E-commerce Platform for Spaniards in the UK research study.

What is the E-commerce Platform for Spaniards in the Uk Research Study?
The E-commerce Platform for Spaniards in the UK study is a research project which is part of the Msc in Information Technology and International Business run as a partnership between the School of Computing & the School of Business, University of Dundee. The project aims to create a technological basis from which to demonstrate the usefulness and new opportunities for improvement provided by ICTs in the field of international business.

The end result will be a web site’s user interfaces aimed at selling physical products, this means that the system will be an interactive website that could provide features such as a latest news section, an online catalogue, shopping carts, order histories through a clean, professional, accessible interface and user-friendly e-commerce platform.

Nowadays, the youth unemployment rate in Spain is around 55% and hence thousands of Spaniards are migrating from Spain to the UK where they cannot find all the products they are used to consume in their home country. This website will be intended to solve this real-life problem by providing Spanish goods to Spaniards settled down in the UK.

Do I have to take part in the study?

It is up to you to decide to join the study. By clicking “Submit” you agree that you have read, understand, and accept this information sheet.

What happens if I wish to withdraw from the study?
You are free to withdraw and/ or modify your response at any time, without giving a reason and without penalty.

What will I have to do?
You will be asked to respond to a questionnaire on the availability of Spanish products in your current location and your level of willingness to acquire them thought an E-commerce Platform which includes a minimum number of personal details.

Do I have to answer all the question?
No, it is up to you to decide the number of questions to be answered without giving a reason.

What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
There are no risks associated with this study and we hope that the task will be enjoyable.
The timing of employed will be around 5-7 minutes, which should not pose any major issue.

What are the possible benefits of taking part?
Your involvement will help to understand the real needs of Spaniards living in the UK regarding Spanish origin products.

What happens at the end of the study?
The analysis of the data will be completed by September 2013. The results of this study will the published in a thesis and presented at academic conferences. If you would like to know the outcome of the study, I will send you a copy of the study report by December 2013.

What if there is a problem?
If you have a concern about any aspect of this study, you should ask to speak to the researchers, Mr José Andrés Durán Vargas, who will do his best to answer your questions [email: j.a.duranvargas@dundee.ac.uk]. You can also talk to Jose’s supervisors, Dr Craig Ramsay [email: cramsay@computing.dundee.ac.uk] or Mr Andy Cobley [email: acowley@computing.dudee.ac.uk]. If you remain unhappy and wish to complain formally, you can do this by speaking to Dr Janet Hughes, Dean and Head of School of Computing, University of Dundee [phone: 01382 385195 or email: jhughes@computing.dundee.ac.uk].

Will my information be kept confidential?
Yes. We will follow ethical and legal practice and all information about you will be handled in confidence. To ensure anonymity, personal records will only be available to the researcher for the duration of the study and will not be kept together with the results and transcripts or be presented in the report. If your data is used for publications or presentations, no reference to your identity will be made. If any material is suitable for presentation or teaching purposes, we will discuss this with you. If you are happy for us to use the material for these purposes, we will ask you to sign separate release forms.

Who has reviewed this study?
The School of Computing’s Ethics Committee, which has responsibility for scrutinising all proposals for non-clinical research on humans at the University of Dundee’s School of Computing, has examined the proposal and has raised no objections from the point of view of ethics.

Who can I contact in connection with this research?
This research is part of Mr José Andrés Durán Vargas´s Msc studies. He is a student in the Information Technology and International Business at the School of Computing at the University of Dundee. His supervisors are Dr Craig Ramsey and Mr Andy Cobley.

Their contact details are:
Mr José Andrés Durán Vargas Dr Craig Ramsey
Msc Student         Email: cramsay@computing.dundee.ac.uk 
Email: j.a.duranvargas@dundee.ac.uk
        Mr Andy Cobley.
        Email: acobley@computing.dundee.ac.uk                  


Please feel free to contact them about the study. You can also find out more about the different kinds of research within the group at http://www.computing.dundee.ac.uk/.


Thank you for taking the time to read this Information Sheet and for considering taking part in this study.

By clicking “Submit”, you agree that:

1. You confirm that you have read and understand the information sheet dated 20/05/2013 (version 1) for the above study. You have had the opportunity to consider the information, ask questions and have had these answered satisfactorily.

2. You understand that your participation is voluntary and that you are free to withdraw from the study at any time without giving any reason and without penalty.

3. You understand that data collected during the study may be looked at by individuals from the research team where it is relevant to my taking part in this research. You give permission for these individuals to have access to your data subject to the confidentiality clause above

4. You agree to take part in the above study.