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Information Sheet for Research Study

You are invited to participate in the 2022 Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) Registry Implementation Survey. Your 

participation is voluntary. This document explains information about the study. You should read the information below and ask 

questions about anything that you do not understand. A researcher will be available to answer your questions.

You should only decide to participate if the following is true for you: You are responding on behalf of a Forensic Science Service 

Provider. 

PURPOSE 

The purpose of this study is to research and survey Forensic Science Service Providers (FSSPs):

● To learn and understand how the FSSPs in the United States (U.S.) are using or referring to the documentary standards 

posted on the OSAC Registry, administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

● To learn and understand how OSAC can support and collaborate with the U.S. FSSPs to improve the implementation of 

these standards. 

● The responses will be compiled into a full report that will be made available to the public to show OSAC where the 

standards are being implemented, where they are not being implemented, and barriers to their implementation.

PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT

● If you decide to take part in this study, you will be asked to complete one (1) online survey. The survey has an expected 

completion time of 15-60 minutes. You will be asked for demographic information such as name, organization name, 

organization type, city and state. Questions will also focus on awareness of the OSAC Registry, standards implementation 

priorities, and barriers to implementation.

● Participation in this survey is voluntary. 

● Your responses will be used to prepare a final report of aggregated data for the benefit of the forensic science community 

and OSAC. 

PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION

You will not be compensated for your participation.

CONFIDENTIALITY

● The respondent’s name, email address, organization name and organization city, state, will remain confidential and be deidentified. Data (identifiers/subject information/code key/master list) are considered de-identified when any direct or 

indirect identifiers, codes and/or links connecting the data to the participant are destroyed. No data can be linked back to 

an individual respondent. 

● Data access is limited to the members of the NIST research team, NIST Research Protections Office (RPO) to include the 

NIST Institutional Review Board (IRB), and the NIST Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP). The IRB reviews and 

monitors research studies to protect the rights and welfare of the research subjects.

● When the results of the research are published or discussed in conferences, no identifiable information will be used.

● Surveys completed by respondents will not be used for future research.

POSSIBLE RISKS

Possible risks or discomforts associated with this study are low. The names and email addresses of respondents and organization 

names and locations are the greatest risk of exposure. However, the identifiers associated with respondents will be protected by 

NIST’s information technology security protocols being used and the limited access to the respondent’s identifiers.

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION 

● If you have any questions about this study, please contact the OSAC Program Office within NIST’s Special Programs Office at 

forensics@nist.gov. 

● If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the NIST Research Protections Office 

and/or Institutional Review Board at 301-975-5445 or email rpooffice@nist.gov.

I understand the above description of the research and the risks and benefits associated with my participation as a research subject. 

I understand that by proceeding and selecting I AGREE, I am choosing to take part in this research voluntarily. 

DO NOT SIGN THIS INFORMATION SHEET. PLEASE KEEP IT FOR YOUR RECORDS.