Telephone Interview of NRC NIST Decliners
NRC NIST Postdoc Telephone Interview Script
NIST Decliners
Revised: 3/4/11
Interviewer: [Standard Westat Greeting and Introduction]
Interviewer: Westat, a social science research firm in Rockville, Maryland, is conducting an evaluation study of the NRC NIST Postdoctoral Research Associateship Program. NRC records indicate that you submitted a successful application for a postdoc position at NIST in [insert year] but declined.
Is this correct?
[If not, obtain correct information to allow updating of NRC files.
If determined that they were a decliner but year is wrong, update data and continue interview.
If determined that they are not decliner, thank them for their time, update data, and discontinue
the call.]
The purpose of this call is to document why successful applicants declined the NIST postdoc award and what they did instead.
With your consent, we would like to ask you four brief questions about your decision to decline the NIST postdoc award. All information you provide will remain confidential and no names will appear in any of our reports or presentations. Would you be willing to participate?
[Obtain verbal consent.]
What were the main reasons that you declined the NRC NIST Postdoctoral Research Associateship Program award? ____________________________________________________________________
(Allow respondent to provide open-ended response. Check all that respondent identifies)
Had an offer for a full-time job
NIST offer arrived too late
Accepted another post doc position at another agency
Better pay
More prestige
Preferred project / research opportunity
Preferred advisor
Less demanding
Pursued more aggressively
Could not find a position for spouse/significant other in Washington, D.C. area
High cost of living in the Washington D.C. area
Other (specify) ______________________________________________________________
What did you do instead? _________________________________________________________
Would you say that you made the right decision? ___Yes ___No ___Unsure
Why or why not? ____________________________________________________________
Would you classify your current career sector as:
Academia (specify name of institution)
Government agency (specify name of agency)
Private industry (specify name of company)
Other (specify)
Thank you very much for your time. Have a great day.
FAQs
Q. Who is Westat?
A. Westat is a research company located in Rockville, Maryland. Westat is conducting this evaluation under contract to NIST’s Office of International Academic Affairs (OIAA).
Q. How did you get my contact information?
A. Your contact information was provided by the National Research Council who maintains a database on all NRC applications.
Q. Do I have to participate?
A. No. Your participation is voluntary. However, your firsthand experiences and perspectives on these matters are of great importance.
Q. Will my answers be traced back to me?
A. No. All individual and identifying information of pretest participants will remain strictly confidential. All information gained will be reported in the aggregate and no data will be attributed to any specific individual.
Q. Who can I contact if I have any additional questions?
A. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Principal Investigator for this evaluation study at Westat.
Dr. Keith MacAllum
Westat
301-610-8854
NOTE: This questionnaire contains collection of information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. The estimated response time for this questionnaire is 5 minutes. The response time includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this estimate or any other aspects of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the length of this questionnaire, to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Attn., Susan Heller-Zeisler, [email protected], 301-975-3111. The OMB Control No. is 0693-0033, which expires on 10/31/2012.
| File Type | application/msword |
| Author | Keith MacAllum |
| File Modified | 2011-04-25 |
| File Created | 2011-04-25 |