| Course | HS880 Doctoral Project III: Data Collection and Analysis |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Recruitment plan |
| Length | About 890 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HS880 Unit 1
Two Streams, Every Invitation Scripted: A Unit 1 Recruitment Plan for a Survey and Interview Study of Radiographers
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HS880: Doctoral Project III: Data Collection and Analysis
Unit 1 Recruitment Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Wrenfield Health and its figures are composite and shown as placeholders; the survey design source cited is real.
Purpose of the Plan
The study asks why radiographers keep placing gonadal shields after the guidance changed, collecting a survey of every eligible radiographer and interviews with a subset in the same period, a convergent mixed methods design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). The approved protocol describes recruitment in outline. This plan turns the outline into steps, scripts and dates that the imaging education office can follow without improvising, so that every eligible person receives the same information in the same way.
Eligibility, Criterion by Criterion
1. Current registration as a radiographer with the national credentialing body. Verified by the network's credential list, held by human resources; no one outside the list is invited.
2. Employment by Wrenfield Health on the invitation date, including part-time and per diem staff, because many outpatient sites depend on per diem radiographers who shield or do not shield like everyone else.
3. Regular projection work, meaning one or more shifts monthly over the preceding three months. Radiographers working only in CT, MRI, mammography or ultrasound are excluded because the study concerns projection examinations.
4. Not a current student. Students are excluded because their practice is supervised and their training program sets rules about shielding.
5. For interviews only: not a graduate of the student's own radiography program within the last five years, to avoid a teaching relationship shaping what participants say.
The education office estimates that [286] people meet criteria one to four.
Stream One: The Survey Census
The survey follows the logic of the tailored design method, which uses several varied contacts to raise response while keeping each one brief and respectful (Dillman et al., 2014).
Contact one, day one: an email from the director of imaging education, explaining the study, its approval, the time required ([15] minutes), that participation is voluntary and anonymous and that no manager will see who responds. The survey link is unique to the survey platform and collects no network identifiers.
Contact two, day eight: a shorter reminder from the same sender.
Contact three, day fifteen: a final reminder noting the closing date, sent with a printed flyer posted in each site's staff room by the site supervisor, who is told only to post it and not to ask staff whether they have responded.
The survey closes on day twenty-one.
No contact comes from the student, and no message asks a supervisor to encourage participation, because a census of staff is only as honest as their confidence that no one is counting who answered.
Stream Two: Interviews
The last survey page invites respondents to volunteer for a [45]-minute interview through a separate link that collects a name, email and site type, kept in a different file from the survey responses. From volunteers, the research coordinator will select [16] to [20] participants, a number informed by evidence that most themes in a fairly similar group emerge within the first dozen interviews (Guest et al., 2006), using a grid that balances self-reported shielding practice, hospital versus outpatient site and career stage. If a grid cell has no volunteers after the survey closes, the coordinator will send one further invitation to all eligible staff for that cell, again through the education office.
Interview invitations will come from the research coordinator, with a consent form attached and a choice of video or in-person interview in a private room at a time outside scheduled shifts. A [$25] gift card will be offered, as approved by the review board.
Scripts
The full text of each email, the flyer and the interview invitation appears in the appendix, word for word as approved. The scripts avoid any language suggesting that shielding is right or wrong, describing the study only as research on "how radiographers make decisions about patient shielding."
Monitoring Response
The education office will report only the running total of completed surveys to the student each week, never names or sites. If the total is below [30] percent by day fifteen, the student will consult the review board about an additional contact before making any change.
Data Kept About Recruitment
The education office will keep a dated log of each contact: what was sent, to how many people, from which address and on what day. The log will not record who opened or answered anything. It exists so the results chapter can report recruitment exactly as it happened, including any amendment, and so readers can judge whether late respondents differ from early ones. Survey responses will carry a submission date, which allows the sample to be split by contact wave without identifying anyone.
Risks
Staff may treat an email from an unfamiliar platform with suspicion. Per diem radiographers may check network email rarely. Both risks are addressed by the posted flyer, and any change to contacts will go to the board as an amendment. A third risk is that radiographers who still shield, aware the practice is discouraged, will be less willing to respond; the neutral wording of every script is the main defense against that.
References
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian, L. M. (2014). Internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: The tailored design method (4th ed.). Wiley.
Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903
The Purdue Global HS880 Unit 1 instructions
In the opening unit of this course, candidates typically turn the approved protocol's recruitment section into a working plan, often four to six pages with scripts in an appendix. Expect to define eligibility precisely, explain how eligible people will be identified, describe every contact with its timing and sender and state how participants will be selected for any second strand. Instructors look for procedures that minimize coercion, especially when the candidate has a relationship with potential participants. Many prompts ask for a plan to monitor response without identifying respondents and for a description of what happens if response falls short. Any change to approved procedures must go back to the review board, and the plan should say so.
How this HS880 Unit 1 example is built
The plan opens by explaining why the protocol's outline needs turning into scripted steps. Five numbered criteria follow, each with its verification source and reason. The survey stream lists three contacts by day, sender and content, and the highlighted sentence explains why supervisors are kept out of reminders. The interview stream describes the separate volunteer form, a selection grid across shielding practice, site type and career stage, an extra invitation for empty cells and a modest gift card. Sections on scripts, weekly response monitoring by count only, a dated recruitment log and three risks complete the plan. Every script is reproduced in an appendix exactly as the board approved it.
HS880 Unit 1 rubric: what earns full points
Recruitment plans are commonly assessed on clarity of eligibility, protection against coercion, feasibility of contacts, consistency with the approved protocol and contingency planning. Eligibility earns points when each criterion is verifiable and justified. Protection against coercion often weighs heavily, particularly where the candidate teaches or supervises potential participants. Contact procedures score well when they specify sender, timing and content and draw on established survey methods. Consistency with the protocol is checked closely, since unapproved changes can invalidate data. Contingency planning rewards candidates who state a threshold for concern and the approval route for any fix. Scripts in an appendix and a clear timeline complete the grade. Committees also look for recruitment that can be described later in the results chapter without surprises.
Common HS880 Unit 1 mistakes, and how to avoid them
A frequent weakness is eligibility stated in general terms, such as "radiographers at the network," without saying how anyone will be identified. Another is recruitment that runs through managers or the candidate, which invites pressure to take part. Some candidates plan a single email and are surprised by low response. Others link survey answers to interview volunteers in one file, undermining anonymity. Plans that promise to "adjust as needed" without mentioning board approval cause trouble later. If your study recruits a different group, perhaps nurses, patients or community members, send your approved protocol section, and a recruitment plan can be drafted with scripts and a contact schedule.
Get an HS880 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
Recruitment plans change shape with the design: a survey census, a clinic sample, interviews by referral. Describe the population and setting broadly, leaving out names, and add the Unit 1 prompt, the rubric and your approved method. The sample scripts every contact, turns eligibility into checkable criteria and leaves each approval for you to record. First custom sample free; 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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HS880 Unit 1 questions, answered
Why should someone else send the recruitment emails?
When the researcher has a relationship with potential participants, such as supervising, teaching or placing students with them, a direct invitation can feel like an obligation. Having a neutral office send messages reduces that pressure and supports voluntary participation. Review boards commonly ask about this, so stating who sends each message and why is better than waiting for the question.
What is the tailored design method?
An approach to survey administration developed by Don Dillman and colleagues that uses multiple, varied contacts to raise response while respecting participants. Each contact offers a different reason to respond, and the sequence is planned in advance. It began with mail surveys and has been adapted for web surveys, where reminders and a clear closing date carry much of the effect.
How many interviews should a recruitment plan target?
Enough to answer the question across the variation that matters, which depends on the design. A grid built on relevant characteristics, here shielding status and site type, makes the target concrete. Many qualitative studies set a target range and a floor, then judge adequacy by whether the interviews have answered the question, not by hitting a fixed count.
Where can I find a free HS880 Unit 1 sample paper?
The complete Unit 1 recruitment plan is on this page, defining eligibility for a radiographer survey and interviews and scripting every contact.
Why keep supervisors out of survey reminders?
Because staff who believe their manager is tracking participation may feel pressured to answer or to answer favorably, which undermines a census.