Study Title:
Barriers in Career Development.
A Cross-Sectional Study

Researchers:
Linda Sangalli (PI), DDS, MS, PhD, Midwestern University
Grace De Souza (Co-Investigator), DDS, MS, PhD, FADM, University of Louisville
Luciana Shaddox (Co-Investigator), DDS, MS, PhD, University of Kentucky

Dear colleague,
We are inviting you to participate in a research study. Participation is completely voluntary. If you agree to participate, you can always change your mind and withdraw. There are no negative consequences, whatever you decide.

Why is this study being done?
We are conducting a research study to investigate barriers in academic carrier development. The survey is divided in three parts. The first section collects some demographic information; the second section collects information on current job position; the third section collects information on career development.

What will you be asked to do during the study?
We are inviting you to participate in this study by completing the survey accessible through the link below.

How much time will you spend on the survey?
Completion of the survey will require about 5-10 minutes of your time, with no further follow-up. A follow-up encouraging your participation will be posted monthly on the Newsletter or sent by email over a total of 3-month period. No further follow-up will be made after this.

How much will participation in the study cost?
There is no cost to participate in this study.

Will you be paid or compensated for your participation?
There will be no compensation in completing the survey.

What are the main benefits to participating?
If you complete this questionnaire, you will help push forward important academic research on barriers and obstacles faced in academic career development, further comparing results from women and men.

What are the main risks if you participate and what is being done to minimize those risks?
There is a risk connected with online data to be hacked or intercepted, every time you provide information online. However, no identifiable information will be collected. The response to the survey is completely anonymous.

What information will be collected about you?
No information will be collected about you.

Will information being collected about you be shared with others?
Only the study researchers will have access to your de-identified information. All study personnel have appropriately completed appropriate CITI training for data handling and management. We may share these findings in publications or presentations. If we do so, the results will be aggregated data, with no individual results. This anonymous information may be used or shared with other researchers without your additional informed consent.

Who should you contact if you have questions?
This study has been reviewed and approved by the Midwestern University Institutional Review Board (IRB#24010). If you have questions about this research project, please contact the Principal Investigator (PI), Dr. Linda Sangalli, DDS, MS, PhD, at (630) 515-6973 or email lsanga@midwestern.edu

If you have any questions regarding the rights of being a research subject, please contact Dr. James Woods, Assistant Vice President of Research at (630) 515-6173.

By completing this survey, you agree to participate in the research project described above. If you do not agree to participate, please exit the survey and close the webpage.

Thanks for your consideration,

Research Team