You are invited to take part in an educational research study funded by the RoboCup Federation to study the impact of RoboCupJunior on its participants. Before you decide to participate in this study, it is important that you understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully. Please ask the researcher if there is anything that is not clear or if you need more information.
WHO IS CONDUCTING THIS STUDY?
Prof. Amy Eguchi, a faculty member in the Department of Education Studies at University of California San Diego, is leading this research. This individual will be referred to as the “Principal Investigator.”
PURPOSE OF THIS SURVEY
The purpose of this survey is to better understand how the participation in RoboCupJunior has impacted you and your peers regarding your thought and feeling about, computer science, robotics, and/or engineering, and how it influenced your future/professional paths. We are researchers interested in learning from you so we can design RoboCupJunior experiences to be more beneficial to students like you in the future. We hope that you will take your time to respond to each item as truthfully and accurately.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU IF YOU PARTICIPATE IN THIS STUDY?
As a participant in this program, we may ask you to complete various surveys about your learning experience. The purpose of these surveys is to understand what aspects of the program work well for students in general, and we may use information gained from these surveys to improve our programs over time. We also relate your survey responses to what you do in the future, as well as comparing your responses to those made by other participants. By agreeing to participate in this study, your information will be used for research purposes and insights gained from this research will be shared with other educators to develop computing/robotics educational learning that helps other students' learning experiences in similar programs.
PROTECTING YOUR IDENTITY: While we are asking for your email address, this information will only be used to link your own responses over time. Once you have completed our surveys, your responses to this survey will be stored using anonymous identifiers (with your email address removed) and thus your responses will no longer be linked to your personal identity. No one other than the researchers will be aware of what responses you have made. In other words, your teachers, parents, and peers will NOT have access to your responses to this survey.
WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES TO PARTICIPATING IN THIS STUDY?
The alternatives to participation in this study are to not participate. If you choose to opt-out of participating in this research study, we will not include your survey responses when conducting our research. Whether you participate will have no impact on your experience in the program and your teachers and mentors will not be aware of who has opted out. If you decide that you no longer wish to continue in this study, simply respond to the the first question in the survey asking “Do you want to opt out of the current study?”, with the answer “no”.
HOW MIGHT YOU BENEFIT FROM PARTICIPATING IN THIS STUDY?
There is no direct benefit to you for participating in the study. However, the surveys and other materials that are being used as part of this study were designed with benefits to your learning experience in mind. Based on the results of this study, the principal investigator may learn more about how to improve student learning, and society may benefit from this knowledge.
CAN YOU BE WITHDRAWN FROM THE STUDY WITHOUT YOUR ASSENT?
The researchers may remove you from the study without your consent if the researchers feel it is in your best interest or the best interest of the study. You may also be withdrawn from the study if you do not follow the instructions given you by the study personnel.
WILL YOU BE COMPENSATED FOR PARTICIPATING IN THIS STUDY? You will not be compensated for participating in this study.
ARE THERE ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICIPATING IN THIS STUDY? There will be no cost to you for participating in this study.
FOLLOWING UP WITH YOU: We may use the email address you provide to contact you to let you know about the outcome of this research, and to potentially interview you in the future if you are interested, but you are under no obligation to participate in any future studies. You can also choose not to answer any of the following questions or all of them, without any penalty.
WHO DO YOU CONTACT WITH ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS?
1. If you want additional information or have questions or research-related problems, you may contact the corresponding PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Amy Eguchi, PhD
Department of Education Studies
UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Dr, MC 0070
La Jolla, California 92093-0070
Email:
a2eguchi@ucsd.edu 2. If you have questions regarding your rights as a research subject, or if problems arise which you do not feel you can discuss with the Investigator, please contact the Institutional Review Board at:
Attn: Human Research Protections Program (HRPP)
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive, Mail Code 0052
La Jolla, California 92093-0052
hrpp@ucsd.edu Your Assent
By assenting to participate in this study, you understand that your participation is voluntary, and that you may withdraw my assent and discontinue participation in the project at any time. Your refusal to participate will not result in any penalty. Moreover, by assenting to participate in this study, you do not waive any legal rights or release the University of California, its agents, or you from liability for negligence.
