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Informed Consent

You are invited to participate in a research study entitled Counselors and Cybersecurity Technology Acceptance and Use. You were selected as a potential participant due to being a member of a professional counseling organization that authorized the researcher to recruit study participants by distributing or posting a link to this survey. Please read this form and ask any questions you may have before acting on this invitation to participate in the study.
 
This study is being conducted by Jeff Yeutter, a doctoral candidate at the University of the Cumberlands (UC) and has been approved by the UC Institutional Review Board (IRB).
 
Background Information:
The purpose of this study is to examine the motivational constructs that predict cybersecurity technology acceptance among licensed professional counselors (LPCs) or equivalent. The study will involve approximately 120 participants.
 
Inclusion Criteria:
You can participate in this study if you:
 
§  Are at least 18 years of age.
§  Are a Master’s or Ph.D.-level graduate, or current resident, of a CACREP-accredited counseling program.
§  Are currently working as a Licensed Professional Counselor (or equivalent) within the United States.
 
Procedures:
If you agree to be in this study, you will be asked to answer the survey questions on the following pages. The expected time to complete the survey is 5-15 minutes.
 
Voluntary Nature of the Study:
Your participation in this study is strictly voluntary. Your decision whether or not to participate will not affect your current or future relations with The American Counseling Association, American Mental Health Counselors Association, National Board of Certified Counselors, Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, or any other related professional, social, or educational organization or group. If you initially decide to participate, you are free to withdraw at any time later without affecting those relationships.
 
Risks and Benefits of Participation:
There is no more than minimal risk associated with participating in this study, and there is no individual benefit to participation in the study. However, study findings may provide the overall benefit of a better understanding of those factors that predict cybersecurity technology acceptance and use among licensed professional counselors. It is hoped that professional, educational, and accrediting organizations will use the results from the study to promote knowledge and awareness among LPCs to help them protect themselves, their clients, and their practices from cybersecurity threats.
 
In the event you experience stress or anxiety during your participation in the study, you may terminate your participation at any time by either closing the browser or by clicking the “Exit” link in the top right-hand corner of the survey. You may refuse to answer any questions you consider invasive or stressful.
 
Compensation:
There will be no compensation provided for your participation in this study.

Confidentiality:

Any data or records gathered from your participation will be kept private. Any identifiable data gathered will be coded to protect your identity. This survey utilizes the Anonymous Responses function for the SurveyMonkey platform. No personally identifiable information will be collected as part of this study. However, SurveyMonkey records respondent IP addresses in backend logs and deletes them after 13 months. These IP addresses and backend logs are not made available to the researcher. In any report of this study that might be published, the researcher will not include any information that will make it possible to identify you. Research records will be securely stored and only accessible to the researcher.

Contacts and Questions:

The researcher conducting this study is Jeff Yeutter (jyeutter37361@ucumberlands.edu). The researcher’s faculty advisor is Dr. Byrian Ramsey (byrian.ramsey@ucumberlands.edu). You may ask any questions you have related to the consent to participation. If you have questions later, you may contact them via jyeutter37361@ucumberlands.edu or the UC Institutional Review Board (IRB) office at irb@ucumberland.edu.

Question Title

* 1. I have read the above information, been given adequate time to consider the information, and understand my participation is voluntary so I may stop participation at any point. I have asked questions and received answers. I consent to take part in this study and understand I will be offered a copy of the completed form.

 
 25% of survey complete.

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