Dear Respected Colleague,

I am a PhD student at Walden University completing this research project in partial completion for a Doctor of Philosophy in Management – Human Resource specialization.  You have been selected to receive this invitation to participate in my doctoral study because you may have worked with applicants, candidates, or clients with mobility disabilities in your scope of employment. 

The goal of this study is to determine how a panel of disability awareness experts view the desirability and feasibility of forward-looking strategies for decreasing barriers to employment for disabled individuals with a mobility type disability in the Midwest. Your participation in this study will involve responding to an online questionnaire consisting of open-ended responses questions and demographic questions in Round 1, followed by two or three subsequent rounds of online data collection that will involve rating your agreement to statements based on the earlier rounds of data collection and analysis.  Your privacy and confidentiality as a study participation will be ensured, along with anonymity among the experts on the panel. Participation is completely voluntary and not connected to your duties at work. The focus of this study is future-oriented, and not about any one organization.  Everyone participating in Round 1 will receive invitations for the subsequent round. Only persons who participated in the previous round will be eligible to participate in subsequent rounds.

Your participation and contribution to this study will provide valuable insight into advocating for persons with disabilities in regard to gainful employment.  As you know, barriers exist for the disabled population, and this study will help to decrease those barriers.  In order to participate in this study, I ask that you meet the following three criteria: (a) be in a position to hire persons with or without a disability or manage workers with disabilities; (b) have an interest in reducing barriers of employment for the disabled population in the Midwest; and (c) have been working in a hiring, legal, advocating or managerial capacity with disabled persons for three years or more.

If you have any questions or concerns about the study, please contact me anytime by email at jimmy.duncan@waldenu.edu or by telephone at (573) 888-0002 ext. 238. You may also contact my dissertation chair, Dr. Keri Heitner, at keri.heitner@mail.waldenu.edu

If you are willing to participate in this study, please complete the online consent form by navigating to the link provided below. The informed consent form requires clicking on “yes” to agree to the terms of the consent prior to answering questions to verify you meet the three qualifications before accessing the online Round 1 questionnaire for this study.

Thank you for your consideration and hopeful willingness to participate in this study.

Here is the link to execute your informed consent: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D7ZFRDM prior to accessing the verification questions and survey.

Warmest Regards,

Jimmy Duncan

Walden University