Youth Engagement:

A Snapshot Survey

INVITATION

If you are 14 years old or older, we invite you to be part of our research project.

WHO ARE WE?

We are researchers and staff from the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement. Our Centre is a group of people and organizations interested in finding out about young people's activities, like yours.

WHAT'S INVOLVED?

If you decide to help us in our research, you will fill out a short online survey that will take about 15 minutes. There are questions about the activities you do, your experiences in those activities, some general information about you (your age, for example) and what you thought about our survey. We have explained the study to your group leader and the Research Ethics Board at Brock University, and both thought it was okay for us to ask you to help in the research.

WHY SHOULD I FILL OUT THE SURVEY?

This is a fairly new survey that we are still trying out. It is important for us to learn what you think about the survey. For example, is it easy to understand? Are we asking the right type of questions? We will use your comments to improve the survey so it will work better in the future. You also will be helping help the Centre and other people who work with youth to learn more about youth engagement, such as what makes activities good and how activities can be improved, as you see it. We will use this information to help adults and youth work together.

DO I HAVE TO FILL OUT THE SURVEY?

No, you do not have to do the survey or answer any questions that you do not want to answer. Nothing bad will happen to you if you choose not to be in our study. Your organization and activity leader will not know whether you fill out the survey and your decision will not affect your involvement with the activity or the leaders.

WILL ANYONE BE ABLE TO TELL WHAT I ANSWER?

All personal information (for example your name and email) will be kept strictly confidential. Your name will not be stored with the survey - just a code number. If you fill out the survey again, we will be able to see how your answers may have changed over time. Only the web server manager will be able to match your name with your answers to our questions. No one from your group will know how you answer and we will not use your name in any reports from this research. We will take all of the answers and report the results for everyone as a group.
However, there is one situation in which we cannot keep information confidential. Sometimes, a young person tells us something that makes us believe that he or she is in danger, or that someone else is about to be hurt. If you tell us something like that, the law requires us to tell someone who can help.
We will keep the computer files of the data at Brock University and the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement. The files will be kept until all of our analyses are finished. Researchers at the Centre and Brock University, their assistants, and students will be able to use this computer data.

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE RESULTS?

The results will be presented in reports, which may be found in scientific journals, put onto websites, shared in workshops, and presented conferences. You can find our results on our website (www.engagementcentre.ca), starting in about six months. If you are doing this as part of a group activity, we will send your group leader a summary of the results. We will ask your leader to share the results with you so that you can learn what all the young people, as a group, said about their activities.

ARE THERE ANY RISKS IN FILLING OUT THE SURVEY?

Most young people who have filled out our surveys have said that they thought it was a good experience. But sometimes, young people have said it made them realize that they weren't as involved in activities as they wanted to be and that made them feel a little sad. That could happen to you. If it does, let us know or talk to your group leader. We know lots of ways to help youth get more involved.

WHO SHOULD I CONTACT IF I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about this study, please contact Linda Rose-Krasnor or Stoney McCart. The Research Ethics Board at Brock University (File #08-113) has given this project ethics clearance. If you have any concerns about being in the research, please contact the Brock University Research Ethics Office at (905) 688-5550, ext. 3035, or email reb@brocku.ca.

PLEASE PRINT OR SAVE THIS INFORMATION PAGE SO YOU KNOW HOW TO CONTACT US!

Principal Investigator: Linda Rose-Krasnor, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Brock University St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1 905-688-5550, ext. 3870 linda.rose-krasnor@brocku.ca

Director, Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement: Stoney McCart The Students Commission 23 Isabella St. Toronto, ON M4Y 1M7 416-597-8297 stoney@tgmag.ca

CONSENT

I have read and understand the information above and understand that I can ask questions at any time. I agree to participate in this survey.