Deaf Acculturation Scale Survey
Dear Sir/Ma’am,
My name is Glennise Myers-Schlinger and I am a Master’s candidate in the Department of Theory & Practice in Teacher Education at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. For my thesis, I am conducting a survey of deaf ethnic minority individuals’ identity development, and request your organization to place the survey for participants to complete.
The purpose of this study is to understand the identity development of deaf minority individuals. The survey is the Teacher Education (DAS) that is currently used to assess deaf identity development. This is the survey’s first use with minority individuals, although they are identified as part of the Deaf community. The survey asks general information about cultural identification, likes, cultural preferences, cultural knowledge and language competence. The survey is to be completed anonymously. No individuals will be identifiable (unless they divulge that information), and all data will be aggregated for reporting purposes. Even though this study focuses on deaf ethnic minority individuals, all deaf individuals regardless of their degree of hearing loss, modes of communication, age and ethnicity are encouraged to complete the DAS.
The survey should take approximately 30 minutes. The survey does not ask any identifiable information, record IP addresses, or record who participated or the organization where the individual completed the survey. It is free and does not offer any compensation to the participant. When participants complete the survey, they will be invited to participate in an interview. Participants who wish to participate in the interview would request to do so via email. Pseudonyms would be used to maintain participants’ privacy.
If you wish to participate in the study, I would like to link the DAS to your organization’s website. Individuals viewing this site may click onto the link to complete the DAS. The link will remain active for approximately 4 months. Thereafter, the link will be removed from your organization’s website. I will like to administer the survey at any events your organization may sponsor in the coming months. After introducing myself, the purpose of the survey and the participants’ rights related to privacy will be discussed. Participants will also be told that their involvement is voluntary, may be terminated at any time, is not linked to your organization and does not impact the services they receive at your organization.
I thank you for your participation in this Master’s thesis study. If any point during or after the survey you need to contact the principal investigator, please feel free to do so via email at [email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your rights as a study participant, or if you are dissatisfied at any time with any aspect of this study, you may contact—anonymously, if you wish—Brenda Lawson, Compliance Officer, UT Office of Research, phone: (865)974-3466, email: [email protected].
However, your participation would be valued greatly! To view the survey please click here: http://web.utk.edu/~gmyers1/index.html (then click survey)
Sincerely,
Glennise Myers-Schlinger
Masters’ Candidate
Deaf Education
Department of Theory & Practice in Teacher Education
University of Tennessee
The deadline is May 31, 2012.