A longitudinal experimental design was employed to assess
the effectiveness of the MSB-Nutrition program. Participants
from a large public university were recruited to
participate in the study through e-mail messages, flyers, and
announcements on school billboards. Participants attended
a brief orientation session outlining the nature of the study,
course requirements, and the purpose of randomization. Consent
to participate in the studywas obtained through a consent
form that described the general purpose of the study, issues
of confidentiality of responses, time commitment, risk and
benefits of participation, and contact information regarding
the researcher. The study was reviewed and approved by the
Institutional Review Board.
Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions:
an online course (MSB-Nutrition), an on-campus course, and
a comparison group. Participants in each of the 3 groups completed
a secure, password-protected online survey 1 week before
beginning the course and approximately 2 weeks after
the end of the course.