Informed Consent

 

Title: Coming in and coming out: Navigating the spaces between cultural and sexual identity

IRB Approval Number: 15-1195

Investigators: Hoa N. Nguyen, Doctoral Student                Contact: CICOstories@gmail.com

 

Introduction

 

My name is Hoa Nguyen, and I am conducting a study on the cultural and sexual identity of international students. Participants will be asked about their experiences of coming in to the US and deciding what to (and how to) tell family and friends about their sexual orientation.

 

Purpose

 

The purpose is to explore the stories and experiences of LGBQ international students and better understand how cultural narratives shape the process of disclosing sexual orientation to others. The results from this study will be published for a dissertation and shared (anonymously) with members of AcrossBorders@VT, a group of LGBTQ+ international students at Virginia Tech to help them attend to the needs of their group members.

 

Participation in this study involves:

v Demographic survey (5-10 minutes)

v Two one-on-one, confidential interviews (estimated 60-90 minutes)

v Two brief, reflective journals your experiences in the interview OR one reflective journal and one forum post (estimated 30 minutes)

v Interviews are held via Skype or Googlechat; journals are submitted online

 

Eligibility Screening

 

To participate, you must fit the following criteria:

1)     You are a current international student studying in US or graduated in the past 3 years.

2)     You identify as homosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, unsure, or questioning your sexual orientation

If you meet these criteria, then you are eligible to participate in this study.

 

Consent and Confidentiality

 

Your responses will be completely confidential.  You are assigned pseudonyms to protect your confidentiality. Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you can withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. You do not have to answer any questions that you do not want to. Your consent is obtained prior to participation in the study. After submitting your online consent form, you can access and submit the demographic survey. Interviews are video and audio taped. All audio files and journals are kept in a locked laptop, secured in the researcher’s office.

 

Risk and Benefits

 

There is minimal risk to participating in this study. You may benefit from having a space to talk about your stories and experiences.  I appreciate your involvement and request your feedback on the results to ensure I am accurately representing your experiences. This research project has been approved, as required, by the Institutional Review Board for Research Involving Human Subjects at Virginia Tech. 

Compensation

 

Participants will receive $15 - $50 amazon giftcard for their participation.  Amount of compensation depends on the extent of participation. 

 

Below is the extent of compensation for each step of the study:

1)     Interview 1 & reflective journal                                            à Receive $15 giftcard

2)     Interview 2 & reflective journal OR forum post                   à Receive $35 giftcard

 

You will receive a $15 amazon giftcard after the first interview and journal is completed and a $35 amazon giftcard after the second interview and journal is completed, totaling up to a $50. After the second interview, you are given the choice to write a second journal OR post your reflection on a private forum for LGBQ international students with a pseudonym. There is no difference in compensation and no penalty for choosing either to do a second journal or a forum post. As stated, interviews are conducted through Skype or Googlechat, and journals are submitted online through a secure link. 

 

For questions and more information, please contact the researcher Hoa N. Nguyen at CICOstories@gmail.com or (404) 563-2480.

 

Should you have any questions or concerns about the study and conduct or your rights as a research subject, or need to report a research-related injury or event, you may contact the VT IRB Chair, Dr. David M. Moore at moored@vt.edu or (540) 231-4991.

 

Please affirm that you are 18 or older to give your consent for participation in this study.

If you would like to participate, please click the next arrows below to access the pre-interview survey.