This letter of consent comes from an article written by Susan Malone; read this first and then read the reflection in the second document which annotates this letter of consent after the research has been completed and with the benefit of hindsight.
Reference: Malone S (2003) Qualitative Studies in Education, 16, (6) 797-815
Dear Graduate Student:
I am a doctoral candidate from ……………………….. doing dissertation research. The purpose of my proposed study is to develop an understanding of how doctoral students learn to write the accepted language, or discourse, of their discipline. I am interested in looking specifically at doctoral students in mathematics education.
The study will last for one semester (approximately 15 weeks). As a part of the project I would like permission to collect data from you in three ways.
Interviews: Between one and three open-ended interviews, each lasting no longer than an hour, will focus primarily on your experiences with writing in your doctoral program. A second type of interview, a discourse-based interview, ",I’ll focus on a piece of writing you produce during the semester; this writing will be produced either for Math Ed 3810, as part of a math educational research project, or as part of a qualifying paper or dissertation proposal. I will take notes during the interviews and would like to audio-tape them as well.
Observations: I would also like an opportunity to observe your involvement in activities related to writing. In addition to observing Math Ed 3810 for the entire semester, I am also interested in observing such activities as collaborative writing with a group on a class project, a peer review of some of your writing as part of the composing process, or a discussion between you and a professor about a piece of writing; you might be able to direct me to other relevant activities as well.
Writing samples: After our initial interview, we will decide together which of your semester's writing projects I will examine in depth. Once we have agreed on the choice of writing task, I will ask you to share with me all of the writing you do related to that task, including notes, pre-writing, multiple drafts, revisions, and any written comments your professor makes on your writing. Since you probably compose at the computer, revisions will be somewhat difficult to identify; therefore, I will ask you to save and print periodically during the composing process, rather than simply sharing a final draft. How often you will need to print will depend on your personal composing habits; we will determine this together. I might also ask for samples of writing you produced before the semester in which the study takes place, in order to determine a baseline by which to judge your writing development.
Other than the possible inconvenience posed by the extra printing, I do not believe your participation in this study will pose any risks for you. During the study, only I, my dissertation committee, and my peer debriefer will have access to the data. All project information, including field notes, transcripts, documents, and audio tapes, will be kept in a locked filing cabinet in my home, both during the data collection period and after the study has been completed. The research report will include segments of raw data, used to illustrate findings. Pseudonyms will be used for all participants in the dissertation and in any other published materials that result from the study. Every effort will be made to protect your confidentiality. You will have the opportunity to read the report before it is made public and to see how any data from your case study are used.
By participating in this study, you will learn more about your own writing processes and possibly improve your 'writing by focusing your attention on the issues involved in the study, particularly the discourse conventions of mathematics education. You may also learn things that will help make you a better professor of math education in the future, when you will be in a position to initiate your own graduate students into your community's discourse.
If you agree to participate, please sign the form below. Participation in this project is completely voluntary and you may withdraw at any time. If you would like additional information, please feel free to contact me at…….. Thank you for responding to this request. Sincerely,