Thank you for taking the time to find out more about my research and the role volunteers will play in helping me explore online communication. Below you'll find information regarding the purpose of the study, guidelines for participation and the researcher's obligations to the participants. Please read both of these sections carefully and if you then decide you would like to be a part of the research pool from which volunteers will be chosen, fill out the short questionnaire "Expression of Interest" (link below).

If at any time you question regarding the research, participant guidelines, etc... please feel free to email me at [email protected]

Cheers -  

D. Walther (Ph.D candidate, Queensland University of Technology)

Purpose of the Research

This research seeks to explore the way in which people communicate online, specifically in the realm of Internet Relay Chat (IRC).

Research Goals

1. To gain a better understanding of how people communicate via IRC.
2. To explore general IRC communication patterns and the implications of IRC as an online teaching/tutorial medium.

In meeting these goals, I will create research related IRC channels in which you will be asked to participate in general chat - just as you would normally chat online. No IRC experience is necessary, although you do need to be familiar with logging onto the Internet and have your own Internet access.

For those who are unfamiliar with IRC, I will provide help-files and assistance in setting up the IRC client (mIRC, pIRCh or IRCle). It is necessary to gather a mix of experienced and inexperienced IRC users to make this research helpful to future researchers and educators. So don't be afraid to submit the "Expression of Interest Form" even if you have never used IRC before - it's fun, easy and a great way to chat with people from all over the world.

If chosen for the research, you will be assigned to a research IRC channel. Your real identity will be hidden behind a pseudonym used specifically for this project. 

Guidelines for Participation

As the research seeks to make a valuable contribution to current knowledge regarding online communication, in addition to helping tertiary educators develop IRC based teaching practices, participants must be willing to abide by certain guidelines.

Participants must ...

• Be 18 years of age or older
• Have access to a computer with your own Internet access, as no Internet access (via ISP or otherwise) will be provided by the researcher or any QUT faculty associated with the research.
• Commit to spending 5 hours (minimum) per week in the research related IRC channel you are assigned to, for the full duration of the research (approximately 4 weeks).*
• NOT discuss the research with anyone (family, friends, etc...) even if your family or friends are also participating in the research.
• Agree not to hold the researcher or QUT responsible for any liability should you give out personal details (full name, address, etc...) to other participants in the IRC channels (both research related and general IRC channels). Any personaly details you give to other IRC users is your own responsibility.
• Make yourself available for a short telephone interview (approximately 5 minutes).
• Agree to fill out an "Exit Survey" at the end of the research.
• Agree to be interviewed via telephone or email after the research is done (if necessary).

* However, participants are free to chat in channels other than the research channel they are assigned to, as well as chat privately with others if they wish.

Researcher Obligations to Participants

As a researcher who supports ethical behaviour in academic research, I believe I have certain obligations to those people who volunteer to participate in my project. These obligations include:

• Keeping the identities and personal details of research participants confidential.
• Not structuring research that intentionally causes personal harm or distress to participants.
• Offering summaries of the research (as well as full copies of the resulting thesis) to participants who want to be informed of the research results.
• Treating participants as human beings, not just "subjects" for study.

After reading the above sections, if you are interested in volunteering for the research, please CLICK HERE. You will be notified by email with further details if you are chosen to participate.

Thank you for your interest in my research!

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