Creation of an Integrated Software Platform to Support the Social and Behavioral Instruments (SABI) Database and eTrove Project Management System

Research

Purpose: To integrate the content of the Social and Behavioral Instruments (SABI) database (created and managed by the Social and Behavioral Sciences Core of the UNC Center for AIDS Research) into eTrove (developed by iRT), an integrated survey development, project management, and learning management software platform.

OVERVIEW

HIV/AIDS researchers do not have access to an up-to-date, web-based library of social and behavioral measures that is curated, rigorously reviewed, and readily usable for studies.

Selection of measures, particularly when not in the researcher’s area of expertise; compilation of measures into assessment batteries; and deployment, administration, and project management tasks are labor intensive and not integrated into one software platform.

The goal of this project is to integrate the content of the Social and Behavioral Instruments (SABI) database (created and managed by the Social and Behavioral Sciences Core of the UNC Center for AIDS Research) into eTrove (developed by iRT), an integrated survey development, project management, and learning management software platform.

In Phase I, procedures for conducting the technical reviews on SABI measures will be updated. More granular information about the demographic and background characteristics of norming samples or research participants will be coded to inform the appropriate usage of measures with developmentally and culturally diverse populations for future research studies.

Expand

In addition, the updated technical review procedures will include information about the accessibility of each measure for completion by individuals with a disability. The SABI library of reviews will be added to eTrove to allow researchers to not only locate appropriate measures for use in their studies, but to also compile several measures into an assessment battery seamlessly allowing for rapid deployment and completion by participants on a desktop or mobile device. Functionality will be added to eTrove to allow researchers to select and save measures to a list of favorites for compilation into an assessment battery. The front-end web design and enhanced software system functionality will be updated to be maximally useful to HIV/AIDS researchers and their research team members.

Once the prototype of the integrated SABI eTrove is developed and alpha tested, HIV/AIDS researchers (N = 5) will separately test the usability of the software in a One-to-One Evaluation Study. After any software errors or usability problems are addressed, a Feasibility and Acceptability Study will be conducted with a larger sample of HIV/AIDS researchers (n = 25) to pilot the full functionality of SABI eTrove. Finally, key informant interviews with stakeholder consultants will be conducted to establish site licensing procedures for the final product.