Career Narratives Study

Western Michigan University Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

Principal Investigator: Stephanie T. Burns, Ph.D.
Title of Study: The Impact of Adding Career Narratives to Career Interest Inventory Score Reports.

You have been invited to participate in a research project titled "The Impact of Adding Career Narratives to Career Interest Inventory Score Reports." This consent document will explain the purpose of this research project and will go over all of the time commitments, the procedures used in the study, and the risks and benefits of participating in this research project. Please read this consent form carefully and completely and please ask any questions if you need more clarification.

What are we trying to find out in this study? The research may help career counselors and career interest inventory developers to better understand the needs, drives, and motivations of career interest inventory test takers. In addition, this research may help to improve career interest inventories in the United States and will further research into the efficacy of career narratives in career interest inventories.

Who can participate in this study? Adults 18 and older who are looking for career development information to help them make a career choice or a career transition.

Where will this study take place? Online, via e-mail, and over the phone

What is the time commitment for participating in this study? There will be a cost of time (2-3 hours total) over 5 days. Approximately 30 minutes will be spent the first day completing the O*NET Interest Profiler. Approximately 15 minutes will be spent the second day reviewing O*NET Interest Profiler results. Approximately 30 minutes will be spent the third day completing the first telephone interview. Approximately 15 minutes will be spent the fourth day reviewing narrative career biography results. Approximately 30 minutes will be spent the fifth day completing the second telephone interview.

What will you be asked to do if you choose to participate in this study? There are seven steps to the study. Step 1 You will be directed to the website www.stephanietburns.com/info.html to review the consent document. Step 2 After the signed informed consent form has been received by the researcher; you will receive via e-mail a web address to begin participating in the study. Step 3 You will take the O*NET Interest Profiler, which will generate item scores, your preferred job zone, and a three digit career profile code. You are asked about your age, gender, highest degree earned, current employment status, ethnicity, name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail to receive score reports. Step 4 After the data are received, you will receive via e-mail the results of the O*NET Interest Profiler along with the O*NET Interest Profiler Score Report and the O*NET Occupations Master List. You will be encouraged, as stated in the O*NET Interest Profiler Score Report, to review the occupations that are listed in your Job Zone under your Primary Interest Area and select occupations to explore, using O*NET™ OnLine (the Occupational Information Network). Step 5 At least a week after receipt of your O*NET Interest Profiler Score Report, you will be interviewed for approximately 30 minutes via telephone to answer questions about your perceptions of the advantages, disadvantages, satisfactions, and level of helpfulness of the O*NET Interest Profiler. Step 6 After your telephone interview, you will be sent via e-mail career narrative biographies that match the occupations that you are considering. You will be encouraged to explore career themes found within the narratives. Step 7 At least a week after receipt of your career narrative biographies, you will be interviewed for approximately 30 minutes via telephone to answer questions about your perceptions of the advantages, disadvantages, satisfactions, and level of helpfulness of the career narratives.

The O*NET Interest Profiler is a career interest inventory that measures six types of occupational interests: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. It takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. There are 180 questions (30 work activity items for each of the six types) for the test taker to mark as "Like," "Dislike," or "Unsure." Items on the inventory were designed to represent a broad variety of occupations and complexity levels. The three types of occupational interests with the highest number create the client's code. Once a 3 letter code has been established, you can be linked to over 800 occupations to consider as future employment options.

Audio tapings of the telephone interviews will be used to later perform narrative data analyses. The audiotape will not include names, but will instead have a code number for identification instead. The audiotape will be heard by the researcher, kept in a secure place at Western Michigan University, and destroyed at the completion of the project.

What information is being measured during the study? The O*NET Interest Profiler will generate item scores, a three digit career profile code, and your current and future job zone. You are asked about your age, gender, ethnicity, and contact information. In addition, you will be asked about your perceptions of the career interest inventory score report.

What are the risks of participating in this study and how will these risks be minimized? It is possible that something mentioned in the demographic information collected, the career information received, the telephone interviews, or exploring careers options that could upset you. However, the O*NET Interest Profiler, narrative, and biographical data collected do not ask about traumatic events, suicidal/homicidal thoughts, violence, etc. Your data will be secured on-line and on the researcher's computer. You will inform the researcher the e-mail address and phone number that you would like to use in order to maximize your ability to protect your information and identity.

What are the benefits of participating in this study? You may benefit by taking the career interest inventory and receiving career narratives based upon your occupations of interest. Additionally, you can make your voice heard in terms of what is working and not working when using career interest inventories.

Are there any costs associated with participating in this study? There are no costs (besides 2-3 hours of your time) associated with participating in this study.

Is there any compensation for participating in this study? There is no compensation (besides receiving your score report and career narratives) for participating in this study.

Who will have access to the information collected during this study? The researcher will be the only person to have access to the data. Presentations at conferences and in professional journals may be developed. The researcher will never disclose your identity in journal articles or presentations based upon this research. Individual information is only collected to provide you with the benefit of receiving your score report and career narratives in order to help you with your career choices/transitions. Information discussed in public disclosures will be based upon averages of study participants as a whole, not the performance of individual contributors. In this way, your identity will be kept strictly confidential at all times and your name will not be associated with the data.

What if you want to stop participating in this study? You can choose to stop participating in the study at anytime for any reason. You will not suffer any prejudice or penalty by your decision to stop your participation. You will experience NO consequences if you choose to withdraw from this study.

Should you have any questions prior to or during the study, you can contact the primary investigator, Stephanie T. Burns, Ph.D., LPC, NCC at 269 387-0711 or stephanie.burns@wmich.edu. You may also contact the Chair, Human Subjects Institutional Review Board at 269-387-8293 or the Vice President for Research at 269-387-8298 if questions arise during the course of the study.

This consent document has been approved for use for one year by the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board (HSIRB) as indicated by the stamped date and signature of the board chair in the upper right corner. Do not participate in this study if the stamped date is older than one year.

Please e-mail stephanie.burns@wmich.edu or call Stephanie Burns, Ph.D. at 269 387-0711 if you have any questions or require any additional information about this study.

If you fully understand this study and would like to begin to participate, please fax (866-936-5343), mail (Stephanie T. Burns, Ph.D., Western Michigan University, 1903 W Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5226) or e-mail (stephanie.burns@wmich.edu) your signed consent form (which you can download the form by clicking here).