Are you willing to help us make a new assessment tool that will improve our ability to find the best possible mediation solutions for both parents and children? Please take about 20 minutes to complete an anonymous, thought-provoking survey via the Internet. You will contribute to an important research study, and in the process, you might also clarify or confirm some of your own concerns and priorities.

About the study:

We are doing a research study to make a new survey that will be used to assess the concerns and desires of parents who are divorcing or separating. When the new survey is finished, it will help parents and mediators find solutions that are satisfying for parents and good for children. This is part of a non-profit, scientific investigation being conducted by Dr. Keith Sanford, a psychologist at Baylor University. By participating in this study, you will help a good cause.

About the survey:

The survey includes scales measuring several different types of concerns you may have, as well as scales measuring your observations of the other parent, communication patterns, attitudes, and desires. At the end of the survey, you will receive graphs depicting your scores on 14 different scales and you will be given a description of what each scale measures. You are free to save these scores and you are free to share these scores with other people (such as divorce mediators) if you so desire. Be aware that, because this survey is anonymous, it is not possible to retrieve your scores after you leave the final page of the survey (the page that displays your scores), and if you want to save your scores, you need to save them before you leave this page.

What we need:

The beta version of the survey has been developed and we need people to test it. We need parents who are divorcing or separating from their partners to try out the questions so that we can determine how well it works. Are you willing to help?

Important facts:

The survey is anonymous. You will not be asked to identify yourself, and it will not be possible for the researchers who are collecting the data to know who you are.

The survey is voluntary. We do not want anyone to feel pressured to take the survey. You are entitled to receive fair treatment in mediation regardless of your decision to participate, and it would be highly inappropriate for anyone to tell you otherwise.