1. Description of the Activity
Potential respondents are SOS Captains at Maxwell Airforce Base who have graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy within the past five years. Due to the formative nature of this research, a convenience sample of up to 50 participants will be sufficient to accomplish the objectives of the study. The Dean of SOS will send out the recruitment email to all Captains meeting the inclusion criteria. The first 50 respondents to the study recruitment email will be offered data collection appointments, though we will aim to mirror the gender and racial distributions observed at USAFA to increase the likelihood our results will be generalizable.
Participants will choose a preferred off-duty time for the focus group/interview; interviews will be conducted via zoom by two staff members from the research team. Interviews will last approximately 60 minutes, and participants will receive a $20 gift card to thank them for their time.
2. Procedures for the Collection of Information
N/A
3. Maximization of Response Rates, Non-response, and Reliability
To maximize response to the recruitment email, the email will be sent from a source that is internal to Maxwell Airforce Base and trusted by potential participants. Up to three email reminders will be sent (one per week) until the desired sample is recruited. New SOS classes arrive every 4-8 weeks, allowing us to continue recruitment efforts until participant responses reach convergence (i.e., the point at which no new information is gleaned from new respondents), or until we have completed data collection with the maximum 50 participants, whichever comes first.
Participants will be assured that they can skip any questions they do not wish to answer without negative consequences. Participants will also be encouraged to remove any potentially identifiable information from their zoom screen (i.e., name tags), or keep their camera off if they are concerned about being identified. Interviews will be conducted by non-military members of the research team, with a guarantee data will not be shared with anyone in their chain of command. Further, all data collected will be scrubbed of any potentially identifiable information and reported in aggregate form only.
Based on prior formative research for a similar type of work, we reached convergence with 20-30 participants, so we believe an upper bound of 50 will be sufficient to ensure reliability and representativeness of the qualitative feedback. We will attempt to recruit a representative sample of USAFA graduates by using universal recruitment methods that will reach all eligible participants equally. However, due to the use of a small convenience sample and persistent difficulties with research participant recruitment in this population, all interested individuals will be offered the opportunity to participate in data collection.
4. Tests of Procedures
No tests of procedures will take place as desired sample size is small (n=50).
5. Statistical Consultation and Information Analysis
a. Provide names and telephone number of individual(s) consulted on statistical aspects of the design.
N/A.
b. Provide name and organization of person(s) who will actually collect and analyze the collected information.
Data will be collected by pairs of UF/RTI team members. One person will lead the interview or focus group, the second person will take notes, assist with administrative tasks (e.g., zoom troubleshooting, gathering contact information for participant payment). Each team will operate under direct supervision of doctorate-level scientific investigators. A subset of the potential data collection team will engage in data analysis. All potential persons involved are listed below:
UF Team:
Dr. Nichole Scaglione, University of Florida
Dr. Drew Rizzo, University of Florida
Cary Love, University of Florida
Jessica Cohen, University of Florida
Sarah Chance, University of Florida
RTI Team:
Dr. Marni Kan, RTI International
Dr. Shannon Blakey, RTI International
Alex Buben, RTI International
Russ Peeler, RTI International
Michele Dorsainvil, RTI International
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Patricia Toppings |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2022-05-16 |