Survey Policy

AAHKS Research Committee Policy Statement on Member Surveys

1. Research surveys are open to current AAHKS members only. Survey proposals must be submitted through the AAHKS website. Proposal must include survey sponsor(s)/investigator(s) with affiliation(s); a brief (<300 word) abstract including the headings of Hypothesis, Significance and Background, and Methods (for both survey and data analysis) as well as a draft of the specific questionnaire. Survey topics must be: 1) of keen interest to the AAHKS membership; 2) free of industry or commercial bias; and 3) of professional or scientific value in the area of hip and knee reconstruction.

2. The AAHKS Research Committee will review submitted survey proposals and assign a ranking score. Proposals that are ranked highly will then be distributed to AAHKS members.

3. Any survey approved by the AAHKS Research Committee will be developed with the input and final approval by the Research Committee. Investigators who submit survey proposals which are approved by the AAHKS Research Committee must work in collaboration with the Research Committee and the Research staff at the AAHKS Rosemont office. The AAHKS Research Committee will have final approval on the survey process and stages, and all final survey questionnaires, accompanying cover letters and reminder print pieces. Issues of special significance (as determined by the Research Committee Chair) regarding survey approval or performance will be brought to the AAHKS President for possible discussion with the AAHKS Executive Board. Should the survey not achieve a representative response rate of 25%, the Research Committee shall have the right to annotate all publications and submissions with a standard statement about the potential for type 2 error in any conclusions of the survey.

4. Surveys approved by the AAHKS Research Committee will be deemed Official AAHKS Sponsored Surveys. They will utilize the AAHKS logo, and will be distributed directly by AAHKS to its membership. Online surveys (such as through SurveyMonkey) can be used and will eventually become the preferred method of survey. Confidentiality of AAHKS member responses will be ensured.

5. There will not be more than two major membership surveys distributed in any twelve-month period. The AAHKS Research Committee will be involved in deciding the timing of distribution and length of each survey. Major surveys should not exceed two pages in length or take longer than five minutes to complete online. Rolling approval of surveys will be preferred so one new survey will be approved approximately every six months.

6. The AAHKS Research Committee requires that survey data and conclusions be made available by investigators upon request. The committee must provide final approval prior to publication and/or presentation of survey results. Requests for publication of survey information should be approved by the Research Committee chair.

Revised 9/11/2017