific and research enterprise as well as for the academic community. To date, no comprehensive data have been collected about this community, but what is known underscores the importance of gaining more and better information.

Enclosed you will find a brochure that provides details about the purpose of the study and summarizes what participation involves. You will also find a study participation form to nominate the person who can most easily identify all individuals at your institution who received their doctoral degree within the last 10 years. <<Proposed Contact name>> is assisting NSF with the NSF-NIH Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering [NOTE: NSF Survey of Postdoctorates at Federally Funded Research and Development Centers for FFRDCs] and may be a good point of contact for this study as well.

Your support is critical for the survey’s success. If you have any questions, please contact the NSF project officer, Kelly Phou, at (703) 292-4722 or kphou@nsf.gov.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

John R. Gawalt

Acting Director

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

National Science Foundation

Attachment A.1 – Lead Letter to High Authorities

With six protocol strategies and two treatment groups it is necessary to have multiple versions of this lead letter. Each version provides an outline of the study and a brief description of what is being asked of the institution. However, content of the letters differs slightly based on the protocol strategy to which the institution has been assigned. Below are the texts to the second paragraph that is highlighted in blue above for each version of the lead letters.

Attachment A.1 – Lead Letter to High Authorities (Strategies ABCE – NSF Group)

In addition to designating your institution’s point of contact, we would like would like you (or your designee) to provide a letter of support for the study. Your institution’s endorsement will greatly improve our survey’s response rate.

Attachment A.1 – Lead Letter to High Authorities (Strategies D – HA Group)

In addition to designating your institution’s point of contact, we would like you (or your designee) to notify participants of their selection for this study and send a final appeal e-mail toward the end of the data collection period. These actions will greatly improve our survey’s response rate.

Attachment A.1 – Lead Letter to High Authorities (Strategies D – NSF Group)

In addition to designating your institution’s point of contact, we would like would like you (or your designee) to provide a letter of support for the study. Your institution’s endorsement will greatly improve our survey’s response rate.

Attachment A.1 – Lead Letter to High Authorities (Strategies F – HA Group)

In addition to designating your institution’s point of contact, we would like you (or your designee) to notify participants of their selection for this study and send a final appeal e-mail toward the end of the data collection period. These actions will greatly improve our survey’s response rate.

Attachment A.1 – Lead Letter to High Authorities (Strategies F – NSF Group)

In addition to designating your institution’s point of contact, we would like would like you (or your designee) to provide a letter of support for the study. Your institution’s endorsement will greatly improve our survey’s response rate.

Attachment A.1 – Study Participation Form – Pre-filled Version (Strategies ABCDE)

Early Career Doctorate Study (ECDS)

Study Participation Form

<<Institution Name>>

Dear Mr. Gawalt,

I support the participation of <<Institution Name>> in the Early Career Doctorate Study that is being conducted by RTI International for the National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. The following individual will serve as RTI’s point of contact with <<Institution Name>>, a role which will require preparing a list of all early career doctorates (ECDs) employed by this institution.

Proposed Contact:

<< Contact Name>>______________________

Name of Point of Contact

<< Contact Title>>_______________________

Title

<< Mailing Address>>____________________

Mailing address

<< Mailing city, state, zip code>>____________

City, State, Zip code

<< Telephone number>>___________________

Telephone Number

<<E-mail address>>______________________

E-mail address

Nominated Contact:

_______________________________________

Name of Point of Contact

_______________________________________

Title

_______________________________________

Mailing address

_______________________________________

City, State, Zip code

_______________________________________

Telephone Number

_______________________________________

E-mail address

Signature_______________________________ Date___________________________________

<< Institution President Name>>

<<Institution President Title>>

Instructions:

Please nominate a point of contact and return by <<Month, DD, YYYY>>. To nominate the proposed contact, simply sign and date the form. To nominate someone other than the proposed contact, please complete the Nominated Contact information above. This form can be returned by mail (preaddressed and stamped envelope enclosed), e-mailed toECDS.@rti.org, or faxed to 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thank you.

Pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(b), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0174 (Exp. 5/31/2013). Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average one hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, Facilities and Operations Branch, Division of Administrative Services, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230.

Attachment A.1 – Study Participation Form – Blank Version (Strategy F)

Early Career Doctorate Study (ECDS)

Study Participation Form

<<Institution Name>>

Dear Mr. Gawalt,

I support the participation of <<Institution Name>> in the Early Career Doctorate Study that is being conducted by RTI International for the National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. The following individual will serve as RTI’s point of contact with <<Institution Name>>, a role which will require preparing a list of all early career doctorates (ECDs) employed by this institution.

_____________________________________________

Name of point of contact

_____________________________________________

Title

_____________________________________________

Mailing address

_____________________________________________

City, state, zip code

_____________________________________________

Telephone number

_____________________________________________

E-mail address

Signature_________________________________ Date_______________________________

<< Institution President Name>>

<<Institution President Title>>

Instructions:

Please nominate a point of contact and return by <<Month, DD, YYYY>>. This form can be returned

by mail using the provided preaddressed and stamped envelope, e-mailed toECDS.@rti.org, or faxed

to 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thank you.

Pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(b), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0174 (Exp. 5/31/2013). Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average one hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, Facilities and Operations Branch, Division of Administrative Services, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230.

Attachment A.1 – ECDS Brochure

With two treatment groups it is necessary to have multiple versions of the ECDS information brochure. Each version differs slightly based on the treatment group to which the institution has been assigned. Two HA Brochures were created for the NSF and HA treatment groups and one for the Point of Contact.

Please refer to a separate pdf file for an example of these brochures (Attachment A.1 – HA Brochure).

Attachment A.2 – HA Follow Up Call Guidelines

(Page 1 of 2)

HA – Follow-up Phone Call (Outline Script)

[Conversational script; not verbatim]

Prior to each call become familiar with the status of the institution.

“Good morning/afternoon <<salutation>> <<HA office contact name if available>>,

This is <<institutional contactor name>> from RTI International, and I’m calling on behalf of the National Science Foundation about the Early Career Doctorate Study. Within the last 5 days we sent <<HA Name and title>> a packet of information about the Early Career Doctorate Study, an important study the NSF is conducting.”

• Receive package

  • WAS THE PACKAGE RECEIVED?

    • [IF NO DIDN’T RECEIVE]

      • OFFER TO RESEND IT

    • [IF UNSURE]

      • DESCRIBE PACKAGE: “

        • COVER LETTER WITH BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF STUDY

        • BROCHURE WITH MORE DETAILS

        • INSTITUTIONAL PARTICIPATION FORM

        • It included a cover letter with a brief description of the study, a brochure with more details, and an institutional approval form.”

    • [IF YES]

      • HAS THE HA HAD TIME TO REVIEW IT

        • IF NOT, FIND OUT WHEN THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO

        • IF HAVE, BUT NOT RESPONDED FIND OUT WHEN THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO RESPOND

        • IF THEY HAVE RESPONDED, BUT WE JUST HAVE NOT RECEIVED IT EXPRESS APPRECATION

• [RTI GROUPS ONLY]

  • INFORM WE HAVE ONE OTHER FORM WE NEED

    • WOULD LIKE A LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR PROSPECTIVE SURVEY RESPONDENTS

• EXPLAIN HAVING THIS WILL RESULT IN BETTER RESPONSE

• WE HAVE TEMPLATE WE CAN SEND, HA IS WELCOME TO MODIFY IF THEY LIKE

• FIND OUT HA PREFERENCE FOR E-MAIL OR MAIL

  • OBTAIN BEST E-MAIL OR PHYSICAL ADDRESS TO SEND IT TO

• COULD THEY REVIEW, SIGN, AND RETURN IT TO US?

Attachment A.2 – HA Follow Up Call Guidelines

(Page 2 of 2)

• INFORM THEM WE CAN RETURN IT BY THEIR PREFERRED METHOD

• E-MAIL (PROVIDE IC E-MAIL ADDRESS)

• MAIL (PROVIDE IC MAIL ADDRESS)

• FAX (PROVIDE IC FAX NUMBER)

• Assistance later in the survey (for HA groups only—if HA has reviewed package)

  • WOULD LIKE HA HELP WITH TWO COMMUNICATIONS TO ECDs BECAUSE THESE HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE RESPONSE TO SURVEY REQUESTS.

    • NOTIFICATION E-MAIL TO PROSPECTIVE RESPONDENTS JUST BEFORE INVITATION E-MAILS ARE SENT BY RTI

    • FINAL REMINDER E-MAIL JUST BEFORE END OF STUDY

  • CAN WE SEND THESE TEMPLATES FOR REVIEW?

    • [IF YES]

      • ENTER/CONFIRM NAME/TIME OR ANY DIFFERENT CONTACT INFO INTO CONTROL SYSTEM

  • DETERMINE IF PERSON YOU ARE SPEAKING WITH IS BEST CONTACT FOR FUTURE CONTACTS

    • IF NOT, WHO IS?

    • [IF DON’T AGREE TO E-MAILS]

      • EXPLAIN FEATURES IN PLACE DESIGNED TO MINIMIZE EFFORT

    • [IF YES, AND NOT COLLECTED ABOVE]

      • ENTER/CONFIRM NAME/TITLE CONTACT INFO

• QUESTIONS

  • ANY QUESTIONS?

• END OF CALL

  • PROVIDE HOTLINE (1-800-XXX-XXX) AND IC E-MAIL ADDRESS

  • INFORM THEM TO CONTACT US WITH ANY QUESTIONS

  • PROVIDE OPERATING HOURS (MONDAY-FRIDAY 8AM-5PM EST)

VOICEMAIL

This is <<institutional contactor name>> from RTI International. I’m calling on behalf of the National Science Foundation about the study we discussed a few days ago. I’d like to discuss some things about our request for information. Please give me a call back at 1-800-XXX-XXXX. Thank you.

Attachment A.2 – Institutional HA Letter of Support – NSF Group

Dear Colleague,

You have been selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to participate in the Early Career Doctorates Study (ECDS). As you know, the first years following the receipt of a doctorate degree are pivotal in determining individual career trajectories. Despite this, there is a paucity of scientifically collected data about the choices doctorate holders make early in their career and the contexts in which they make them. The information gathered by the ECDS about your current career activities and future plans will provide data to the NSF that are not available from any other data source.

I urge you to make time to complete this survey. You are one of a relatively small number of doctorate holders nationwide who have been selected to participate in the ECDS. As a result, your participation is extremely important. By completing this 30 minute questionnaire, you will be improving national statistics on doctorate holders and providing a service to your peers, as well as the academic community in general.

I encourage you to take part in this worthwhile study.

Sincerely,

<Institutional High Authority Name>

<Institutional High Authority Title>

Attachment A.3 – Point of Contact Introductory Call Guidelines

(Page 1 of 2)

POC Introductory phone call guidelines

[BASIC OUTLINE OF TOPICS TO DISCUSS –NOTE VERBATIM SCRIPT]

Good morning/afternoon <<salutation>><<POC name>>,

This is <<institutional contactor name>> with RTI International. I am calling on behalf of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to conduct a study of early career doctorates. <Institution> is one of 80 institutions selected to participate in this study. <Institution HA> has nominated you as someone who could help us create a listing of all early career doctorates at <institution name>.

[IF POC IS A GSS RESPONDENT]

We know that you are also serving as a GSS respondent and appreciate your continued assistance with that survey. We are hoping that you will be able to help us with this complimentary study.

[ALL POCs] The Early Career Doctorates Study, or ECDS, differs from other NSF surveys, such as Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, the Survey of Earned Doctorates, and the Survey of Doctorate Recipients, in two important ways. First, the target population for this study is much broader. For this study we are interested in anyone employed at the university who has received a doctorate degree within the past 10 years. This includes Ph.D.s, M.D.s, and all other doctorate-equivalent degree holders working in any field.

[IF POC IS A GSS RESPONDENT]

Another key difference from the GSS is that we will be collecting data directly from sampled individuals.

[ALL POCs]

We are not asking you to collect detailed personal information about anyone. Hopefully all of the information we are requesting from you are data that can be pulled from your institution’s personnel database.

Second, this study collects individual-level data on the work experiences, research opportunities, and career plans of this population.

[ALLPOCs] Information gathered will be used by NSF to provide decision-makers, researchers, and others involved in the research enterprise in the United States with better, more comprehensive information about this important national resource. It may also be used by NSF to help make decisions about resource allocation in the future.

We need your help with putting together a list of all employees at your institution who received a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in the past 10 years. Along with names we’ll need a few other pieces of information to help with the study. We would like to send you a small packet with more details about what your participation involves. After you’ve had a chance to look at the materials we can talk again so I can answer any questions you have about participation.

Attachment A.3 – Point of Contact Introductory Call Guidelines

(Page 2 of 2)

QUESTIONS FOR POC (cover major points)

• ARE THEY THE BEST PERSON TO SERVE AS POC? IF NOT, FIND OUT WHO IS BETTER AND IF POSSIBLE WHY.

  • GET THIS NEW POTENTIAL POCs NAME/CONTACT INFO

• WILL THE POC BE ABLE TO WORK ON THIS OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT MONTH?

AFTER CONIFMING POC IS BEST PERSON TO SERVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE TO COMPILE

• CONFIRM POCs MAILING ADDRESS

• INFORM POC WE WILL SEND THE INFORMATION PACKET WITHIN 2 BUSINESS DAYS

• INFORM POC WE WILL FOLLOW-UP WITH THEM WITHIN 1 WEEK FROM DATE OF MAILING

ASK IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS

Attachment A.4 – Point of Contact (POC) Information Mailing Packet Cover Letter

<Date>

<<POC Name>>

<<Title>>

<<Address>>

Dear <POC name>,

You have been nominated by [Dr/etc.] [Institution President Last Name] to serve as the point of contact for the Early Career Doctorate Study. For this study, the National Science Foundation (NSF) needs your help compiling a list of all individuals working at <<Institution Name>> who received their doctoral degree within the last 10 years (i.e., since December 2001).

Enclosed please find a brochure that provides more detail about the purpose of this study, your role, the data to be collected, and the means through which we will protect this data. A member of the NSF’s survey staff at RTI International will call you in a few days to answer any questions you may have and to discuss the availability of the information we are seeking. If you have any questions before then or would like to schedule this conversation, please contact our survey staff at RTI International toll-free at 1-800-XXX-XXXX or by e-mail at ECDS@rti.org.

<<Institution Name>>’s participation is critical to the success of this study as we are contacting only 80 institutions throughout the United States. The data collected through this study will improve national statistics on early career doctorates and provide NSF with data critical for the long-term interests of our nation’s scientific enterprise.

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

Kelly Phou, Project Manager

Early Career Doctorate Study

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

National Science Foundation

Attachment A.4 – Point of Contact Cover Letter for POCs who are also GSS Coordinators

The letter differs only in the second paragraph. See below for the text:

“Enclosed please find a brochure that provide more detail about the purpose of this study, your role, the data to be collected, and the means through which we will protect this data. We appreciate your recent assistance with the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS) and hope that you will be able to assist the NSF with the ECDS as well. The ECDS differs from the GSS in many ways, but in particular we are interested in identifying all recent doctorate recipients, regardless of where they are working in your organization. This includes Ph.D.s, M.D.s, and all other doctorate-equivalent degree holders, and is not limited to programs or units reported in the GSS.”

Attachment A.4 – Description of Data Fields

List of Information Needed for Early Career Doctorate Study

You will be asked to provide as much of the following information as are available from institutional databases. An Excel spreadsheet will be sent for you to provide the information for employees who received their first doctorate within the last 10 years, i.e., since December 2001.

Description of information requested	Example
Name of employee	John Allen Jones Jr.
Work e-mail	jdoe@example.edu
Work mailing address	Building 4, Mail Stop 8D
Work telephone number	999-555-1212
Home/personal e-mail address	jdoe@example.com
Home mailing address	123 Oak Street, Oakdale, MI 48000
Home telephone or cell phone number	555-999-1212
Type of doctoral degree	PhD
Month and year of first doctoral degree	12/2008
Job title	Assistant Professor
Job type (Postdoc/Faculty/Other/Don’t Know)	Faculty
Primary department/unit	Department of Evolutionary Biology
CIP code for the primary department/unit (U.S. Department of Education’s Classification of Instructional Programs)	26.0910
Month and year of birth	08/1980
U.S. citizen or permanent resident (Yes/No/Don’t Know)	Yes
Doctoral degree earned at a U.S. institution, including those in U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico (Yes/No/Don’t Know)	No

Pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(b), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0174 (Exp. 5/31/2013). Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 6 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, Facilities and Operations Branch, Division of Administrative Services, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230.

Attachment A.5 – POC Profiling Call Guidelines

(Page 1 of 2)

[CONVERSATIONAL GUIDELINES]

Good morning/afternoon <<salutation>> <<POC name>>,

This is <<institutional contactor name>> from RTI International. About a week ago we sent an information packet for the Early Career Doctorate Study that we discussed. Have you had a chance to review the packet?

[IF NO]

• SCHEDULE A TIME WITHIN NEXT 3 DAYS TO CALL BACK

[IF YES]

• DOES POC HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AFTER REVIEWING PACKET?

PROCEED AFTER ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS

• INFORM POC THAT THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE AIMED TO BOTH HELP THEM PROVIDE THE REQUESTED INFORMATION AND TO HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW INSTITUTIONS MAINTAIN DATA. THE LATTER WILL BE AN INFORMATIVE PART OF THIS PILOT AND MAY HELP US MAKE IMPORTANT CHANGES IN LATER ROUNDS OF THE STUDY.

• INFORM WILL SEND A FOLLOW-UP E-MAIL SUMMARIZING DETAILS OF CALL AND ATTACH THE SPREADSHEET INTO WHICH WANT DATA TO BE ENTERED.

  • THIS WILL INCLUDE THE AGREED UPON DEADLINE (BUT WE DON’T NEED TO TELL THEM THAT, JUST THAT WE’LL SEND A SUMMARY OF POINTS DISCUSSED)

• DISCUSS DATA FIELDS IN SPECS

  • CAN POC PROVIDE THEM ALL?

    • IF NOT, WHICH ONES CAN THEY PROVIDE?

    • FOR ANY THEY CANNOT PROVIDE, ARE THERE ANY FIELDS THAT MIGHT BE GOOD SUBSTITUTES?

• STRESS TO THE POC THAT WE ARE ONLY INTERSTED IN INFORMATION THEY CAN GET BY ACCESSING INSTITUTIONAL DATABASES

• WHERE ARE DATA ABOUT ECDs LOCATED [ASK ABOUT EACH]?

  • HR DATABASES

  • PAYROLL DATABASES

  • ANY OTHER DATABASES

Attachment A.5 – POC Profiling Call Guidelines

(Page 2 of 2)

• DATABASES OF ANY ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE AFFILIATED (WILL POC BE ABLE TO ACCESS THESE?)

• ASK ABOUT ALL ORGANIZATIONS/UNITS AFFILIATED WITH THE INSTITUTION

  • ARE THERE ANY HOSPITALS, CLINICS, OR LABS THAT ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE INSTITUTION THAT ARE TREATED AS SEPARATE ENTITIES?

• POC ACCESSING ALL DATA

  • DOES POC HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO THE DATA OR WILL S/HE NEED TO WORK WITH OTHERS TO GET THEM?

  • DATA LOCATED IN MULTIPLE PLACES?

    • IF SO, WHAT ISSUES MIGHT THIS PRESENT?

    • FIND OUT ABOUT DATA ON ECDs IN THE OTHER INSTITUTION AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS—

      • CAN THEY GET THESE OR DO WE NEED TO WORK WITH SOMEONE ELSE TOO?

• DOES POC HAVE AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE DATA OR NEED AUTHORIZATION FROM SOMEONE ELSE?

  • IF NEEDS AUTHORIZATION, IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN WE DO TO HELP?

• TRY TO GET AN ESTIMATE OF BURDEN THEY THINK IT WILL TAKE TO GET THE REQUESTED INFORMATION AND SUBMIT IT.

  • INTERESTED IN BOTH

    • A QUALITATIVE RATING OF DIFFICULTY

    • ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF TIME IN HOURS

• NEGOTIATE WITH POC FOR A DEADLINE BY WHICH THEY CAN HAVE INFORMATION SUBMITTED

  • SHOOT FOR WITHIN 2 WEEKS FROM CURRENT DATE

• OFFER TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS

• PROVIDE THE PROJECT HOTLINE AGAIN (1-800-XXX-XXXX) AND HOURS OF OPERATIONS

  • SO THEY CAN CALL US BACK WITH ANY QUESTIONS THAT COME UP WHILE THEY ARE COMPILING

• THANK POC FOR TIME

Attachment A.6 – POC “Welcome to the ECDS” Letter

<Date>

<<Point of Contact Name>>

<<Title>>

<<Address>>

Dear [Dr/etc.] [Point of Contact Last Name]:

In the last few days, you spoke to a representative from RTI about your participation in the Early Career Doctorate Study (ECDS). On this call you talked about your role on the study, including eligibility rules and the fields for which we would like you to compile data.

The data gathered in this study are critical to stakeholders that include the National Science Foundation, decision-makers, and other researchers who are interested in the U.S. research enterprise. Without your participation this study could not be successful.

We know your time is valuable and we want to offer our most sincere thanks for your willingness to help us on this important study. As a small token of our appreciation for your efforts, we have enclosed a Certificate of Appreciation. We know this cannot compensate you for your efforts, but hope that in a small way it demonstrates how much we appreciate your work.

Thank you again for your help with this important study.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

John R. Gawalt

Acting Director

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

National Science Foundation

Enclosure

Attachment A.6 – POC Certificate of Appreciation

Attachment A.7 – POC Reminder/Help Phone Call Guidelines

[GUIDELINES NOT TO BE READ VERBATIM]

Prior to each call become familiar with the status of the institution.

Good morning/afternoon <<salutation>> <<POC name>>,

This is <<institutional contactor name>> from RTI International. About two weeks ago we talked about the Early Career Doctorate Study. In that discussion we talked about the data fields we need for the study, where they might be located, and what would be involved for you to compile them in a spreadsheet.

• COMPILATION QUESTIONS

• HOW IS GATHERING THE DATA GOING?

  • hOW FAR ALONG ARE THEY?

• Any issues with the spreadsheet we provided?

• Any issues with the upload site we asked them to use?

  • ARE THEY CONCERNED THEY MIGHT NOT MEET THE NEGOTIATED DEADLINE?

    • IF SO, RENEGOTIATE A DEADLINE (WITHIN NEXT WEEK IF POSSIBLE).

• DATA QUSTIONSdO THEY HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT

  • Who is eligible?

  • The data fields?

    • E.g., are they having trouble with any/do we need to consider substitution for any?

  • Anything else?

• OTHER QUESTIONS

  • Any access/permission issues we should be aware of?

• END OF CALL MATTERS

  • REASSURE THEM THEY CAN CALL IF ANY QUESTIONS DO COME UP

  • PROVIDE HOTLINE AND IC E-MAIL IF THEY NEED IT

  • PROVIDE RTI HOURS OF OPERATIONS (8AM-5PM EST)

  • EXPRESS SINCERE APPRECATION FOR THEIR EFFORTS

VOICEMAIL

Hi, this is <<institutional contactor name>> from RTI International. I’m calling on behalf of the NSF about the Early Career Doctorate Study. I was hoping to touch base with you about the request for information on early career doctorate employees at <<institution name>>. Please give me a call at 1-800-XXX-XXX. Thank you.

Attachment A.8 – Request to HA to Send Pre-Notification E-mail

<Date>

<<Institution President Name>>

<<Title>>

<<Address>>

Dear [Dr/etc.] [Institution President Last Name]:

Last <<month of first contact>>, I requested your assistance with the Early Career Doctorate Study (ECDS). With the help of <<POC name>>, we have successfully completed the first stage of this study and are now ready to launch the second stage – a 30-minute web survey of sampled early career doctorates. To do this we once again need your help.

As discussed in <<month of first contact>>, we would like you to e-mail each of the prospective respondents at <<institution name>> to notify them of their selection and to urge them to participate. Research has shown that such personalized pre-notification significantly improves survey response rates. We hope you will help us with this critical step in the study.

To reduce the burden of this request, we have developed an easy-to-use web application that will draft these e-mails for you. The application can be accessed using the following credentials:

[Insert web tool URL here]

Username: [username]

Password: [password]

Upon logging in to this website, you will see a list of the <<number of sampled respondents>> respondents selected from your institution. For each respondent, a single click will automatically generate a personalized message from you to the respondent, blind-copying the survey mailbox (ECDS@rti.org). You will be able to review and revise this message as needed prior to sending it. The blind copy will queue the survey login information to be sent two days after your initial email.

If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Phou of my staff at (703) 292-4722 or kphou@nsf.gov. For technical support, please contact our study staff at RTI International at 1-800-XXX-XXXX or by email at ECDS@rti.org.

Thank you for your continued assistance with this study.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

John R. Gawalt

Acting Director

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

National Science Foundation

Attachment A.9 – Request to HA to Send Final Appeal E-mail

<Date>

<<Institution President Name>>

<<Title>>

<<Address>>

Dear [Dr/etc.] [Institution President Last Name]:

A few months ago we requested your assistance with the Early Career Doctorate Study (ECDS). Let me first express my sincere appreciation for the efforts you and your institutional point of contact, <<POC name>>, have put forth. Without your efforts we would not have been able to conduct this study.

We are at the last stage of the data collection effort and need your assistance with a final appeal to those respondents who have not yet completed the survey. As with the initial notification you sent to the respondents, empirical evidence shows that receiving reminders significantly improves response to survey requests and that how this reminder is sent can have an impact. A reminder e-mail from you will greatly encourage non-respondents to complete the survey and ensure the results from ECDS are representative.

Our records indicate that <<number of nonrespondents>> of the initial <<number of sampled respondents>> respondents have not completed the survey. To send the final reminder e-mails you can use the same web-based system you used for sending the initial notification e-mails. The web address is provided below along with your username and password.

[Insert web tool URL here]

Username: [username]

Password: [password]

As with the notification emails, the application will generate a draft email that you may revise as needed. It will also send a blind-copy of your message to the survey mailbox (ECDS@rti.org), so the study records can be updated to show that the final appeal has been sent.

If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Phou of my staff at (703) 292-4722 or kphou@nsf.gov. You may also contact the study staff at 1-800-XXX-XXXX or ECDS@rti.org.

Thank you for your assistance with the critical final appeal.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

John R. Gawalt

Acting Director

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

National Science Foundation

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