SAMPLE INFORMATION LETTER: Human Interactive Design, Phase II

SAMPLE INFORMATION LETTER: Human Interactive Design, Phase II

Note: The information letter and consent form appeared on a website so the potential participants, who are blind, could have the text transferred to audio.

Study Title:(insert title)

Student Investigator:(insert name, phone, email)

Faculty Supervisor:(insert name, phone, email)

Hello,

my name is (insert name). I am asking you to volunteer in a study that is part of my PhD research in Human Computer Interaction at the University of Waterloo.

Overview

This study examines an important theory in distance perception. The theory has never been tested with sounds and persons who are blind before. This study tries to find out if the theory works for you and to learn if you like how the interaction feels.

This study is the first of a series of studies, all of which are part of my PhD research. The long-term goal of this effort is the elaboration of an imaging system for blind people. Imaging systems attempt to substitute vision with an intact modality, or combination of modalities including touch, proprioception, and audition. More precisely, I'm investigating different ways to present spatial information to enhance orientation in a blind condition, and of course my goal is to find the most usable and accessible way to do that. This means that I must learn about and then take into account aesthetical, social, psychological, ergonomic, and physiological constraints you may exhibit during the study. One of the most fundamental aspects of my research is the importance it allocates to you the user. I want to find out what works for you and I want to know what you think.

Study Details

Participation in this study is completely voluntary and you may stop at any time by advising the researcher. You may decline to answer questions if you wish and you may withdraw from participation at any time by advising the researcher. Your decision to participate or not, or withdrawal from participation will have no impact on the services you receive from CNIB. If you agree to participate, first, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire. I will be happy to help you. The questionnaire is available here, so you can read the questions before hand. All your answers will be recorded anonymously.

Second, you will be asked to sit on a chair, with a Wacom tablet resting on a table in front of you. The study will begin with a short training session. This session is meant to familiarize you with the equipment and the study tasks.

As a participant in this study, you will be asked to listen to different sounds and tell me which one appears to be closest to you in distance. Headphones will be used to play the sounds. A Wacom tablet attached to a computer will capture your responses. Wacom tablets are commonly used by graphic artists to draw illustrations in a computer. They are flat input devices that capture the position of a digital pen.

When you are comfortable with the tasks, the trials for the study will begin. It will consist of doing exactly what you did during the training, but this time the computer will record your responses, and of course, the questions will be different. In concrete terms, you will hold a digital pen, and slide it over a tablet to the position you find most appropriate. Different positions will activate different sounds. There will be 280 trials in total. Each trial is composed of different sounds. Your task is to pick the one that seems most appropriate. Your response data will be identified with an identification code and not your name. The study is conducted with one participant at a time and will take less than one hour per participant. With your permission, the session will be audio recorded.

You may withdraw from participation at any time by advising the researcher. Your decision to participate or not, or withdraw from participation will have no impact on the services you receive from the CNIB.

Risks

There are no known or anticipated risks to you as a participant in this study other than those associated with the normal use of computers and headphones.

Experiment Location and Date

The experiment will run at the University of Waterloo (dates inserted) or in the offices of CNIB in Waterloo (dates inserted). Participants can bring an accompanying person, who can stay in the study room with them during the study.

Eligibility Requirements for Participation

The participants must have no functional vision. All participants must be adults.

Confidentiality and Data Retention

All data collected is considered confidential. Codes, rather than names or other identifying information, will be used in notes and/or recordings. Even though the results may be used in the thesis or any publications, only the student investigator and faculty supervisor have access to the data from the evaluations. Your name will not appear in any publication resulting from this study. However, with your permission, anonymous quotations that you may express during the session may be used. My notes and the data collected during this study will be retained indefinitely in a secure location in my office.

Remuneration

In appreciation for your time, you will receive $30.00. If you choose to withdraw from participation you will receive remuneration at $15/half hour.

Questions and Contact

If you want to participate in this study, or have any questions about participation, or would like additional information to assist you in reaching a decision about participation, please contact me: (insert name and UW phone number) or via email at (insert email). Also if you prefer, you may contact the faculty supervisor (insert name), who is a professor at the University of Waterloo. His phone number is (519) 888-4567 extension xxxxx and his email address is (insert email).

Ethic Review and Clearance

I would like to assure you that this study has been reviewed by, and received ethics clearance through a University of Waterloo Research Ethics Committee. However, the final decision about participation is yours. In the event you have any comments or concerns resulting from your participation in this study, please Dr. Maureen Nummelin, the Director, Office of Research Ethics, at 1-519-888-4567, Ext. 36005 or .

Additional Link

You may read the questionnaire by clicking on this link.

I also have put online the consent form you will need to sign by saying out loud “I agree to participate”. You may read the consent form by clicking on this link.

CONSENT FORM

(Note: this is a verbal consent script for blind participants, for sighted participants a consent form similar to one include in sample B6.2 would be used)

Study Title: (insert study title)

I agree to participate in a study being conducted by (insert student investigator name), under the supervision of (insert name) for his PhD research at the University of Waterloo. I have made this decision based on the information I have read in this Information-Consent Letter and have had the opportunity to receive any additional details I wanted about the study. I understand that I may withdraw this consent at any time by telling the researcher.

I was informed that my responses would be recorded in a computer for future data analysis.

I was informed that I may withdraw my consent at any time without penalty by advising the researcher. I was informed that my decision to participate or not, or withdraw from participation will have no impact on the services I receive from the CNIB.

This project has been reviewed by, and received ethics clearance througha University of Waterloo Research Ethics Committee. I was informed that if I have any comments or concerns resulting from my participation in this study, I may contact the Director, Office of Research Ethics at the University of Waterloo at (519) 888-4567 ext. 36005.

With full knowledge of all foregoing, I agree, of my own free will, to participate in this study.

A signature or a verbal consent, which will be recorded, is needed.

I agree to have my interview audio recorded: Yes or No.

I agree to the use of anonymous quotations in any presentation or report that comes of this study: Yes or No.

Name of the participant: ______

Signature of the participant: ______

Name of the witness: ______

Signature of the witness: ______

Date: ______

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