14 public colleges (2-year and 4-year) in Indiana with varying student populations were requested to send two student samples. These colleges came from a list of 26 institutions that were invited to participate.

• Two samples were needed: a registered sample including students eligible for disability services based on an autism diagnosis, and a general probability sample of all degree-seeking undergraduates. All colleges submitted a registered sample, and ten provided a general sample.
• The registered samples were completed using anonymized surveys emailed to students on behalf of the researchers. General samples were recruited using personalized emails.
• Both sample participants were rewarded with entry into a drawing for five hundred dollars. General sample participants received an additional five dollar gift card; registered sample participants received a ten dollar gift card. Gift card amounts for general and registered samples were raised to ten and twenty dollars, respectively, to improve the response rate.
• 3216 students completed the survey. 78 were in the registered sample, but 100 students in total held an autism diagnosis, as 22 additional students from the general sample were autistic.