Rights as a Research Participant

Informed Consent

Informed consent is the agreement of research participant to take part in the study Voluntary after the participants provided with relevant information necessary to decide whether or not they want to participate. This form itself should be coupled with a discussion of the research.

Before you sign the Assent/Consent form make sure the following question is answered for you?

• An explanation of the purpose of the research.
• A description of what you will be asked to do
• How long it will take should you participate and whether or not you will be compensated for your time.
• A description of any risks involved in participating. These risks could be physical, psychological, social or criminal. The steps taken to minimize these risks should also be described.
• A description of any benefits to you or to society as a whole.
• Confidentiality / the degree to which the information will be kept confidential.
• Who to contact should you have questions about the research or about your rights as a participant?
• A statement that you are free not to participate and can stop participating at any time.

Voluntary Participation:

• It’s really important to understand that whether you participate in the study or not is TOTALLY UP TO YOU. You absolutely don’t have to participate.
• If you decide to participate, you can change your mind at any time,
• You can refuse to answer any question you don’t want to answer.
• If you don’t participate in the study, there won’t be any consequences.
• Your work with your group won’t be affected, your grades won’t be affected,
• Any future relationship with NYU or our partner, University of Michigan, won’t be affected.
• There are no risks to you beyond the risks of daily life.
• There are no direct benefits to you, but it might be helpful for you to reflect on the skills you are building through organizing. This is also an opportunity for your voice to be heard and to share your expertise with other organizers, educators, and policymakers. We all want to learn from you!
• If you do choose to participate, we will never share any of your confidential data with anyone outside of our research team.
• We’ll never share your school data or answers to any questions with your group or your schools.
• We won’t store data that has your name attached – we’ll give everyone a random numeric code that can’t be used to identify you.
• We’ll never use your name in any publications or presentations.
• We’ll never ask about your immigration status, your family’s immigration status, or your involvement with the juvenile or criminal justice system.
• The one exception to this is that we’re required by law to report any suspicions that you’re being abused or are going to harm yourself or someone else.

STUDY TIMELINE

The study will last for three years.

If you agree to participate, we’ll ask you to take part in a series of activities.

These activities are outlined on the flyer you have:

You’ll take a survey this fall, next spring, and for the following two springs.

We’ll observe some meetings, training, and public actions where you might be present.

If you’re in 9th or 10th grade this year, we’ll ask your school to share your grades, attendance, and course completion records with us. NO ONE ELSE will have access to this data.

We’ll ask some of you to participate in interviews and/or focus groups about once a year

COMPENSATION

Complete the survey this fall, Next spring and the following two spring. It should take about 15 minutes. Your answers will be confidential. You will be compensated for your time. If you participate in focus group discuss (FGD). There will be three FGD. The time you spent on each FGD will be compensated as well. If you’d prefer an individual interview, we can arrange that too.

Contact

Questions about the recruitment, youth participation, data collection schedule, you can contact Aynalem Lenjiso (recruitment manager) at 347-697-5956/ aynalem.lenjiso@nyu.edu

Questions/ Concerns about the study? Contact Sara McAlister at 401-440-0798 (email: sara.mcalister@nyu.edu). You may also write them at New York University Metro Center, 726 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.