Note to students:

This is a modified example of an actual consent form I used for a study. It's supplied here for discussion purposes only; for student research, you'll use the attached form instead.

Notes are highlighted in yellow.

Approved by IRB on: (for ORSC USE ONLY) Expires On:

IRB#

Informed Consent to Participate in Research

Title Project Management in High-Tech Organizations: A Field Study IRB PROTOCOL #

Conducted By: Your Name Here

Of The University of Texas at Austin: Department / Office; Telephone:

You are being asked to participate in a research study. This form provides you with information about the study. The person in charge of this research will also describe this study to you and answer all of your questions. Please read the information below and ask any questions you might have before deciding whether or not to take part. Your participation is entirely voluntary. You can refuse to participate or stop participating at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. You can stop your participation at any time and your refusal will not impact current or future relationships with UT Austin or participating sites. To do so simply tell the researcher you wish to stop participation. The researcher will provide you with a copy of this consent for your records.

The purpose of this study is to

NOTE: Rephrase the background from your research proposal so that your participants can understand why you want to observe and interview them.

learn how high-tech workers manage their projects in the course of performing knowledge work. Particularly, we want to know what tools and practices they use, to what extent they use them in the course of collaboration and planning, and to what extent these have changed other aspects of their organizations.

Knowledge work is work in which workers create, develop, and use information in coordination with others. Those others include their clients, vendors, and subcontractors. Specifically, we are interested in how high-tech workers communicate with clients, vendors, subcontractors, and others; how they manage their time and projects, and how they coordinate these with others; how they learn the "language" of clients, vendors, subcontractors, and others; how they set up stable relationships with these others; how they work strategically; and how they receive training for doing all these things.

This study does not aim to evaluate workers' performance or competence.

If you agree to be in this study, we will ask you to do the following things:

NOTE: Change this section to match your methods.

• Observations. We will visit you at work and conduct 1-2 short (average 1 hour) observations of your work. During the observations, we'll note anything we see them do that relates to the categories above (communication, time and project management, understanding, relationships, strategy, and training).
• Interviews.
  • Before each observation, we will conduct a short (average 15 minute) interview in which we collect information about your professional biography and history with project management, collaboration, and related tools and practices.
  • After each observation, we will interview you for about half an hour, focusing on these categories. We'll start by discussing things we observed you doing, then will ask further questions about these categories. We'll ask you to walk us through how you perform activities that we didn't get a chance to see. We will digitally record these interviews.
• Artifact collection. We will collect copies, photos, and screen shots of any tools you use, texts they write, and software you use to perform these activities. You'll redact these before handing them over so that we don't see confidential information.

Total estimated time to participate in study is 1.75-3.25 hours.

NOTE: Below, make sure the total involvement time matches that of your research proposal.

Risks of being in the study

• This [treatment, procedure, intervention, or describe other] may involve risks that are currently unforeseeable. If you wish to discuss the information above or any other risks you may experience, you may ask questions now or call the Principal Investigator listed on the front page of this form.
• The research may uncover weaknesses as well as strengths in your work. My reports will remind readers that this should happen and that the role of this research is individual self-improvement. We will emphasize that self-improvement when it occurs.

Benefits of being in the study

• This study may help you to reflect on and improve your own work. It may also help managers at your organization to detect weaknesses in the organization. The study will also result in improved training for students at the University of Texas.

Compensation:

• None

Confidentiality and Privacy Protections:

• Research data will be kept on an encrypted laptop hard drive and backed up to a secure server account to which only the researcher has access. In research reports, you will be described with a pseudonym and identifying information will be redacted.
• 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 you with it, or with your participation in any study.

The records of this study will be stored securely and kept confidential. Authorized persons from The University of Texas at Austin, members of the Institutional Review Board, and (study sponsors, if any) have the legal right to review your research records and will protect the confidentiality of those records to the extent permitted by law. All publications will exclude any information that will make it possible to identify you as a subject. Throughout the study, the researchers will notify you of new information that may become available and that might affect your decision to remain in the study.

Contacts and Questions:

If you have any questions about the study please ask now. If you have questions later, want additional information, or wish to withdraw your participation call the researchers conducting the study. Their names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses are at the top of this page.

If you would like to obtain information about the research study, have questions, concerns, complaints or wish to discuss problems about a research study with someone unaffiliated with the study, please contact the IRB Office at (512) 471-8871 or Jody Jensen, Ph.D., Chair, The University of Texas at Austin Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects at (512) 232-2685. Anonymity, if desired, will be protected to the extent possible. As an alternative method of contact, an email may be sent to orsc@uts.cc.utexas.edu or a letter sent to IRB Administrator, P.O. Box 7426, Mail Code A 3200, Austin, TX 78713.

You will be given a copy of this information to keep for your records.

Statement of Consent:

I have read the above information and have sufficient information to make a decision about participating in this study. I consent to participate in the study.

Signature:___________________________________________ Date: __________________

___________________________________________________ Date: ___________________

Signature of Person Obtaining Consent

Signature of Investigator:__________________________ Date: _