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Authors
Simons, Jack D.
Smetáčková, Irena
Kuchirko, Yana
Mujica-Urzúa, Patricio
Okrosy, Keith
Belser, Christopher
Hrabec, Ondřej
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Article History
Received: 12 February 2024
Accepted: 12 March 2025
First Online: 22 May 2025
Competing interests
: The authors declare no competing interests.
: The authors confirm that all research involving human participants was performed in accordance with relevant guidelines/regulations set forth by the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was granted before research commenced on September 30, 2020 (approval number 19–49) by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Mercy University in Dobbs Ferry, New York in the United States. The Mercy University IRB (Research Ethics Committee) evaluated study protocols and related documents, and looked after the interests of all potentially affected parties, including people subjected to research procedures, in accordance with research and ethics standards and guidelines.
: Informed consent was obtained in written form from interview participants by the first author/principal investigator at Mercy University in Dobbs Ferry, New York in the United States. Date of informed consent received: September 30, 2020. The non-interventional research study involved use of surveys and questionnaires. All participants were fully informed about anonymity and assured that only aggregate data would be used, stored, shared in the form of papers and presentations. Within the scope of consent, they were also informed about benefits and risks, along with resources. Since participants were representative of underrepresented minority groups in STEM, they were informed that if they had uncomfortable feelings or thoughts resulting from being asked sensitive questions, they could be provided with mental health referral resources and STEM community resources. Participants could also leave the study at any time due to discomfort. Additionally, participants were informed about who conducted and approved the study, the purpose of the study, rights and eligibility (i.e., the type of individuals sought), interview protocols, compensation, and location of the consent form: . One-hundred-ten U.S. dollars was offered to each participant at the end of interviewing. Compensation was offered to show appreciation for participation and to increase the likelihood that participants would complete the entirety of interviews.
