About your participation
When participating in a study, it can be both an exciting and nervous experience. That's why we want to make sure to inform you all about the procedures before we start.
But most importantly, we would like you to know how valuable your involvement is for the overall progress of child research. When discussing children's online interactions and relationships, little is known about the implications of such interactions from children's perspective. That's why it's essential for us to know more about your experiences about online and offline relationships.
Step 1 - Consent from you and your guardian
Before the interview, we need your guardian's written consent before starting our study. A guardian can be a parent or any authorized adult who can give consent on your behalf.
You could also sign your own consent form for children and send it to us, but this is not anything you have to do. Although, reading through the consent form for children could be a good idea to understand more about your rights in this study.
If your parent/guardian find it hard to sign in the consent form, please let us know as soon as possible by emailing us at: siame054@student.liu.se or sarfr375@student.liu.se
Step 2 - Deciding on groups before the interview
If you wish to participate with a certain friend or classmate, you could let us know by emailing us your name and the name of those you want to have in your group. You could also let us know if you would like to participate with a smaller group. If you want to participate in the interview alone or online, this might also be possible if you let us know.
Do you find it hard to arrange a group on your own, communicate this to your teacher so that you can find a group together. The teacher can then let us know who you would like to participate with by sending us the names and emails of the anticipated group members.
After arranging groups, we or the teachers will let you know who you will participate with. There will be 4 to 8 participants in each group, but they could be made smaller.
Step 3 - Conducting interviews
During the interviews, we will ask you questions that are semi-structured. This means that we as researchers will be prepared in advance with questions that can be used in our discussion if we run out of things to talk about. Although, we know a little bit about the main topics that we will discuss, which will be:
1) Defining Relationships
2) Offline Social Interactions
3) Online Social Interactions
4) Benefits and drawbacks of online social interaction
5) Perceptions of relational closeness
6) What influences social interactions
The interviews won't carry out for more than one hour. Your voice will be recorded with care and no one will be able to hear the recordings after our discussion, except for us as researchers (Sara and Sian).
It will be okay for you to withdraw at any time without giving us a reason, even during the interview discussion.
If you decide to withdraw after the interview, it's not too late to inform us trough email.
More information about withdrawing can be found in the consent form. If you find it complicated to withdraw, please don't wait with contacting a teacher or an adult who can help you.
Step 4 - Researchers writing process
During this stage, we don't expect much from you as a participant during the time we continue our writing until June. Just pay attention to your doubts and uncertainties about this study, as you can always share them to us via email: siame054@student.liu.se or sarfr375@student.liu.se
We would also appreciate it if you could keep the interview a secret, or at least not tell others what you said or heard during the discussion. In research this is called confidentiality, which is important in order for you and the other participants to feel safe and respected.
Thank you for your engagement!