SURVEY ON FIELD SAFETY (2015): MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, AND MEDITERRANEAN BASIN

Introduction and thanks:  
Thank you for your interest in this survey, and for taking the time to participate in it.  The original Survey on Field Safety: Middle East, North Africa, and Mediterranean Basin was circulated a year ago (mid-2014), and you may have seen it – and even taken it – at that time.  It is being circulated again (mid-2015), with two goals.  The first goal is to reach individuals who might not have seen the survey the first time, or who might have seen the survey but not taken it and would like to do so now.  The second goal is to follow up, for those who have participated in field projects since they took the 2014 survey.  The results from this survey will provide insight into field culture for 2015 and over a more extended period of time.  These results are critical both for identifying problems, and for developing methods to remediate problems in archaeological field culture.
 
IF YOU HAVE NOT PREVIOUSLY TAKEN THIS SURVEY:
When taking this survey, you may also include information about your 2014 fieldwork experience.  Doing so will facilitate comparisons between the two field seasons. 

IF YOU ALREADY TOOK THIS SURVEY IN 2014:
When taking this survey, you may also include information about your 2014 fieldwork experience, even if you already reported about it in 2014.  Doing so will facilitate comparisons between the 2014 and 2015 field seasons. 

About the survey:  
The Survey on Field Safety: Middle East, North Africa, and Mediterranean Basin is designed to understand the ways in which archaeological fieldwork does – or does not – provide a setting that is safe and secure from intimidation, harassment and violence based on gender, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity for all project participants.  Beyond documenting and quantifying experiences, goals include determining those factors that contribute to safe and unsafe fieldwork environments; identifying areas in which further research is necessary; determining best practices and the means by which to implement them; developing standards, policies and protocols designed to educate and inform all participants in archaeological excavations about ethics and laws in the field and on research projects; and, under the auspices of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR),  offering online trainings and access to relevant documents for excavation leaders, staff, volunteers, and employees.  Collaboration among a broad spectrum of professional societies and institutes is essential for meeting these goals. 

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR RESPONSE BY OCTOBER 15, 2015.

To take the survey:
All individuals taking this survey must be 18 years or older.  By clicking on the "NEXT" (right-facing) arrows at the bottom of this page, you give informed consent to participate in this research study "Survey on Field Safety."  Please answer the questions to the best of your ability.  You may stop taking the survey at any time, and you may decide not to answer every question. 

Confidentiality: 
Your responses will remain anonymous.  The University of Arizona server on which this survey and all responses to it are stored is data-encrypted. At no time, whether in presentations or in online or print publications will your name, place of study or employment, field project/s or other identifying information be made public.  Only the Principal Investigator will know your identity.  Unless you indicate interest in a follow-up interview, you will not be contacted about the survey and your responses to it.

In order to ensure that participants fill out the survey only once, you will be asked to provide your email address.  The confirmation you will receive upon completion of the survey is the only communication that will be sent to your email address, unless you indicate interest in a follow-up interview. 
 If your responses indicate an on-going situation in which reporting to authorities is legally mandated (such as, for example, on-going sexual abuse of minors), then such a report will be made, as required by law.

Optional follow-up interview:If you indicate, by checking the appropriate box at the end of the survey, that you would like to participate in a follow-up interview, then you will be contacted for scheduling at your email address.  As with the survey, no personal or project identifiers will be made public, whether in presentations or in online or print publications.

Risks and benefits:Participation in this survey may trigger difficult and troubling memories.  If you are concerned that sharing these memories might be too painful, please do not continue with the survey.  If, however, you are able to share your experiences, then be assured that the information you provide (concerning both positive and negative experiences) will be used to make archaeological fieldwork safer and more secure for all participants. 
An Institutional Review Board responsible for human subjects research at The University of Arizona reviewed this research project and found it to be acceptable, according to applicable state and federal regulations and University policies designed to protect the rights and welfare of participants in research.

For further information:
If you have any questions about this project, please contact the principal investigator, Beth Alpert Nakhai, Ph.D., R.P.A., Associate Professor, Arizona Center for Judaic Studies and School of Anthropology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (520-626-5762; bnakhai@email.arizona.edu).

If you have questions about your rights as a participant in this survey, or if you have concerns or complaints, please contact The University of Arizona Institutional Review Board (520) 626-6721 or www.orcr.arizona.edu/hspp

Thank you for your willingness to participate in this project.

Sincerely,
 
Beth Alpert Nakhai, Ph.D., R.P.A.