Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
General ARTIC Questions
Why was the ARTIC developed?
The ARTIC was developed because, until recently, there was no objective way to determine the extent to which a system or individual was trauma-informed. The many definitions of TIC tended to be vague with little guidance about how to operationalize the concept.
We believed that the TIC field was primed to move from conceptual thinking to data-driven decision making, but was blocked by the absence of valid instruments. The ARTIC is a low-cost, practical, and immediate way to measure TIC within organizations and schools, and for individuals. Click here for journal article on the ARTIC in School Mental Health.
Why measure staff attitudes related to trauma-informed care?
For what purpose can the ARTIC be used?
In what settings can the ARTIC be used?
What is the evidence supporting the ARTIC?
Does the ARTIC have norms we can compare our scores to?
As the ARTIC Scale is a relatively new measure, we have not established norms based on a large national representative sample. Creating national norms for a measure is costly and takes many years to develop.
The Online ARTIC, however, does have benchmarks that show how scores compare to a representative sample of 507 human services/health professionals or 888 education professionals.
How scores compare to the benchmarks is displayed on the Online ARTIC report dashboard.
What are the versions of the paper-and-pencil ARTIC Scale? How do I determine which to use?
In the ARTIC Paper & Pencil, there are 6 versions of the ARTIC scale: three for human service organizations and three for education settings. Organizations and schools select the version that is most appropriate for their setting and how they plan to use the ARTIC. All versions are included when you purchase the ARTIC Paper & Pencil.
The Online ARTIC currently only allows for use of the ARTIC-45.
ARTIC FOR HUMAN SERVICES
1. ARTIC-45 — Human Services
• 45-item scale. Takes 15-20 minutes to complete. Includes an overall score and scores on five primary subscales and two supplementary subscales.
• To be used in human service settings where staff are at least somewhat familiar with term and concept of TIC.
2. ARTIC-35 — Human Services
• 35-item scale. Takes 10-15 minutes to complete. Includes an overall score and scores on five primary subscales, but excludes the two supplementary subscales.
• To be used in human service settings where staff are not familiar with the term and concept of TIC.
3. ARTIC-10 — Human Services
• 10-item short form. Takes 5 minutes to complete. Includes overall score only.
• To be used in human service settings where there are time or resource limitations that make the ARTIC-45 and ARTIC-35 not feasible.
ARTIC FOR EDUCATION
1. ARTIC-45 — Education
- 45-item scale. Takes 15-20 minutes to complete. Includes an overall score and scores on five primary subscales and two supplementary subscales.
- To be used in education settings where staff are familiar with the term and concept of TIC.
- Language modified to fit education settings (i.e. “student” rather than “client”).
2. ARTIC-35 — Education
- 35-item scale. Takes 10-15 minutes to complete. Includes an overall score and scores on five primary subscales, but excludes the two supplementary subscales.
- To be used in education settings where staff are not familiar with the term and concept of TIC.
- Language modified to fit education settings (i.e. “student” rather than “client”).
3. ARTIC-10 — Education
• 10-item short form. Takes 5 minutes to complete. Includes overall score only.
• To be used in education settings where there are time or resource limitations that make the ARTIC-45 and ARTIC-35 not feasible.
• Language modified to fit education settings (ie. “student” rather than “client”).
What are the subscales for the ARTIC?
- Underlying Causes of Problem Behavior and Symptoms. Emphasizes behavior and symptoms as adaptations and malleable versus behavior and symptoms as intentional and fixed.
- Responses to Problem Behavior and Symptoms. Emphasizes relationships, flexibility, kindness, and safety as the agent of behavior and symptom change versus rules, consequences, and accountability as the agent of change.
- On-The-Job Behavior. Endorses empathy-focused staff behavior versus control-focused staff behavior.
- Self-Efficacy at Work. Endorses feeling able to meet the demands of working with a traumatized population versus feeling unable to meet the demands.
- Reactions to the Work. Endorses appreciating the effects of secondary trauma/vicarious traumatization and coping by seeking support versus minimizing the effects of secondary trauma/vicarious traumatization and coping by ignoring or hiding the impact.
Supplementary Subscales (ARTIC-45 only)
6. Personal Support of Trauma-Informed Care. Endorses being supportive of, and confident about, implementation of TIC versus concerns about implementing TIC.
7. System-Wide Support of Trauma-Informed Care. Endorses feeling system-wide support for TIC versus NOT feeling supported by colleagues, supervisors, and the administration to implement TIC.
How is the current Paper & Pencil ARTIC Scale scored?
When you purchase the Paper & Pencil version of the ARTIC Scale, you will receive detailed instructions about scoring. Most people collecting ARTIC data use a statistical program such as SPSS to score and analyze the data. We do, however, include an ARTIC Excel Scoring Spreadsheet with your purchase.
As a general overview, the ARTIC uses a bipolar Likert scale. Items are scored from 1 to 7 and there are items that need to be reversed because a lower score is more favorable on those items. The Scoring Spreadsheet does this work for you. Mean scores (not total scores) are used for scoring. Higher scores are more favorable, or better, scores. Lower scores are less favorable. On Questions 36 to 45 (Subscales 6 and 7) “N/A” is offered as an option for people who do not work at an organization that has implemented trauma-informed care. These items are scored as missing.
If you collect ARTIC data via Qualtrics, you can download an Excel data file and either enter it into the ARTIC Excel Scoring Spreadsheet or a statistical program such as SPSS. It is possible to manage and analyze your data in Qualtrics. However, we do NOT provide information or support regarding that process.
Does TSI provide consultation on program evaluation/research using the ARTIC Scale?
Our services include: online data collection; data analysis; creation of local norms for the evaluation; display of BOTH individual staff results and organization-wide results on an online dashboard tailored to your organization; resources for staff on how to address areas where they scored in the low range; data-driven recommendations about how to further implement, sustain, and deepen trauma-informed system change.
Contact Steve Brown, Psy.D. at steveb@klingberg.com to discuss this service.
What is included in a purchase of the current paper-and-pencil ARTIC?
You will receive all of these files electronically:
- All versions (10-, 35-, and 45-question) for human service and education settings
- Instructions on how to use the ARTIC
- Scoring instructions, including SPSS syntax
- A scoring spreadsheet allowing easy and accurate scoring
- Qualtrics-compatible files for the ARTIC. Visit the Qualtrics website for their fee information. The free version of Qualtrics is not robust enough for use with the ARTIC Scale.
Limited translated versions are available upon request. We currently have Spanish, French, Japanese, and Dutch. These translations have not been validated, but they have been back-translated.
What is the cost of the current Paper & Pencil ARTIC?
The ARTIC is currently licensed to purchasers based on the expected number of respondents. Pricing tiers start at $750 for up to 500 respondents and the ARTIC may be used as many times as you would like per respondent. If you purchase the ARTIC and eventually expand the scope beyond your license, we ask that you contact us about additional fees.
The quickest way to purchase the ARTIC is by credit card via our secure online payment system. When you purchase online, you will receive your materials immediately by e-mail, along with a receipt. If you need to pay by check or payment order, please go through the purchase process but check off the “I need to pay by invoice or purchase order” option and contact us at tsisupport@klingberg.com.
Are reduced or waived fees available for the paper-and pencil ARTIC?
Reduced or waived fees are available only to students with studies of less than 500 participants. Please click here to view more details and apply for the student researcher license.
Still have questions about the ARTIC?
If you have questions about the ARTIC that have not been answered in the FAQs, or if you are a purchaser with questions about usage, please contact us at artic@klingberg.com.
Questions Specific to the Online ARTIC
What is the ARTIC Scale online platform?
The ARTIC Scale online platform is a fully-automated platform that permits organizations and service systems to administer the ARTIC to staff online and receive results with the click of a button. The system collects, manages, analyzes, and produces reports on data automatically so that you don’t have to. Packages are sold on a per-study basis.
What advantages does the Online ARTIC Scale platform have over the Paper & Pencil version?
The Online ARTIC platform addresses many of the “pain points” that organizations experience trying to do program evaluation.
- Instead of typing in answers on the ARTIC into a spreadsheet, you collect the data online and it stores automatically.
- Instead of needing to find someone or the time to analyze your data (while it sits on your office floor), the system does it for you.
- Instead of you trying to figure out what the data means about your TIC implementation efforts, the platform generates automatic reports, both for individual staff and the organization.
What are the core features of the online platform?
The core features include:
- Online administration via computer, phone, and tablet
- Consultation about effective program evaluation
- Data collection at multiple time points
- Automatic data management and analysis
- Comprehensive dashboard reports for organizations
- Confidential dashboard reports for individual staff
- Capacity to compare scores of different demographic groups such as job role and program/department/school
- Recommendations and resources to accelerate TIC progress in the organization
What does it cost to use the Online ARTIC?
Cost of the Online ARTIC is based on the package you choose. Packages are sold on a per-study basis.
The Advanced package allows up to 4 time points in year 1 and 2 time points in both year 2 and 3. It includes results on core demographics, but does not allow comparison of different programs, departments, or schools in an organization/system.
The Advanced Plus package allows up to 4 time points in year 1 and 2 time points in both year 2 and 3. It includes results on core demographics, and allows for comparison of programs, departments, or schools in the organization/system. To protect confidentiality, a program, department, or school must have at least 10 respondents in order to be displayed on graphs.
For online ARTIC packages, pricing, and sales click here.
What is the cost for those who previously purchased the ARTIC?
There is a 30% discount for returning customers with new Online ARTIC studies. Both prior Paper & Pencil ARTIC and Online ARTIC customers are eligible for the discount.
There is also a 30% discount for TSI Client Agencies who did not utilize the ARTIC in their initial implementation.
For online ARTIC packages, pricing, and sales click here.
What versions of the ARTIC Scale are available on the Online Platform?
The ARTIC-35 is not available in the Online Platform.
I do not have experience with program evaluation. Can I still use the Online ARTIC platform?
Yes! The great thing about the Online ARTIC platform is that it does most of the work for you. The platform has short tutorials about how to do an effective program evaluation. TSI staff will also be available (with some limitations) to answer brief questions.
What type of information will we get in the dashboard results?
For the organization/system:
See sample ARTIC report, available upon request from the TSI website, using this link. The dashboard report for organizations/systems displays graphs with the overall score and scores on the 7 ARTIC subscales. Scores are reported as means and percentile ranks. Percentile ranks show how the mean score compares to large representative samples in either the Human Services/Health sector or the Education sector. Graphs divide scores into three benchmark ranges based on percentile rank. Specific trauma-informed care (TIC) implementation recommendations accompany each graph.
The dashboard also shows graphs of overall ARTIC score results by job role, years with the organization, and (for Advanced Plus package only) program/department/school. It also shows a graph indicating how confident respondents feel about practicing TIC. Finally, there are online links and free resources to support TIC implementation.
For individual staff:
See sample ARTIC report, available upon request from the TSI website, using this link. The confidential dashboard for individual respondents displays the individual’s overall score and score on the 7 subscales. These graphs also show mean scores, percentile rank, and how those percentile ranks compare to the representative sample. Graphs divide scores into three benchmark ranges based on percentile rank.
How can we be sure the online platform is secure and our results are confidential?
Here at the Traumatic Stress Institute, we always take information security and privacy very seriously. We built our online version of the ARTIC Scale with a commitment to protect information, which is more important than ever. We implemented the following considerations for our online offering:
Data Security
- 256-bit SSL encryption is used for all communications with our survey. This is the current internet standard for securing transmissions of data between a user and a website. It is used to protect all communications between computers in banking, medical, and general websites.
- We restrict access to a very small number of technical administrators and that access is audited and reviewed regularly.
- No anonymous access is allowed to the system. Access is only allowed through a valid user account.
- Logging and auditing measures are in place to identify any attempts at non-standard access.
- Once your data resides in our system, it rests in an encrypted state where it can only be accessed by the website itself and not by unauthorized use.
- Backups of all site data are taken daily to ensure ongoing protection.
Data Use
- Any survey results that are reported to your organization will be composite scores from a large number of participants. Your confidentiality is important to us. We take great care to guard against the misuse of data. Data provided to your, or any, organization would not include any personal identifiers that would allow you to be linked to your answers.
- The dashboard received by individual study participants is confidential. Your individual report is not shared with anyone at your organization. Only you can decide to share it.
Can we get the raw data from our evaluation or study?
We are working to develop safe guards and systems that allow for release of raw data in ways that protect the confidentiality of study participants. Raw data is not currently available to clients.
Can we still purchase the paper-and-pencil version?
Yes! You can still purchase the Paper & Pencil version of the ARTIC by following this link.
Are reduced or waived fees available for the Online ARTIC?
Reduced or waived fees are not available for the new, online ARTIC.
