Dear Parents/Guardians:
A qualitative research assignment is being conducted in connection with course work in the doctoral program at Southwest Texas State University, College of Education. In order to complete the assignment, the researcher, who is a student in the program, will be conducting a survey and interviews designed to explore the experiences and feelings of parents/guardians with children who are in the first year of a magnet middle school program.
The research study will initially be a web-based questionnaire, with a few individuals (3-5) selected for follow-up interviews lasting less than one hour. This study is designed to begin to explore some of the perceptions that are present about the magnet middle school program.
Participants of this study will have their actual identity and any details about themselves or their student(s) held in confidence by the researcher. No mention of your actual name or the student(s) name will appear in any report on this research. If you indicate willingness to be interviewed and are selected, you will be asked to convene with the researcher at a mutually convenient time and location for a period of time of approximately one hour, to sign a letter of consent that describes the basis upon which you are participating, and to share your perceptions and experiences as a parent/guardian of a first year magnet middle school student with the researcher. The interview will be tape-recorded for transcription and analysis at a later time. No marks that would reveal your identity will be made on the tape or the transcriptions. The researcher and the research supervisors are the only people who will have access to your taped interview and transcripts. They will be kept in a locked cabinet.
After the interviews are completed, and the data are analyzed, some verbatim quotations of things you say may appear in a course assignment report and/or a further educational conference paper or journal article. Again, no indications of your actual identity will be associated with these quotations. Pseudonyms will be used for any names associated with the research.
This is a research study. It has no association with the magnet middle school and you should only participate if you feel you are doing so on a completely voluntary basis.
Should you decide to, you may withdraw from the study at any time.
It is anticipated that your participation in this project will be meaningful and rewarding for you, while at the same time, it will contribute significantly to the researcher’s understanding of the experiences and perceptions of parents/guardians with children who are in the first year of a magnet middle school program and the further exploration of an important area of research. Would you like to be involved? If so, please indicate your interest by contacting David Allen, the researcher, at da1018@swt.edu. Thank you for considering your participation in this project. I look forward to hearing from you.