Dear Potential Survey Participant,
Thank you for your interest in the Specialty Crop Supply Elasticity Estimate User Survey, conducted by Dr. Zoë Plakias (The Ohio State University) and Dr. Daniel Tregeagle (North Carolina State University).
Our overall aims for this survey are to:
- Better understand how specialty crop supply elasticities are used
- Identify issues with existing estimates
- Identify user needs to guide future work in this area
This is a consent form for research participation. It contains important information about this study and what to expect if you decide to participate. Your participation is voluntary.
Please consider the information below carefully. Feel free to ask questions before making your decision whether or not to participate.
Purpose
The purpose of this survey is to study how people use specialty crop supply elasticites. This survey is targeted to applied economists, policy analysts, and other users of estimates of supply elasticity for specialty crops. - By specialty crops, we mean fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops (including floriculture), following the USDA definition.
- By supply elasticity, we mean the own-price elasticity of supply.
Duration and Procedures
This survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. The questions in the survey will ask you about your use and production of specialty crop supply elasticities. - By use, we mean incorporating an existing supply elasticity estimate into work that does not have producing a supply elasticity estimate as its goal (e.g. welfare analysis).
- By production, we mean conducting a project with an intermediate or end goal of producing a novel supply elasticity estimate.
Risks and Benefits
The only risk we perceive is from you sharing information about data sources or methods previously unknown to us or to others viewing the deidentified results, providing us and other researchers with the opportunity to “scoop” you on a particular project. We don’t expect this to be a major issue but cannot rule this out once results are public. Because we wish to work in cooperation with (rather than in competition with) you on this larger project moving forward, we have given you the option to get information about collaborating on the larger research project in the future via a question on the final page of the survey. You may benefit in the long term by providing input that will guide our future research and provision of public goods (e.g., new specialty crop supply elasticity estimates).
Confidentiality
We will summarize and publicly share the results from this survey. All personally identifying information will be removed from any public release of the survey results. We will work to make sure that no one sees your identifiable online responses without approval. But, because we are using the Internet, there is a chance that someone could access your online responses without permission.
Participant Rights
You may refuse to participate in this study without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. If you are an employee or student at Ohio State University or North Carolina State University, your decision will not affect your grades or employment status.
If you choose to participate in the study, you may discontinue participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits. By agreeing to participate, you do not give up any personal legal rights you may have as a participant in this study. Your decision will not affect your future relationship with The Ohio State University or North Carolina State University.
This study has been determined to be Exempt by the IRB.