We will carry out this research as follows. If you understand the purpose and content of the research and are willing to participate, please click “agree” below this consent form. If after reading this consent you would not like to participate click “not agree” and you will not proceed to survey. You may also withdraw from this research later. You will not suffer any penalty or disadvantage if you choose not to participate in the research or choose to participate and later withdraw. If you agree to participate in the research of your own volition, we would very much appreciate it.

1. Purpose of the Research
This research aims to examine the prevalence and predictors of help-seeking behaviors among international and domestic students in a multicultural environment like APU.

2. Research Methods, Research Term
In this research, we will ask you to fill out online questionnaire and it will take around 15-20 minutes to finish.

3. Your Selection as a Research Subject
This research is based on International and multicultural student’s experience and environment that is why APU students are recruited for this study. The research is not concerned with your individual nationality, gender, age, or health (it will be used only for combined data).

4. Participation in the Research and Withdrawal from the Research
While we would certainly appreciate your understanding and participating in the research, you should decide yourself whether or not to participate. You can refuse to participate after hearing the explanation and choose “not agree to participate”. You will not suffer any penalty or disadvantage if you refuse to participate or decide to participate and later withdraw. You can withdraw from the research while it is in progress as well. In that case, you can turn off the web site of the questionnaire and all the information recorded will be deleted accordingly.

5. Potential Benefits of Participating in the Research
There are no direct benefits to you from participating in the research. we believe to points out the risk of acculturative stress faced by domestic and international students in a multicultural environment. So hopefully,  this research could  provide empirical evidences for policy-planners to design an educational system that is better at supporting students dealing with depression and acculturative stress

6. Potential Risks and Discomforts
There are no foreseeable risks in participating in this survey.

7. Disclosure of Research Outcomes
We plan to compile the outcomes of this research into a research article and submit them to a peer-reviewed journal.
There is possibility of presentation research data at conference and other journals.
In the research, all data collected are anonymous.
If you like, you can check the data of your response before we write the research article.
Also, we will explain the content of my research to you either through documentation or orally if you would like to. Please let us know which you would prefer.


8. Confidentiality, Personal Information and Handling of Research Data
We promise to protect your confidentiality. We will not use your questionnaire responses for any purpose other than the research. In order to protect your personal information, your questionnaire answers will be stored in a password protected electronic format at Google Drive. Google Drive does not collect identifying information such as your name, email address, or IP address. Therefore, your responses will remain anonymous. No one will be able to identify you or your answers, and no one will know whether or not you participated in the study.
Following the APU’s guidelines, we will keep research data in an anonymized form that does not allow for identifying individuals for 5 years. After 5 years, we will destroy all data, including this consent form.


9. Funding for the Research
None

10. Questions About the Research or Your Rights as a Participant
This research is being done by NGUYEN Minh Hoang and Manh-Tung Ho,  master's students in the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, supervised by Professor MEIRMANOV Serik, Public Health Management program, APS. in collaboration with Thu-Trang Vuong, Sciences Po, Paris, France .,Please direct questions about the research to the address written below. If any issues arise with the researcher's research ethics, please contact the Research Office of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University at reo@apu.ac.jp.

Researchers:
NGUYEN Minh Hoang,  Manh-Tung Ho
Master's Course, Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

Address: 1-1 Jumonjibaru, Beppu, Oita 874-8577 Japan
Contact Information         Email: minhhn17@apu.ac.jp 
  Telephone number:  080-1360-2206