The Impact of Occupational Valence, Perceived Administrative Support, and Job Tenure of Youth Work Professionals on Youth Worker Efficacy Levels
Directors:
I am writing to you as a student from the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Leisure,Youth & Human Services Division to request your help with my undergraduate research study in which I am analyzing the confidence of youth workers in the skills to guide youth, practical and professional techniques of youth development, and youth worker efficacy. Understanding the area of youth worker efficacy is a highly underresearched area within our particular field, and this research will assist in identifying the confidence levels of youth workers within the workplace. Also, the research will provide tools for training and staff development to create more effective growth opportunities for individuals within an organization.
Further training and development associated with youth work and an organization's culture can positively impact the community; this information is vital and will be used to develop ideas within the leisure, youth, and human services field. I am inviting you to participate in my research study by completing the electronic survey. Once you complete the survey, your participation is complete. I estimate the survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Your responses, together with others, will be combined and used for statistical summaries only. This study involves minimal risk to you which entails no risks to your physical or mental health beyond those encountered in the normal course of everyday life. There are not any direct benefits to you via participation.
The questions associated with participation include an examination of the confidence levels you have in your abilities associated with youth development. I will not be collecting your name or any other identifying information. The data collected from this study will be kept in a password-protected computer in the faculty advisor’s office. Information gathered from this study will be destroyed upon presentation and possible publication of the data.
Participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you agree to participate in this study, you are free to withdraw at any time without penalty. Your confidentiality will be maintained to the degree permitted by the technology used. Specifically, no guarantees can be made regarding the interception of data sent via the Internet by any third parties. However, your participation is extremely valuable to me and will assist me as I complete my degree in Leisure, Youth & Human Services.
If you have any questions about the survey, please contact me at (515) 227-6291 (rockows@uni.edu) or my faculty advisor Dr. Christopher Kowalski (319) 273-3528. If you have questions about your rights as a participant in this research project, please contact the University of Northern Iowa Institutional Review Board (IRB) Human Protections Administrator, Anita Gordon, at (319) 273-6148 or by e-mail at anita.gordon@uni.edu.
Thank you for your help. We appreciate your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Sara Rockow, Undergraduate Student – Leisure, Youth & Human Services Division
Chris Kowalski, Ed.D, Associate Professor – Leisure, Youth & Human Services Division