Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach

Research question

This protocol evaluates response-latency denominators through sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events. The primary question is whether independent reviewers using the same codebook can produce the same bounded classification. It does not rank programs, infer coach interest, or predict admission, aid, roster placement, participation, or any athlete-specific outcome. In Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach, protocol marker 1.1 specifically tests sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events and retains the observation window, reviewer, and exception disposition.

Audit step 1.1B requires a second person to reconstruct the classification from the saved source and codebook alone. If reconstruction fails, classify the row as insufficient evidence and document the missing element. This rule prevents a persuasive note from replacing reproducible evidence in the response-latency denominators dataset.

Scope and preregistered boundaries

Define the sport, institution set, observation window, inclusion rule, and unit of analysis before collection. Freeze the sample and replacement rule. Public pages and documented responsible-office communications can support observations; search snippets, private accounts, and unverified third-party profiles remain leads rather than controlling evidence. In Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach, protocol marker 1.2 specifically tests sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events and retains the observation window, reviewer, and exception disposition.

Audit step 1.2B requires a second person to reconstruct the classification from the saved source and codebook alone. If reconstruction fails, classify the row as insufficient evidence and document the missing element. This rule prevents a persuasive note from replacing reproducible evidence in the response-latency denominators dataset.

Sampling design

Use a stratified sample that does not let one sport, region, season, or institution type dominate. Assign selection numbers inside each stratum and preserve exclusion reasons. If evidence becomes unavailable after selection, retain that event as an availability outcome instead of silently substituting an easier case. In Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach, protocol marker 1.3 specifically tests sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events and retains the observation window, reviewer, and exception disposition.

Audit step 1.3B requires a second person to reconstruct the classification from the saved source and codebook alone. If reconstruction fails, classify the row as insufficient evidence and document the missing element. This rule prevents a persuasive note from replacing reproducible evidence in the response-latency denominators dataset.

Data dictionary

Each row records a study ID, program class, source URL, page title, retrieval timestamp with time zone, observation status, denominator eligibility, comparison target, exception class, reviewer, and adjudication state. Personal identifiers should be excluded unless necessary for the declared measure, and public reporting should remain aggregated. In Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach, protocol marker 1.4 specifically tests sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events and retains the observation window, reviewer, and exception disposition.

Audit step 1.4B requires a second person to reconstruct the classification from the saved source and codebook alone. If reconstruction fails, classify the row as insufficient evidence and document the missing element. This rule prevents a persuasive note from replacing reproducible evidence in the response-latency denominators dataset.

Collection protocol

Train reviewers on cases outside the analytic sample. Collect on a fixed cadence and separate planned observations from incident-triggered checks. Preserve what the source displayed at the time without evading access controls. A later correction updates the status but does not erase the earlier timestamped observation. In Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach, protocol marker 1.5 specifically tests sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events and retains the observation window, reviewer, and exception disposition.

Audit step 1.5B requires a second person to reconstruct the classification from the saved source and codebook alone. If reconstruction fails, classify the row as insufficient evidence and document the missing element. This rule prevents a persuasive note from replacing reproducible evidence in the response-latency denominators dataset.

Quality control

Double-code a defined subset and report both raw agreement and the types of disagreement. Validate dates, URL normalization, required fields, and duplicate identifiers automatically, then inspect exceptions manually. An adjudicator should use the written rule rather than the institution name or the result a stakeholder hopes to see. In Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach, protocol marker 1.6 specifically tests sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events and retains the observation window, reviewer, and exception disposition.

Audit step 1.6B requires a second person to reconstruct the classification from the saved source and codebook alone. If reconstruction fails, classify the row as insufficient evidence and document the missing element. This rule prevents a persuasive note from replacing reproducible evidence in the response-latency denominators dataset.

Analysis plan

Publish the flow from selection through final classification, then show counts beside rates. Lock numerator and denominator rules before calculating results. Report medians and ranges for elapsed time, identify censored observations, and label exploratory comparisons so a descriptive pattern is not presented as a causal finding. In Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach, protocol marker 1.7 specifically tests sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events and retains the observation window, reviewer, and exception disposition.

Audit step 1.7B requires a second person to reconstruct the classification from the saved source and codebook alone. If reconstruction fails, classify the row as insufficient evidence and document the missing element. This rule prevents a persuasive note from replacing reproducible evidence in the response-latency denominators dataset.

Sensitivity analysis

Repeat the analysis with stricter and more permissive matching rules, with incident-triggered checks excluded, and with unresolved end-of-window records treated as censored rather than failures. If a conclusion changes under one reasonable coding choice, disclose that fragility instead of choosing the result with the clearest narrative. In Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach, protocol marker 1.8 specifically tests sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events and retains the observation window, reviewer, and exception disposition.

Audit step 1.8B requires a second person to reconstruct the classification from the saved source and codebook alone. If reconstruction fails, classify the row as insufficient evidence and document the missing element. This rule prevents a persuasive note from replacing reproducible evidence in the response-latency denominators dataset.

Privacy and governance

Collect the minimum necessary information, restrict access by role, and set retention and deletion dates before observation begins. Keep research exports separate from athlete working profiles. Credentials, signatures, protected educational records, medical information, and private communications do not belong in a public-source study dataset. In Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach, protocol marker 1.9 specifically tests sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events and retains the observation window, reviewer, and exception disposition.

Audit step 1.9B requires a second person to reconstruct the classification from the saved source and codebook alone. If reconstruction fails, classify the row as insufficient evidence and document the missing element. This rule prevents a persuasive note from replacing reproducible evidence in the response-latency denominators dataset.

Operational interpretation

Translate findings into recheck intervals, evidence requirements, and escalation paths, not rankings. When a discrepancy could affect eligibility, admission, aid, health, safety, accessibility, or a binding commitment, route it to the responsible professional. The dataset supplies a question and provenance, not an institutional decision. In Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach, protocol marker 1.10 specifically tests sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events and retains the observation window, reviewer, and exception disposition.

Audit step 1.10B requires a second person to reconstruct the classification from the saved source and codebook alone. If reconstruction fails, classify the row as insufficient evidence and document the missing element. This rule prevents a persuasive note from replacing reproducible evidence in the response-latency denominators dataset.

Limitations

Public records and support logs are incomplete snapshots. The response-latency denominators sample may miss same-day corrections, private explanations, seasonal publishing patterns, or context never intended for public display. Technical caching can expose different versions to reviewers, while discoverability can overrepresent organizations with stronger web infrastructure. Association does not demonstrate intent, competence, athlete status, or recruiting interest.

The sampling frame for Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach cannot represent every sport or pathway without appropriate weighting, and a later site redesign can change measured behavior. Results therefore apply only to the declared window and definitions for sent, delivered, eligible, and observed outreach events. Replication should publish changed rules and should never backfill unavailable evidence with assumptions.

Sources

1. NCAA recruiting resources

1. NCAA Eligibility Center

1. NCAA research

1. NFHS resources

1. U.S. Department of Education FERPA

1. FTC privacy and security guidance

1. NIST Privacy Framework

1. NIST Cybersecurity Framework

1. CISA Secure Our World

1. ADA effective communication guidance

All sources were reviewed October 13, 2026. Source pages and institutional processes can change; readers should recheck the controlling source before acting.

Study Response-Latency Denominators in Recruiting Outreach is complete only when data, codebook, exclusions, denominator, sensitivity checks, and limitations can be reviewed together. Its value is disciplined uncertainty: a repeatable way to improve support operations without converting public signals into claims about an athlete or institution.