Principles of Methodology

1 Principles of Methodology SOC 2111 A,

Fall 2017 Ethics II: Informed Consent Assignment

Due Date: September 28, 2017, by 23:59 Last day to submit this assignment, with lateness penalty: October 16, 2017, by 23:59 Worth 5% of final course grade, graded on the basis of 10 points N.B.: This assignment MUST be submitted electronically, through BrightSpace. Use the following format for the name of your single electronic file: Lastname.Firstname.Informed Consent.doc. The only acceptable file submission formats are: .doc, .docx, or .rtf. The purpose of this assignment is to learn how to construct an informed consent form for a social research project involving human participants. Instructions: Imagine you are the Principal Investigator for the following research project scenario involving humans. Research Scenario: James Cairns has recently (2017) published a book called The Myth of the Age of Entitlement: Millennials, Austerity, and Hope through the University of Toronto Press. As the book’s title suggests, Cairns’ research explores and ultimately challenges the popular belief that Millennials (also called Generation Y) regard themselves as being in some way a socially “entitled” group. The book description states: Drawing on interviews, economic data, and popular media, Cairns debunks the popular age of entitlement myth – where Millennials and Generation Y are accused of expecting good grades, top jobs, and exciting lifestyles without having to pay their dues. Instead, Cairns suggests that rather than being overly entitled, millennials are being dis-entitled on multiple fronts. Precarious employment, student debt, and global ecological disaster mark their present and future. The age of entitlement ignores this reality, but more importantly it undercuts the possibility that young people should be entitled 2 to something better. It legitimizes austerity politics, demanding that people settle for less. The book explains that forms of “democratic entitlement” have driven struggles for social justice throughout history. In contrast to dominant depictions of Generation Y, the case studies show youth-led justice movements struggling for better jobs, more democratic education, and ecological sustainability. It concludes that forces of “oppressive entitlement” that dominate much of society today will be diminished only through the expansion of new democratic entitlements. (https://books.google.ca/books?vid=ISBN9781442636378&redir_esc=y&hl =en) You have now decided to replicate and to extend Cairns’ research by conducting similar interviews of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Ottawa. In your own study, you also wish to examine potential cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic differences in Millennial/Generation Y students’ ideas about “entitlement”. To do this, you will therefore ensure that your interview sample includes francophone, anglophone, and English-French bilingual students; Ontario-domestic, Quebec-domestic, other-Canadiandomestic, and international students; and students whose financial study requirements (i.e., tuition and related expenses, and living expenses) are covered through a variety of sources such as student loans, part-time or full-time employment, scholarships and bursaries, and family support. Soon it will be time to submit your research proposal to the Research Ethics Board (REB) for review, and you therefore need to construct an informed consent form that will be completed by each interview participant. You anticipate, in advance, that some, or perhaps even many, of your research respondents might be reluctant to share information with you, perhaps because of fears about losing financial support, peer acceptance, or even their study place. With these concerns, and others, in mind, your task of crafting an informed consent form could therefore be challenging — but this is an important and groundbreaking project and you are committed to conducting ethical social research of the highest standard, and so you press ahead. Make sure, in your informed consent form, to include all the components listed below. If you wish, you may use the University of Ottawa informed consent form template which can be downloaded from the University of Ottawa Office of Research Ethics and Integrity: https://research.uottawa.ca/ethics/guidelines/consent-process (located under “Downloadable Templates: Consent form”), but you are not required to use this template. The expected length of your completed informed consent form should be 750-1000 words. 3 Informed Consent Form – Checklist of Required Components Criterion Checklist () 1 Description of the study purpose, procedure, duration, and number of participants 2 Statement of risks or discomfort 3 Anonymity and confidentiality assurance 4 Researcher identification and study assistance details 5 Statement of respondent voluntary participation and freedom of participation termination 6 Statement of possible alternative procedures 7 Statement of possible benefits or compensation 8 Offer to provide summary of findings Assessment: I. All required checklist components are included: 5 points II. All components are adequately addressed: 5 points Total: 10 points * (= 5% of final course grade) * Writing quality: Excellent writing (grammar, spelling, punctuation, ASA or APA referencing, use of terms, overall organization) is expected; deficiencies will be penalized up to 1 point (10% of the assignment’s contribution to the final course grade). * Lateness penalty: A daily penalty for lateness of .5 point/day late (5% of the assignment’s contribution to the final course grade, including weekend and holiday days) will be applied to assignments submitted after the assignment due date.