Discussion: Participant Information

FPAS Participant Information Sheet: Group discussion

Ethics reference number: ERGO/FPSE/13469	Version: 1.2	Date: 9 March 2015
Study Title: Social Media in Engineering Maths: an Investigation
Investigator: Su White and Vesna Perišić

 

We would like to invite you to take part in a group discussion meeting for a research study. Please read this information carefully before deciding to take part in the research. Before you make any decision regarding participation you need to understand why the research is being done and what it would involve for you.

Please take time to read the following information carefully. Talk to others about the study if you wish. If you are happy to participate indicate via the consent form. Your participation is completely voluntary.

What is the research about? This is a research project evaluating the experience of Foundation Year Students learning mathematics. The study aims to explore students’ formal and informal use of social media, in the context of the Foundation Year as a whole, and specifically in the context of the engineering mathematics.

At the end of the study, when we have analysed the data and written a paper presenting the findings you will receive an email telling you where to access the study findings and see how your data was used.
You can follow our work in progress via the study blog http://blog.soton.ac.uk/smile/

Why have I been chosen? You have been approached because you studying the Engineering Foundation Year during the 2014-15 academic year.

What will happen to me if I take part? You will be invited to take part in a focus group meeting at a time convenient to you. The meeting will take about 45 minutes in total, and involve a group discussion with about 8 others considering some of the general reflections on the use of social media in learning which previous respondents made via an online survey.

Are there any benefits in my taking part? You may find the discussion interesting and stimulating; it may be relevant to your work for the Routes to Success module. You may be pleased to add to current knowledge and understanding about how students use social media to support their learning.

Are there any risks involved? There are no particular risks associated with your participation.

Will my data be confidential? It is important that all participants are able to be open and honest. An agreement will be sought within each group to respect each other’s confidentiality however confidentiality between group members cannot be guaranteed by the researchers.

All information that is collected about you during the course of the research will be kept strictly confidential. Personal details (e.g. name) will be kept securely and separately from all other research data and accessed by the research team only. You will be allocated a code name/number on all other documentation so that at no time will any of your personal details be revealed.

The procedure for handling, processing, storage and destruction of any data collected during the study are compliant with the Data Protection Act 1998 and in line with the University of Southampton’s Policy. Any individual experiences or quotes used subsequently in reports of the study will not be attributed to the source.

 

Audiotapes, from which your voice could potentially be recognised, will be destroyed at the end of the study as per University of Southampton guidelines. An anonymised version of the transcript of the discussion and any researchers’ notes will be archived by the university once the analysis has been completed. If you would like to access your data after your participation, change it, or withdraw it, please contact the investigator (e-mail su@soton.ac.uk or vp@soton.ac.uk ) who will arrange this.

What happens if I change my mind? You may withdraw at any time and for any reason. You may access, change, or withdraw your data at any time for any reason prior to end of the study.

What happens if something goes wrong? Should you have any concern or complaint, if possible contact a member of the research team (e-mail su@soton.ac.uk or vp@soton.ac.uk ), otherwise please contact the FPSE Office (e-mail J.M.Calder-Smith@soton.ac.uk ) or any other authoritative body such as the Head of Research