Study information for prospective individual participants
I am seeking individuals who have just accepted or are starting a new job for my dissertation research on onboarding.
I am a graduate student at Penn State in the Workforce Education and Development (WFED) program. The title of my research project is “Newcomer onboarding: What happens, what helps, what hinders, and their hopes.”
The purpose of this study is to better understand how newcomers experience the onboarding process—what happens to them, what helps them, what hinders them, and what they hope for—which should provide pragmatic recommendations for HRD practice that are grounded in newcomers’ actual experiences and needs.
Your participation is voluntary and confidential
If someone sent you this link, they will not learn from me whether you decide to participate in the study. Your participation in this research project is confidential, voluntary, and you may decide to end your participation at any time for any reason.
If you are interested in participating, here’s what I will ask you to do:
- Complete a short online questionnaire to give consent to participate, provide basic demographic and contact information (Time required: 3 minutes)
- Make an entry in a weekly online log I set up for you for 8 weeks about your onboarding-related experiences at least once a week or anytime you experience something you’d like to document. You can do it on a computer, tablet, or smart phone. (Time required: about 10-15 minutes for each entry for 8 weeks). You can try out the sample version of the onboarding log.
- Participate in two 15-minute Zoom interviews (with camera off), one after 4 weeks and the second after 8 weeks, clarify your entries and confirm that I have correctly interpreted them.
Why am I using this study method?
I am using a qualitative method, gathering open-ended written information from new employees, because most previous research on this topic has used quantitative methods like surveys and statistics, and I feel the perceptions and experiences from the perspectives of the new employees have been ignored. Also, the weekly journal entry method is being used because previous studies of onboarding have called upon participants at a single point in time to remember what happened to them several weeks or months in the past, when they may have forgotten some things.
Outcomes and potential benefits to you
- I will share a report of general findings with anyone I have contacted regarding this research project who wishes to receive it. The report will not identify any person or organization by their real name. I also intend to publish a research article about the findings to share new knowledge within the Human Resources and Talent Development field. My intention is to improve the practice of onboarding.
- Daily or weekly journaling is considered a good practice for new hires to help themselves adapt to their new workplaces.
- As a thank you for your work on this study with me, I will send you a $25 Amazon gift card for every four entries you make in the log.
Next steps
If you are willing to participate in my research project, please go to the Consent form and screening survey .
I will follow-up with you based on the information provided.
I am happy to answer any questions or concerns you have about the research project via email, Zoom, or phone.