DATABASE OF HEARING IMPAIRED RESEARCH SUBJECTS

IT IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR RESEARCHERS TO OBTAIN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF DEAF OR SEVERELY HEARING IMPAIRED ADULTS. IT IS POSSIBLE TO GET LISTINGS OF MEMBERS OF SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS FOR HEARING IMPAIRED PERSONS, SUCH ASTHE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF OR SELF HELP FOR HARD OF HEARING PERSONS, BUT THESE MEMBERS ARE NOT TYPICAL OF THEHEARING IMPAIRED POPULATION AT LARGE. USUALLY, THEY REPRESENT PERSONS POLITICALLY ACTIVE IN THE HEARING IMPAIRED COMMUNITY. FURTHER, THERE IS NO WAY AT PRESENT TO PREDETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT PERSONS FROM SUCH LISTS ARE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH STUDIES, AND, IF SO, IN WHAT KIND OF RESEARCH THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE. THIS PROPOSAL IS FOR A TWO-PHASE PROJECT TO DEVELOP A LARGE (10,000 +) DATABASE OF DEAF AND SEVERELY HEARING IMPAIRED PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH ON HEARINGIMPAIRMENT. IN PHASE I A TRIAL DATABASE WOULD BE CREATED USING INFORMATION FROM PEOPLE WHOSE NAMES ARE LISTED IN THE "1991 INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE DIRECTORY FOR TDD USERS", PUBLISHED BY TELECOMMUNICATIONS FOR THE DEAF, INC. (TDI). SINCE ALL TYPES OF DEAF AND SEVERELY HEARING IMPAIRED PEOPLEUSE TDDS, THE TDI DIRECTORY IS THOUGHT TO REPRESENT THE BROADEST AVAILABLE SOURCE OF POTENTIAL NAMES FOR THE PROPOSED DATABASE. PHASE II WOULD BE A FUL-SCALE APPLICATION OF THIS APPROACH AND AN EXPANSION OF IT TO OTHER POSSIBLE SOURCES OF DATABASE PARTICIPANTS.