Promoting Women's and Men's Involvement in Computer Science,
Engineering and Math (CSEM) Careers
Principal Investigator: Dr. Susan McHale
The Pennsylvania State University
Email: CSEM@psu.edu
Telephone Number: 814-865-2663
Informed Consent
You are being invited to volunteer to participate in a research study. This summary explains information about this research.
This project is being conducted by a team of Computer Science, Engineering, and Math
(CSEM) and social science researchers from Penn State University, including social scientists, Sarah Damaske, Susan McHale, and Joshua Rosenberger. Our hope is that
the information you provide will advance understanding of why women and men pursue-and leave-CSEM fields.
Toward this end, we invite you to answer two questions about your own career. The first is about what factors led you toward a career in CSEM and the second question is about factors that may have kept you involved or led you away from a career in CSEM.
After you respond to these primary questions, we will ask you to answer a few short questions about your background characteristics.
Your responses will be confidential and labeled only with an ID number, unless you choose to provide contact information. You will be asked at the end of the survey if you would like to provide your contact information for possible follow up. If you do provide contact information, your survey will be assigned a random identification number (ID number), and your contact information will be stored in a separate file from your survey responses. Only the project director, Dr. Susan McHale, and her designated research staff members will have access to the file linking your ID number and contact information.
This study involves minimal risk; that is, no known risks to your physical or mental health beyond those encountered in the normal course of everyday life. Our two questions may cause discomfort for some individuals, however. There is a risk of loss of confidentiality if your information or your identity is obtained by someone other than the investigators, but precautions will be taken to prevent this from happening. The confidentiality of your electronic data created by you or by the researchers will be maintained as required by applicable law and to the degree permitted by the technology used. Absolute confidentiality cannot be guaranteed.
There are no personal benefits to participation other than the opportunity to reflect on your career development. Knowledge gained, however, may inform programs to promote involvement and retention in CSEM careers. Information collected in this project may be used in the future for scientific publications and presentations, but we will not share any information that could identify you.
We also will provide you with a summary of our results and publications if you are interested.
The survey will take 5 - 10 minutes to complete.
If you have questions, or concerns about the research, you should contact Dr. Susan McHale at 814-865-2663 or CSEM@psu.edu. If you have questions regarding your rights as a research subject or concerns regarding your privacy, you may contact the Office for Research Protections at 814-865-1775.
Your participation is voluntary and you may decide to stop at any time. You do not have to answer any questions that you do not want to answer.
Your participation implies your voluntary consent to participate in the research.
Once the study has been completed findings will be posted on our project website.
To take the survey, please press NEXT PAGE.