Research Surveys

ASHT is happy to provide members with the opportunity to enhance research through access to a pool of qualified survey respondents, to support the mission of the Society and to advance the specialty of hand therapy through the development of evidence-based medicine.

ASHT offers a members-only benefit that includes the distribution of an approved research survey, at no charge, for ASHT members. If you or anyone on your research team is an ASHT member, we would be happy to vet and distribute the survey, if approved. Unfortunately, ASHT is unable to distribute a research survey unless someone on the investigation team is an active ASHT member.

Survey Application Process

  • As part of the survey application process, the researcher should email the following documents to research@asht.org for review by the ASHT Research Division:
    • A study description that includes the researcher(s) names, survey title and brief purpose/summary - sent in Word format
    • The complete research survey questions - sent in Word format 

    • The IRB approval - all surveys must be IRB approved prior to being reviewed

    • Unfortunately, we are unable to review applications that don't include all three of the above-referenced documents

  • If approved, ASHT will distribute the survey on the researcher's behalf to its membership. 
  • If edits are required, the researcher will make required edits and resubmit for final approval.
  • The application review process will take approximately four to six weeks from receipt of all of the required documents.

If a submitting researcher would like a more in depth review of their survey, please specify in your email application that you would like the Research Division to review your survey in greater depth and provide further input/feedback. This additional review/feedback may increase the turn-around time a bit longer.

Survey Distribution Process

  • Upon approval, the researcher will sign and complete the ASHT Research Division Approval Form. Kindly email the signed form to research@asht.org.
  • The researcher will provide ASHT with an electronic link to the research survey to be included in the email.
  • ASHT will distribute the survey via two separate emails, approximately two weeks apart.
  • The researcher will collect and analyze results and provide back to ASHT the number of respondents to their survey.

Standard Set Of Demographic Questions

The Research Division has collaborated with investigators to develop a standard set of demographic questions that are freely available to include in surveys of hand therapists. This set was developed by Tara Packham OTReg.(Ont.), PhD and colleagues and piloted using multiple techniques, including expert review and cognitive debriefing. The aim is to save members time with survey development and increase the rigor of individual surveys. We strongly encourage these questions to be included in the surveys you are developing for ASHT membership. The set includes core questions and optional questions. Not all questions are necessary or appropriate for all surveys. However, selecting relevant demographic questions from this set can maximize efficiency with survey development and strengthen survey interpretations. Including all or most of the core questions, as appropriate, can contribute to broader scientific endeavors, including cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons of findings between surveys.

If you have questions, please contact the Research Division at research@asht.org.

Image removed.Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Download the Standard Set Of Demographic Questions

Survey Tool - Respondent Disclaimer

The American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) provides member mailing lists free of charge to ASHT members wishing to conduct research surveys. Prior to survey distribution, the survey is reviewed by the ASHT Research Division and feedback offered where appropriate. This service is provided by ASHT to support hand therapy research and as a member service.

All surveys are developed and distributed in good faith. ASHT does not endorse or otherwise take responsibility for the contents of any surveys created by a user of this service.

Survey respondents should refer to the particular user to understand the privacy practices applicable to the information the user is collecting. ASHT does not review‚ comment upon or monitor its users’ compliance with their respective privacy policies or applicable privacy laws. ASHT is not responsible to survey respondents for the privacy practices of users.