UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN – MILWAUKEE
CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
1. General Information
Study title:
LibQUAL+ Charting Library Service Quality
Person in Charge of Study (Principal Investigator):
I am Michelle Harrell Washington, M.L.I.S, Senior Academic Librarian in the UWM Libraries, and Liaison/Coordinator for the UWM Libraries’ LibQUAL+ service quality survey.
2. Study Description
You are being asked to participate in a research study. Your participation is completely voluntary. You do not have to participate if you do not want to.
Study description:
The purpose of this study is to gather opinions from the UWM community about the quality of UWM Libraries’ services and resources.
By completing this survey, you will provide essential information for the UWM Libraries to use in future planning. This information will help us to understand the information needs of the UWM community, and improve the services and resources we provide. This online survey is being conducted with the entire UWM community.
Your participation in the online survey will take approximately 20 minutes.
3. Study Procedures
What will I be asked to do if I participate in the study?
If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete the online survey located on the secure servers at Texas A&M University (TAMU), using any computer with an Internet connection.
4. Risks and Minimizing Risks
What risks will I face by participating in this study?
There are no known risks associated with this study. The possible risks are the inconvenience of taking your time to complete the survey and those that may be encountered in the normal use of a computer and mouse.
The survey data will be submitted to the researchers through the LibQUAL+ research tool, and is as secure as online communications can be. There is the risk, as you may know, of hacking and insecure transfer, but I believe this risk is extremely low: it is as low as the risk of participating in an online course.
5. Benefits
Will I receive any benefit from my participation in this study?
As a member of the UWM community which UWM Libraries serves, you may benefit from library service or resource decisions made using survey results.
Are subjects paid or given anything for being in the study?
You will have the opportunity to enter a prize drawing at the end of the survey by keying in your email address if you choose to.
6. Study Costs
Will I be charged anything for participating in this study?
There is no cost to you to participate in this survey.
7. Confidentiality
What happens to the information collected?
All information collected about you from this survey will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law.
All of your survey answers will be separated from your email address at the time the data is stored. Survey data and email addresses are stored separately on servers at TAMU, which stand behind a firewall. Although there is the risk of identities being revealed due to hacking and insecure transfer, it is unlikely, and the risk is not significant. All collected data (including email addresses) is archived indefinitely at TAMU. Access to that data is limited to TAMU faculty and staff directly involved in the analysis process.
Data will be used by UWM Libraries’ staff to respond to issues of service quality, and will be shared in summary format with the UWM community. It is possible that data will be published at conferences and in scholarly publications, primarily in summary form, with possible occasional references to comments from individual respondents.
8. Alternatives
Are there alternatives to participating in the study?
There are no known alternatives available to you other than not taking part in this study.
9. Voluntary Participation and Withdrawal
What happens if I decide not to be in this study?
Your participation in this survey is entirely voluntary. You may choose not to take part in this survey. If you decide to take part, you can change your mind later and withdraw from the survey. You are free to not answer any questions or withdraw at any time. Your decision will not change any present or future relationships with the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.
10. Questions
Who do I contact for questions about this study?
For more information about the study or the study procedures or treatments, or to withdraw from the study, contact:
Michelle Harrell Washington
UWM Libraries
PO Box 604
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0604
414-229-6613
Email: libqual-info@uwm.eduWho do I contact for questions about my rights or complaints towards my treatment as a research subject?
The Institutional Review Board may ask your name, but all complaints are kept in confidence.
Institutional Review Board
Human Research Protection Program
Department of University Safety and Assurances
University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
P.O. Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201
(414) 229-3173
11. Consent to Participate
Research Subject’s Consent to Participate in Research:
Clicking here (link to survey) to enter the survey area indicates that I am at least eighteen (18) years old and I am giving my informed consent to be a participant in this survey. If you choose to take part in this study, you may withdraw at any time. If you would like a print copy of this document, please use the ‘print’ function of your Internet browser.