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The Internet and Mental Health Research Project | |
Hello, my name is Hester Parr and I am a researcher from the University of Dundee.
I would like to invite you to participate in a research project about mental health. Before you decide whether you want to participate, I need to be sure you understand why I am doing the research and what it would involve if you agreed to take part. Please read the following information carefully and feel free to ask any questions. You don't have to decide immediately whether you want to take part, but can let me know in a week or so.
My research is all about how people who experience mental health problems participate in and benefit from the use of the Internet. Understanding why mental health-related support websites are useful can help the government and other agencies understand why they should fund such initiatives. My research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and I have promised to find out more about these issues. Everyone who attends this website is being given the opportunity to record and talk with me about their experiences.
What does this entail?
I will simply ask you to participate in an on-line survey about what you feel are the main benefits from your use of the website and how these on-line activities may have helped you in other parts of your life. You will also have the opportunity to participate in a follow-up telephone interview, although you can choose simply to fill in the survey. If you wish to simply email a single statement about your on-line experiences, you can also do this.
What will happen to the interview material I collect?
All the materials and opinions I collect remain anonymous. It is only me that will ever know that you participated in the research. I will extract from the survey and telephone interview what seems like the most important points. These points will then be used in reports and papers that will be written about the research. However, your name will never to be used in these reports.
What are my rights?
You have the right to ask for more information about the research, or discuss it with friends, or the website team. You can change you mind about whether you want to be participate at any stage.
In summary
Participation in this project is entirely voluntary and you are free to refuse to take part or to withdraw from the study at any time without having to give a reason, and without this affecting any aspect of your mental health care, or your participation in this website.
The Tayside Committee on Medical Research Ethics, which has responsibility for scrutinising all proposals for research on humans in Tayside, has examined this proposal and has raised no objections from the point of view of medical ethics.
Jan 2006