Methodology S
ubjects were recruited by contacting counseling and wellness centers staff on
college campuses and asking for a staff member to complete the survey about eating
disorders–related services and programs provided. Of 529 colleges and universities that
were contacted, 163 responded to the survey, a response rate of 31%. Subjects (staff
members involved in providing eating disorders–related programs and services) were
invited to participate via email through the National Eating Disorders Association, and
encouraged to pass the invitation to colleagues at other institutions or departments. Each
subject was asked to complete a brief survey on surveymonkey.com that took approxi-
mately 15 to 30 minutes to complete. The survey was created by the Principal Investigator
with the help of a subcommittee of specialists in the field of eating disorders research
and treatment practice. Participants were able to indicate if they would like to receive
the results of this study. In addition, participants were asked if their programs could be
publicly listed by NEDA in a database of colleges that offer eating disorder and body
image–related programs and services. Respondents were also asked if they could be contacted
by program/service staff on other campuses who are interested in learning more about their
programs. Both were voluntary components and consent was indicated by respondents who
chose to include this information and permission. Requests for contact information of those
listed in the college services database will only be granted if the respondent at the school
in question gave permission.
By signing the consent form and filling out the survey, participants gave consent for NEDA
to include their data in this research. This information was separated from the data when it
was transferred into an SPSS database, thereby separating the contact information from the
specific data collected from that individual. For all survey responses in which the participant
did not identify themselves as a staff or other official representative of eating disorder–related
programs/services, NEDA contacted a staff member for verification of accuracy of informa-
tion as a requisite for inclusion in the resulting publication. All data was originally collected
in December of 2010, and data was verified as still accurate in 2012 for the release of this
publication. All free response data was coded and the frequency and importance of services
cross–tabulation data was performed by the Cornell University Statistical Consulting Unit.
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