Consent to Participate in a Research Study University of South Africa
Title of Study: Exploring the Impact of Emotional Intelligence Training in the Workplace Researcher Name: Susan Jansen Van Rensburg Phone: 082-697-0785
Introduction
I am a student in the College of Human Sciences, at the University of South Africa busy with Master’s degree studies in Psychology. I am doing research on the impact of emotional intelligence training in the workplace and invite you to be part of this research.
You were selected as a participant because you completed the Neuro-Link Emotional Intelligence High Achiever Development Programme.
I ask that you read this form and ask any questions that you may have before agreeing to be in the study.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact this programme had on you as a working individual in your professional environment. You are invited to take part in this research
because I want to know more about your experience of the programme, and because I feel that your experience might help us to learn more about the relevance of emotional intelligence training in the workplace.
This research may ultimately be published as research findings in a Master’s degree in Psychology.
Voluntary Participation
Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary. It is your choice whether to participate or not.
The choice that you make will have no bearing on your job or on any work-related evaluations or reports. You may change your mind later and stop participating even if you agreed earlier.
Description of the Study Procedures
This research will involve your participation in individual one-hour interviews. The length of time for participation will be one or more sessions of the above and for the duration of the study during the year 2018, periodically and on appointment, and until enough data are collected to draw a final trustworthy credible conclusion for the study.
For individual interviews:
2. The interview will take place in a comfortable private place at the office.
3. Intrapersonal and interpersonal questions will be asked for example: Did the programme help you to accurately know and understand your own truth, emotions, motives, strengths, weaknesses, and talents? Can you manage and control what you understand about yourself? Do you know and understand the truths of others? How did the programme affect your personal wellbeing? How did you develop through the process and were the changes sustainable? Do you have healthy constructive interactions with, and influence on other people especially your colleagues?
4. If you do not wish to answer any of the questions during the interview, you may say so and we will move on to next questions. You do not have to answer any question or take part in the discussion or interview if you feel the question(s) are too personal or if talking about them makes you uncomfortable. You do not have to give any reason for not responding to any questions.
5. No one else but myself will be present during interviews unless you would like someone else to attend.
6. The entire interview will be voice-recorded, and you will be identified by name on the recording for transcription purposes only. The information recorded is confidential, and no one else will have access to the information documented during your interview. The recordings will be kept locked away, until destroyed after completion of the study.
Risks/Discomforts of Being in this Study
The study may have the following risk: the research may affect you emotionally. There are no reasonable foreseeable (or expected) other risks, however, there may be
unknown risks.
Benefits of Being in the Study
There will be no direct benefit to you, but your participation is likely to help us find out more about the impact such a program has on the health of the entire organization in the sense that it strengthens each individual in their professional capacity as well as their private lives.
Confidentiality
This study is anonymous. Your identity will not be shared with or given to anyone outside of this research. Any information about you will be coded and will not have your name. Only I will know what your code is, and such information will be kept confidential. All information and records of this study will be kept private and confidential. Research
records will be locked away, and all electronic information will be secured using a password protected file. Only I will have access to audio recordings, in that it will be listened to or watched in private. It will be used for data analysis only and will be
deleted/erased once the research study is completed and signed off. I will not include any information in any report I may publish that would make it possible to identify you.
Your identity will not be disclosed in the material that is published either. However, you will be given the opportunity to review and approve any material that is published about you. I will ask you and others in the group not to talk to people outside the group about what
was said in the group. I will, in other words, ask each of you to keep what was said in the group confidential. You should know, however, that we cannot stop or prevent participants who were in the group from sharing things that should be confidential.
Payments
You will not be given any incentive to take part in this research.
Right to Refuse or Withdraw
The decision to take part in this study is entirely up to you. You may refuse or stop
participating in the discussion/interview at any time without affecting your relationship with the investigators of this study or UNISA or your employer. Your decision will not result in any loss or benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.
Choosing to take part or to withdraw will not affect your job or job-related evaluations in any way.
You have the right not to answer any single question, as well as to withdraw completely from the interview at any point during the process; additionally, you have the right to ask that the interviewer not use any of your interview material.
I will give you an opportunity at the end of the interview/discussion to review your remarks, and you can ask to change or remove portions of those if you do not agree with my notes or if I did not understand you correctly.
Right to Ask Questions and Report Concerns
You have the right to ask questions about this research study and to have those questions answered by me before, during or after the research. If you have any further questions about the study, at any time feel free to contact me, Susan at [email protected] or by telephone at 082-697-0785. If you like, a summary of the results of the study will be sent to you. This proposal has been reviewed and approved by UNISA whose task it is to make sure that research participants are protected from harm. It has also been reviewed by the Ethics Review Committee of UNISA who is supporting the study.
Consent
I have read the foregoing information, or it has been read to me. I have had the opportunity to ask questions about it and any questions I have been asked were answered to my satisfaction. I consent voluntarily to be a participant in this study.
Participant’s Name (print): ___________________________________________________________
Participant’s Signature: _______________________________ Date: ______________________
I confirm that the participant was given an opportunity to ask questions about the study, and all the questions asked by the participant have been answered correctly and to the best of my ability. I confirm that the individual has not been coerced into giving consent, and the consent has been given freely and voluntarily.
Researcher’s Signature: _______________________________ Date: __________________