Participant Information
The effect of month of birth on vocabulary development in children 4-7 years old.
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Department of Psychology, Health and Professional Development Oxford Brookes University, Headington, OXFORD OX3 0BP.
Researcher: Megan Agnew, Undergraduate, Email: 19019174@brookes.ac.uk
Supervisor: Oliva Afonso, Email: p0078600@brookes.ac.uk, Telephone 01865484814
Please take time to read the following information carefully.
What is the purpose of the study?
The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences in vocabulary between children born in summer and children born in winter and to explore factors that might explain these differences.
Why have I been invited to participate?
This study is for parents of children currently aged between 4 and 7. At least 50 people will be asked to participate via invitations on social media and links for the questionnaire sent out in school newsletters.
Do I have to take part?
No. It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do decide to take part you will be asked to provide your consent. If you decide to take part you are still free to withdraw unprocessed data at any time by closing the browser before pressing the 'submit' button or by contacting the researcher anonymously via a Withdraw Consent button that will be displayed on screen after you submit.
What will happen to me if I take part?
Data will be collected using an online questionnaire that consists of four sections. The first section asks some demographic questions about your child, the second section asks about your child’s home literacy environment, the third section is a vocabulary inventory, which consists of a list of words and you will be asked if your child knows the word, knows the word and correctly uses it or does not know the word. The fourth section asks some demographic questions about you. You should fill out all out all sections of the questionnaire. The questionnaire should take no-longer than 15 minutes to complete.
What are the possible disadvantages of taking part?
Other than the time taken to answer the questionnaire, there are no direct disadvantages of taking part.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
While there are no direct benefits to you, we hope that you will find the questions interesting. If you chose to take part in this online study then you will be helping us to better understand the potential differences of the vocabulary of children born in summer and winter. The main benefit will be to the researcher who is completing this research as part of their studies in Psychology at Oxford Brookes University.
Will what I say in this study be kept confidential?
Yes. You will not be asked to give any information that could be used to identify you personally (e.g., your name, date of birth, IP address). Confidentiality, privacy and anonymity will be ensured in the collection, storage and publication of research material (subject to legal limitations). Research data will be stored in Qualtrics and Google Drive, for which the University has security agreements.
There is always a certain element of risk of data loss when data is collected and processed in an internet environment. This risk cannot be eliminated entirely and participants consenting to take part in the survey need to be aware of this risk. However, personal data will be minimised to the extent possible for the survey and the University believes that Qualtrics and Google offer sufficient guarantees to keep the data secure while it is being processed.
What should I do if I want to take part?
If you would like to take part, please click on button consenting to volunteer to participate in the study followed by the Continue to Experiment button at the bottom of this page.
What will happen to the results of the research study?
The results of the research will be used in an undergraduate psychology dissertation. If a publication is planned, the data generated by the study will be retained by the supervisor in accordance with the University's policy on Academic Integrity and may be kept securely for a period of ten years after the completion of the research project. If no publication is proposed the data will be deleted in September 2022.
Who has reviewed the study?
This research is being conducted by a Psychology student at Oxford Brookes University as part of the requirement for their course. The study procedures have been reviewed and approved by the Psychology Research Ethics Committee, Oxford Brookes University. If you have any concerns about how the study has been conducted, please contact the Psychology Research Ethics Officer, Dr Emma Davies, on edavies@brookes.ac.uk
Contact for Further Information
Please contact the researcher or their supervisor (contact details above) if you would like any further information about this study.
If you wish to obtain a summary of the findings when they have been written up please e-mail Megan Agnew at 19019174@brookes.ac.uk after July 2022.
Further information about Qualtrics can be found on the following web site: https://qualtrics.com/
Thank you for taking time to read the information sheet.
01/11/2021
