Consent to Participate in Research
Invitation to be Part of a Research Study
You are invited to be part of a research study. This consent form will help you in choosing whether or not to participate in the study. Feel free to ask if anything is not clear in this consent document.
What is the study about and why are we doing it?
The purpose of the study is to study how post-divorced co-parenting couples communicate their conflicts.
What will happen if you take part in this study?
If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to fill in an online Qualtrics survey on your demographic information. Any qualifying individuals will be invited for an in-person interview. In the interview, participants will be asked questions about a co-parenting communication with their ex-spouses.
Your participation in the interview will be videorecorded using Zoom. You will be asked to designate whether the recording a) can be used for research purposes only, b) can be excerpted for display to illustrate research reports and training.
How long will this study take and how many people will be in the study?
The online survey will need about 10 minutes to complete, and the interviewing will take about 1 hour. Approximately 40 people will participate in this study.
What risks and discomforts might you experience from being in this study?
There are no foreseeable physical risks. Although no more than every day stress levels are anticipated in talking about past communication experiences, talking about personal matters has the possibility of provoking strong emotions. Participants may decline to participate in any question and may withdraw at any time. The risk is minimal because participants can freely choose which information to share. There can be potential loss of confidentiality, but all information is kept separate from participants’ names and contact information will be destroyed after completion.
The researchers will let you know about any significant new findings such as additional risks or discomforts that might make you change your mind about participating in this study.
Special notes about domestic violence: researchers might ask you questions about domestic violence experiences if you have ever had. Disclosing domestic violence could expose the participant or their ex-spouse to civil liability, reputational harm, and could be related to past or current child abuse. For the mental pains of recalling domestic violence issues, we’re providing you brochures from SAFE Alliance and Texas advocacy project, including all the information about social support (address, hotlines, counseling services etc.) you can turn to. For the expected reputation harm, we are going to keep all the relevant information confidential. Nothing in the publication will be identifiable about personal information and anything like that. If you feel uncomfortable recalling your past abuse relationships, you can quit our research any time they want. However, if abuses continue and threaten your lives, we encourage you to report to the police.
How could you benefit from this study?
You will receive no direct benefit from participating in this study; however, your participation will allow us to understand communication and to improve its practice post-divorce.
What data will we collect from you?
We will collect demographic information and your descriptions of communication with your ex-spouse. The interviews will be video recorded with your consent.
How will we protect your information?
Your privacy and the confidentiality of your data will be protected by participants being assigned an ID number that will correspond with their responses. Responses will not be stored or associated with participants’ names. Data will be stored on a password protected hard drive and will only be accessible by the researchers.
If it becomes necessary for the Institutional Review Board to review the study records, information that can be linked to you will be protected to the extent permitted by law. Your research records will not be released without your consent unless required by law or a court order. The data resulting from your participation may be made available to other researchers in the future for research purposes not detailed within this consent form. In these cases, the data will contain no identifying information that could associate it with you, or with your participation in any study.
If you choose to participate in this study, you will be video recorded. Any video recordings will be stored securely and only the research team will have access to the recordings. Recordings will be kept for possible future communication analyses by the research team.
What will happen to the information we collect about you after the study is over?
Your name and other information that can directly identify you will be deleted from the research data collected as part of the project.
How will we compensate you for being part of the study?
You will not receive any type of payment for participating in this study, though all participants who complete the study will be entered to win one of five $20-dollar Amazon gift cards. Winners will be chosen randomly. You will be responsible for any taxes assessed on the compensation.
Your Participation in this Study is Voluntary
Participating in this study is voluntary. Your decision to participate will not affect your relationship with The University of Texas at Austin. You will not lose any benefits or rights you already had if you decide not to participate. Even if you decide to be part of the study now, you may change your mind and stop at any time. You do not have to answer any questions you do not want to answer.
If you decide to withdraw before this study is completed, you can simply close the browser or directly talk to the researchers. Data from unfinished questionnaires or interviews will be deleted.
Contact Information for the Study Team and Questions about the Research
If you have any questions about this research, you may contact:
Madeline Maxwell
Phone: 512-471-1954
Email: mmaxwell@austin.utexas.edu
Shuting Yao
Phone: 512-718-3690
Email: shutingyao@utexas.edu
Contact Information for Questions about Your Rights as a Research Participant
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, or wish to obtain information, ask questions, or discuss any concerns about this study with someone other than the researcher(s), please contact the following:
The University of Texas at Austin
Institutional Review Board
Phone: 512-232-1543
Email: irb@austin.utexas.edu
Please reference study number 2019-09-0141.
Your Consent
By clicking the “Yes” button below, you are agreeing to be in this study. If at any time you wish to stop participating, simply close your browser window.
Note: You will be asked to formally sign to consent again in the subsequent interview.