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Dear Parent or Guardian,
We are inviting you and your child to participate in a research project.
This letter tells you more details about what participation in this research project would be like.
Please read this letter to be sure you know what will take place and what we will be asking you and your child to do, so you can decide if you both want to be a part of the project.
Please let us know if you have questions after reading this letter.
What is this project about?
The purpose of the project is to evaluate two new online training programs, one for new mentees and one for their parents or caregivers.
In these programs, mentees and their parents learn about the mentoring relationship and how to be prepared for a new mentoring relationship.
What will we do as part of the project?
You and your child will be asked to:
- Separately complete a set of questionnaires on a computer or tablet device with an internet connection;
- Separately complete an online training course; and
- Separately complete a follow-up questionnaire.
You and your child will be randomly assigned to either the immediate training group or the delayed training group.
If you and your child are in the immediate training group, then you will each fill out the first questionnaire and then have two weeks to complete the online training and follow-up questionnaire.
If you and your child are in the delayed group, then you will each receive the first questionnaires and then will receive the follow-up questionnaires one week later.
You will both be given access to the training after you both have completed the follow-up questionnaires.
You and your child will complete the project on your own time.
It will take you approximately 1.5 hours to complete the project and it will take your child approximately 1 hour to complete the project.
You will have two weeks to complete the project.
Will our answers be kept private?
Your answers will be kept private. All data will be kept secure on password-protected servers.
Only iRT staff members who work on this project will be able access the data.
Unique “secret numbers” will be used in place of names when any data are downloaded and analyzed.
No identifying information will be used in reports about this project.
What happens if we don’t want to be part of the project?
It is up to you to choose if you want to be a part of the project or not.
Nothing bad will happen to you or your child if either of you decide not to participate.
Both of you can skip any question that you do not want to answer and quit at any time that you want for any reason without penalty or consequence.
Even if you give permission for your child to participate, he or she can still choose not to participate.
Are there any risks involved in being in the project?
No risks are foreseen to you or your child from participating in the study.
You and your child may refrain from any answering any question that you do not want to answer.
You and your child may also leave the study at any time without consequence.
Will anything good happen as result of being in the project?
Your thoughts and ideas, and your child’s thoughts and ideas, will contribute to the development of an online training program for mentoring relationships that has the potential to be a great benefit to many children in mentoring relationships.
Will we get anything for doing this project?
Yes, you will be paid $20 and your child will be paid $15 for his or her participation.
You will receive $10 for each survey that you complete.
Your child will receive $5 for the first survey and $10 for the second survey.
Who should I contact if I have any questions about the project?
The project is being done by Dr. Rebecca Stelter and Dr. Janis Kupersmidt of innovation Research & Training.
If you have any additional questions or concerns at any point before or during your or your child’s participation in this project, please contact Dr. Stelter, at (919) 493-7700, email: rstelter@irtinc.us
If you have any questions or concerns about your or your child’s rights as a research participant or how you or your child were treated, you should contact Barbara Goldman, Ph.D., Chair of the iRT Institutional Review Board (IRB,) which reviewed and approved this study, at barbara_goldman@unc.edu or 919-966-7169.
We hope that you and your child will agree to be a part of this project.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Stelter, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Janis Kupersmidt, Ph.D
Co-Investigator