CNS-ASU Assessment Survey Invitation

Survey Invitation Letter

Thank you for your past participation in the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University (CNS-ASU). As you may recall, CNS-ASU is major initiative funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the societal implications of nanotechnology and other emerging technologies.

In order for CNS-ASU to effectively determine the nature and quality of outcomes and impacts that the Center is generating, and to develop future strategies for continued integration of societal concerns regarding the research and design of current and new technologies, we are inviting you to participate in this 12 question survey, which should take you about 10-15 minutes to complete.

Please note that your participation in this survey is voluntary. Your responses are completely confidential. No personally identifiable information will be included in any of the survey results. To begin the survey, please click on the link provided in your invitation email, and enter your personal access code.

The survey can be completed easily in one sitting. If you must exit, you can return to the survey later by entering your personal access code once you click on the survey link. A personal access code and survey link has been emailed to all the participants. (If you did not receive a survey link and personal access code, please contact the survey coordinator below.) The survey will be registered as complete when you click the submit button after the final question.

Thank you for your willingness to be part of this study, which will help policymakers and the broader public understand the kinds of impacts and outcomes they may expect from NSF-funded, large-scale social science projects.

Survey Design: Impacts and Outcomes

There have been relatively few opportunities to look at the opportunities and challenges of large-scale social science research centers, particularly in the area of science, technology and society (STS). This survey, constructed with a tailored design, investigates impacts and outcomes of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University (CNS-ASU).

CNS-ASU was established in 2005 when the National Science Foundation (NSF) provided a five-year, renewable cooperative agreement of $6.2 million to study the societal implications of nanotechnology and other emerging technologies. CNS-ASU comprises a network of cooperating researchers from several universities across the country with its largest node and central administration at Arizona State University.

In 2012, the National Science Foundation approved a supplementary award to CNS-ASU to help understand more systematically the nature and quality of the impacts and outcomes that the Center generates. In response, CNS-ASU has designed a web survey and plans an interview protocol to investigate these impacts and outcomes. CNS-ASU has sent an invitation to participate in the survey to all persons involved in any its programs over the last 7 years (N>750). This group is an extremely diverse one, including business and industry professionals, academics, science communicators, graduate and undergraduate students, policy professionals and members of the public. Some potential respondents have worked with CNS-ASU for years, while others attended a single workshop. 

The diversity of survey participants created an unusual challenge for the survey designers to build a questionnaire that takes into account a great range of personal experiences. However, using the tailored design method (Dillman, Smyth, & Christian, 2009), we have constructed the survey to the dimensions of a diverse community to provide them with the opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences. The tailored design method stresses social exchange within a community and multiple contacts in mixed modes to provide participants with several different opportunities to be included. The 12-question web survey can be completed in 10 to 15 minutes. 

• Participation in this survey is entirely voluntary.
• Responses are completely confidential. No personally identifiable information will be included in any reports of the survey results.
• Survey invitees have a personal web link as well as a personal access code provided in their initial invitation email.  Using their web link and personal access code, survey participants can, if necessary, leave and return at a later point in time to complete the survey.
• The survey will be followed up with interviews (80<N<120) to study in more detail and generate narratives of impacts and outcomes.
• Results will be shared with all survey participants at the end of the study period.

If you are one of the survey participants, thank you for your willingness to be part of this study.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Michael Reinsborough, our survey coordinator.

• Telephone: 480-965-9729
• Email: michael[dot]reinsborough[at]asu[dot]edu