Hi, my name is Megan Jackson and I would like to invite you and the members of your organisation
to take part in my research study. My study is called:
How Can We Keep Connected? Improving our understanding of the educational experiences of
students with critical and chronic illness in Australia.
Before you can recommend my study to the members of your organisation, it is important for you to
know why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take the time to read this
information sheet carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. If there is anything that is not
clear, or you would like more information, please feel free to contact me at the University of
Canberra (UC) on 6201 5384.
What is this study about?
The aim of this study is to learn about better ways of managing absence from school for adolescent
students with critical or chronic illness. Critical and chronic illnesses can be defined as medical
conditions, which last longer than 3 months, and impact on daily living and learning. I want to find
out if there are any teachers using programs like Skype™ or Facetime™ to help adolescent students
who can’t physically get to school to be at school digitally, and how that works out for the teachers
and the students.
Why is this study being done?
We know that adolescent students with critical or chronic illness have many more days off school
than other students. We also know that these absences can have a negative effect on academic
success and social development. I hope that this research will eventually help to reduce these
negative effects and improve the education experience for adolescent students with critical or
chronic illness.
What will happen if members of my organisation take part?
If they agree to be in this study, the members of your organisation will complete a brief (5 -10
minutes) Internet survey. The purpose of this survey is to obtain some general information regarding
the interactions between adolescent students with critical or chronic illness and the education
system. Should your members be interested in providing more detailed information at an interview,
at the end of the survey they will be invited to provide their contact details,
Are there any risks of discomfort?
As you are aware, thinking about and talking about critical and chronic illness can be emotionally
demanding.
What are the potential benefits?
Although there may be no immediate benefit for your members or any adolescent students with
critical or chronic illness that they may know, I hope that their participation will be beneficial for
other adolescents in the future. Also, I hope that they will find our discussions interesting.
Do members of my organisation have to take part in this study?
It is up to your members whether or not they take part in this study. If they do decide to take part,
they will be asked to indicate their consent. If they decide now, or at a later date, that they do not
wish to participate in this research they are free to stop at any time, without giving me a reason. I
want to make sure that everyone is happy when taking part in my project!
Will information about the members be available to anyone?
The information given to me is confidential and anonymous and will remain so. If I write a
report/article following on from this research, participants will be allocated a pseudonym which will
be used in place of actual names. This project has been approved by the Committee for Ethics in
Human Research at the University of Canberra.
Who will have access to the research records?
Only I will have direct access to the material provided by the participants in this research. Hard
copies of the recordings of discussions & transcripts/summaries/list of allocated pseudonyms will be
held in secure storage. Electronic copies of this information will be held on a password protected
computer on a firewall protected computer network. The data will be stored until after my PhD is
completed (approximately 6 years). The data will be destroyed after this date.
Questions and Concerns:
You and your members can ask any questions that you have about the research study. If there is a
question that you didn’t think of now, you can ask it later. I can be contacted on the phone (6201
5384) or by email ([email protected] ). If for some reason you cannot reach me, you
can call my supervisor, Dr Chris Kilham, on 6201 2739 or send her an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for taking the time to read this information. Your help makes my research possible!
The survey is open until the end of April.
Yours sincerely
Megan Jackson