This page is part of the notes for https://ucsb-cs156.github.io/w21/lectures/lect08/

Please see that page for more context about the information below.

Informed Consent Briefing

This protocol, 7-19-0337, has been certified by the UCSB Human Subjects Committee as “exempt” for human subject participation.

PURPOSE

Note: the following text will be shown if/when you take the survey. I’m repeating it here so we can go over it to see if you have any questions.

Your consent is being sought to participate in a researh study.

This form explains the research study and your part in it if you decide to join the study. Please read the form carefully, taking as much time as you need. Ask the researcher to explain anything you do not understand.

Participation is voluntary. You can decide not to join the study. If you join the study, you can change your mind later or quit at any time. You may refuse any question, test, or procedure. There will be no penalty or loss of services or benefits if you decide not to take part in the study or quit later.

The study is being carried out by

• Christopher Hundhausen and Olusola Adesope, Washington State University (WSU)
• Adam Carter, Humboldt State University (HSU)
• Phillip Conrad, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)

The purpose of this study is to learn how to help undergraduate students develop certain skills that have been shown to be important in software development careers—especially skills related to working with code written by other people.

• Duration of Participation—One academic term (semester or quarter).
• Significant Risks—Your participation in this study will not incur any risks beyond the minimal risks associated with participating in a university course.
• Potential Benefits—If successful, the approach used in the study may offer you and all other students enrolled in this course the chance to become better prepared to enter the workplace, with improved skills. However it is not necessary to participate in the research aspects of the study to gain those benefits.

Agreeing to participate in the research means agreeing to two items, each explained in more detail below under “PROCEDURES”:

• Allowing the researchers to use the materials you submit in this course to gather data about the effectiveness of the course activities. Your data will be de-identified before it is used for research purposes.
• Allowing the researchers to use your data from two surveys—one given near the beginning of the course and another given at the end of the course.

PROCEDURES:

Each of you in the course has been assigned a random participant id number (RPID), available to you through the course management system, Gauchospace. If you decide to participate, we will ask you to do three things:

If you are over eighteen, you may optionally give us consent to use your data in the study. Your data consists of answers to survey questions as well as information from certain course activities. (Students under 18 are not permitted to give us their consent). To protect your privacy, all data used for research purposes will be identified only by a random participant id (RPID).

All students will be invited to fill out an online survey early in the course. When filling out the survey, you will identify yourself only by your random participant id number (RPID). The survey will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. The data for the survey is stored on a survey at Washington State University, and is not available to your instructor until after the course is complete.

Fill out another survey near the end of the quarter, using the same RPID. This survey will also take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete.

To provide an incentive for you to participate, your instructor has agreed to offer 1% extra credit on your final course grade to anyone that completes items 2 and 3, i.e. completes both surveys.

You are not required to give us permission to use your data to receive this extra credit. (You will receive only an 0.33% bonus if you fill out only the first survey and fail to complete the second survey.) The first question on the survey will ask whether you give us your informed consent to use your anonymized data for research purposes, including your survey answers, and data collected from course materials. If you are over eighteen, you may answer YES or NO to this question.

• Answering YES places you in the study.
• Answering NO excludes you from the study.

Either way, however, if you complete both the initial survey, and the one at the end of the quarter, you are eligible to earn the extra credit. The Washington State University researchers conducting the survey will provide your instructor with the RPIDs of the students that completed both surveys, so that you can be awarded the extra credit.

However, your instructor will NOT receive any of your answers to the survey questions at any time, nor your decision as to whether to consent to participation in the study. The study is designed so that no-one with access to your survey answers can tie those back to your true identity.

RISKS: There are no known risks to participating in this study.

BENEFITS: While your participation in this study may indirectly provide benefits to future students of Computer Science, there is no direct benefit to you anticipated from your participation in the study.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The study personnel will only have access to data anonymized by your RPID, and will not have access to any way of tying your data back to your individual identity. And, as you would expect, none of your data will be made available to anyone other than the study personnel, who will keep it strictly confidential. Further, the anonymized data will itself be destroyed within five years. In publications about the data, no identifying information will be published. Having said that, absolute confidentiality cannot be guaranteed, since research documents are not protected from legal subpoena.

COSTS/PAYMENT: You will receive a 1% extra credit bonus on your overall course grade for filling out these surveys. You will receive a 0.33% pro-rated extra credit bonus if you fill out only the first survey and do not fill out the second survey.

RIGHT TO REFUSE OR WITHDRAW, AND ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF EARNING THE EXTRA CREDIT

If you do not wish to participate, you may still receive the 1% extra credit as long as you fill out the surveys. However, in this case, your answers will be discarded before data is analyzed for research. Think of the surveys as a walk-through of the study, with no data provided to the research phases of the study.

Your instructor will be informed that you have completed the surveys so that you earn the extra credit but will not know whether or not you have consented to the study.

Additionally, you may withdraw your decision to participate at any time; if you withdraw your participation, your data will in no way be used in the study. Whether you participate or not, rest assured that your decision in no way affects your grade or your standing in the course. Your instructor will not be told who did or did not consent to participate.

QUESTIONS

The lead principal investigator on this study is Christopher Hundhausen from Washington State University (hundhaus@wsu.edu) . The principal investigator at UCSB is Phill Conrad (phtcon@ucsb.edu). You may use this contact information to request a copy of the research findings after the research is complete or to request to withdraw from the study if you change your mind after your initial decision.

If you have any questions about this research project or if you think you may have been injured as a result of your participation, please contact: Christopher Hundhausen from Washington State University (hundhaus@wsu.edu) or Phill Conrad (phtcon@ucsb.edu) at UCSB. If you have any questions regarding your rights and participation as a research subject, please contact the Human Subjects Committee at (805) 893-3807 or hsc@research.ucsb.edu. Or write to the University of California, Human Subjects Committee, Office of Research, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-2050