Procedures were designed to protect students’ privacy by assuring that student participation was
anonymous and voluntary. Using a school-issued or personal internet-connected device, students
logged into a secure website, watched a brief 2-minute instructional video, and responded to a
question regarding their location (e.g., classroom, home, other location) before completing the
survey. All surveys were submitted directly to a secure SQL server.
3.5.1 Field Procedures
After schools had been recruited, classes selected, and a date for survey administration
scheduled, each school received a mailing with presurvey materials containing instructions for
the school contact and packets for the teacher of each selected class. Teacher packets contained
the parental permission forms to be distributed to all students in the selected classes prior to data
collection. The timing of these presurvey materials was determined in part by the type of
permission form being used by the school; this decision was made by the school district or
individual school. Opt-out parental permission forms (i.e., forms returned only if the parents do
not want their child to participate) were sent approximately 2 weeks prior to the scheduled date
of data collection in the majority of schools. Active parental permission forms (i.e., forms that
must be returned with the parent’s signature for the child to participate) were sent out 4 weeks
prior to the scheduled date of data collection for schools that require active consent. TAPs
conducted follow-up calls and sent emails to the selected schools to answer any questions and to
make sure materials were received and distributed to selected classes and students.
3.5.2 Classroom Selection
Students were selected for participation by default via the selection of whole classes (i.e., all
students enrolled in a selected class were eligible to take the survey). The frames from which
classes were chosen were constructed so that eligible students had one, and only one, chance of
being selected. However, at times the specific method of selecting classes varied from school to
school, according to how a school’s class schedule was structured. Typically, classes were
selected from a list of required core courses such as English, social studies, math, or science.
Among middle school students, and among high school students in a few states, physical
education and/or health also were considered core courses. However, in a small number of
schools, it was difficult to develop an appropriate frame using this approach. Therefore, in these
schools, classes were selected by using a time of day (e.g., second period) when all eligible
students were scheduled to be attending a class as the frame, and randomly selecting from all
classes held at this time. Lastly, in some schools, homerooms or advisory periods were used as
the frame for class selection.
3.6 WEB-BASED DATA COLLECTION MANAGEMENT APPLICATION (DCMA)
For multiple cycles of the NYTS, a web-based data collection management application (DCMA)
has been used to help: centralize the management of the study; facilitate information exchange
with project staff; and allow all members of the project management teams, recruitment teams,
supervisory teams, and remote staff access to information necessary to implement the study. The
system is designed with differing levels of access depending on the user’s role on the study. The
system’s primary functions include generating invitation letters, tracking recruitment progress,
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