Welcome to the Wilderness Search and Rescue Team Study!
Thank you for visiting. I hope the information below helps you decide whether to participate in the research study.
About this Study
This survey will help us better understand aspects of team cultures that may contribute to strengthening volunteer wilderness search and rescue teams. This study is part of my dissertation research in the PhD in Leadership and Change Program at Antioch University.
Participating in this Study means completing an anonymous 15 minute survey. If you answer “yes” to the following questions, I need your help!
- Are you a member of a volunteer wilderness search and rescue team?
- Is your team comprised of at least 75% volunteers?
- Does your team conduct 25 or more missions per year?
- Are your team’s primary mission/callouts for wilderness or backcountry search and rescue or mountain rescue?
- Are more than 75% of your missions in sparsely populated/rural areas?
Your Participation is Voluntary and Anonymous
Your participation is voluntary. You may skip questions you do not wish to answer, and you may discontinue your participation at any time by simply closing the browser window. Your responses are anonymous. No one, including the researcher, will know who participated. You will not be asked for your name, and demographic information will be reported in aggregated information, and quotes from open-ended questions will be anonymized if they include identifying information. Your identity will not be disclosed in any reports of this research.
Benefits and Risks of Participating
There are no direct benefits to you of participating in the study, although you will have my gratitude and be contributing to knowledge and practice of wilderness search and rescue teamwork.
If you would like a summary of the study, including the research questions, methodology, results, and implications for future practice, I will provide it upon email request to sseiler@antioch.edu or provide me with your email at the end of the survey. Your email address will be kept confidential.
There also are no risks beyond those of everyday life of participating in this study. Still, if, because of participating in the study, you experience thoughts or feelings you would like to talk about with someone, please call 1 (800) 662-HELP, a national U.S. government hotline, where someone can help you find support near you.
Questions or Concerns
If you have any questions about the survey or the research study, please contact me at sseiler@antioch.edu or my faculty sponsor, Dr. Mitchell Kusy, at mkusy@antioch.edu. This project has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects at Antioch University, Dr. Lisa Kreeger, Chair (lkreeger@antioch.edu).
Thank you for your consideration,
Sarah H. Seiler, R.N., Ph.D. Candidate
Graduate School of Leadership and Change
Antioch University
By clicking “Next” below,
you are indicating that you have read and understood the above information and you consent to participate in this research study.