Info Sheet

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY HUMAN SUBJECTS PROTECTION PROGRAM
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE AND STUDY INFORMATION SHEET
Coastal Bend Area Hurricane Evacuation Study
You are invited to take part in an emergency planning and research study being conducted by
Texas A&M University, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, and the University of Washington.
The purpose of this study is to help us better understand whether, why, and how Coastal Bend area
residents evacuated from Hurricane Harvey, and what they experienced if they evacuated. Primary
funding for the study is through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Federal Emergency
Management Agency, in cooperation with the Texas Division of Emergency Management .
Additional costs for this study are covered by a grant from the National Science Foundation to
the University of Washington. The information below is provided to help you decide whether or
not you want to take part in this study. If you decide you do not want to participate, there will be
no penalty to you, and you will not lose any benefits you normally would have.
How was our household selected to participate in this study?
We used a random process for selecting households in the Coastal Bend area to receive the
invitation to participate from a publicly-sourced address database.
Who should complete the questionnaire?
Only households that were living in the Coastal Bend area at the time of Hurricane Harvey should
participate. We ask that one adult (18 years of age or older) in the household who was involved in
the decision-making about whether or not to evacuate from Hurricane Harvey complete the
questionnaire.
What are the alternatives to being in this study?
The alternative to being in the study is not to participate.
What will I be asked to do in this study?
We ask that you complete a questionnaire about whether you evacuated from Hurricane Harvey, the
choices you made and reasons for them, what you experienced, and your demographic information.
This will take about 20-30 minutes. You can return the completed questionnaire using the enclosed
prepaid envelope, or complete it online at [QUALTRICS ADDRESS].
Why is there a questionnaire in Spanish?
In areas that have many Spanish speakers, we have included a copy of the questionnaire in
Spanish. Respondents can choose to complete either the English or Spanish versions.
Will information from this study be kept private?
Yes! The information you provide will be treated as strictly confidential to the extent that is permitted
by law and required by law. The researchers working on this project are the only ones who will see
individual questionnaire responses. Representatives of regulatory agencies such as the Office of
Human Research Protections (OHRP) and entities such as the Texas A&M University Human
Subjects Protection Program could also access your records to make sure the study is being run
correctly, that information is collected properly and is kept confidential.
All data will be stored on a password-secured computer server during the study and only research
staff will have access to the records. When we report about findings and results of the study, the
data and information will be aggregated. When we share data or information with other researchers
or emergency planners, it will be de-identified. This means no information will be shared that could
be used to identify individual respondents or households.
At the end of the study, the data will be transferred to an independent scientific archive and will be
available for other scientists and emergency planners to use. Again, all individual and household

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TAMU IRB NUMBER: IRB2018-NNNL
TAMU IRB APPROVAL DATE: MM/DD/2018
TAMU IRB EXPIRATION DATE: MM/DD/20YY

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY HUMAN SUBJECTS PROTECTION PROGRAM
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE AND STUDY INFORMATION SHEET
identifying information will be scrubbed from the shared data. Data archiving is required by the
National Science Foundation, which provided some of the funding for the study.
Are there any risks or costs to me?
Answering the questions on this survey does not have risks that are greater than what you would
come across in everyday life. Potential risks include discomfort from being reminded that hurricanes
are such a dangerous force of nature. You don’t have to answer any questions about you or your
Hurricane Harvey experiences that make you uncomfortable. Aside from your time, there are no
costs for participating in the study.
What are benefits of participating in the study?
The time and information you contribute will help us enhance evacuation plans for the Coastal Bend area
and your county, and will also help emergency planning for other areas where residents are at risk for
hurricane impacts. The information you provide about your household’s hurricane emergency response
may also help improve the ability of local, state, and federal agencies to provide you with more useful
information about how to protect yourself, your family, and your property.
Who can I contact for more information?
Please contact the study’s lead investigator, Walter Peacock, PhD, to share questions, comments, or
complaints about this research. Dr. Peacock can be contacted at [email protected] or
(979) 845-7813. For questions about your rights as a research participant; or if you have questions,
complaints, or concerns about the research, you may also call the Texas A&M University Human
Subjects Protection Program office at {979) 458-4067 or [email protected].
What if I change my mind about participating?
This research is voluntary and you have the choice whether or not to be in this research study. You
may decide to not begin or to stop participating at any time. If you choose not to be in this study or
stop being in the study, there will be no effect on your relationship with Texas A&M University, Texas
A&M Transportation Institute, or University of Washington. By completing the survey questionnaire,
you are giving permission for the investigator to use your information for research purposes.
Agency Disclosure Notice: The primary sponsors of this survey are the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and
the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a
person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays an assigned number
from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The public reporting burden for this collection of
information, 0710-0016, is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including 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 the burden estimate or burden
reduction suggestions to the Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services at [email protected]. Respondents should be aware that
notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply
with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number.
Where can I see the results of this project?
The findings and results of this hurricane evacuation study will be posted to the Hazard Reduction &
Recovery Center website (http://hrrc.arch.tamu.edu/).
Thank you!
Dr. Walt Peacock
Texas A&M University

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Dr. Michael Lindell
University of Washington

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Dr. David Bierling
Texas A&M Transportation Institute

TAMU IRB NUMBER: IRB2018-NNNL
TAMU IRB APPROVAL DATE: MM/DD/2018
TAMU IRB EXPIRATION DATE: MM/DD/20YY