Please review the consent information below. If you agree to participate in the study, scroll down to complete the form.
Influence of Pre-College STEM Activities on Women: College Students’ Reflections on Secondary School Activities
IRB Number 1710372
Informed Consent Form
RESEARCH PROCEDURES
This research is being conducted to examine how your secondary school courses and activities influenced your interests and decisions in college. We are interested in including people who were involved in pre-college STEM activities or courses who also experienced high school and/or college as a woman. If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to participate in a 1 hour individual interview, which will be audio and video-recorded via Zoom.
RISKS
There are no foreseeable risks for participating in this research.
BENEFITS
There are no direct benefits to you as participants, but you will contribute to our understanding of the influence of pre-college STEM activities on later interest in STEM majors and careers.
CONFIDENTIALITY
The data in this study will be confidential. All data will be collected through online assessments and audio recorded interviews. All names will be removed from interviews; a pseudonym will be placed on the transcripts from your interviews. Only the researchers on this project will have access to the research files and identification key that will link the audio tapes and the transcripts. All data will be retained in password protected, secure files on the researchers' computers. Any hard copies of these files will be held in the PI's locked files and office on the Mason campus. In addition, the audio recordings will be deleted after transcription and the transcripts will be retained for 5 years after study closure. While it is understood that no computer transmission can be perfectly secure, reasonable efforts will be made to protect the confidentiality of your transmission.
You may review Zoom’s website for information about their privacy statement.
https://zoom.us/privacy.
Identifiers may be removed from the data and the de-identified data could be used for future research without additional consent from participants. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) committee that monitors research on human subjects may inspect study records during internal auditing procedures and are required to keep all information confidential.
PARTICIPATION
Participants in this study should be over 18 and have experienced high school and/or college as a woman. Participants will have attended at least one semester of college, and previously participated in a middle or high school STEM extra-curricular activity. Your participation is voluntary, and you may withdraw from the study at any time and for any reason. If you decide not to participate or if you withdraw from the study, there is no penalty. There are no costs to you or any other party. Participants will be provided with a $20 gift card to Amazon or another online retailer. Under the U.S. federal tax law you may have individual responsibilities for disclosing the dollar value of the incentive received on this study.
CONTACT
This research is being conducted by Dr. Nancy Holincheck (703-993-8136,
nholinch@gmu.edu) in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. She may be reached at the above email/number for questions or to report a research-related problem. You may contact the George Mason University Office of Institutional Review Board office at 703-993-4121 or
irb@gmu.edu if you have questions or comments regarding your rights as a participant in the research.
This research has been reviewed according to George Mason University procedures governing your participation in this research.
