Information Sheet for Participants

Thank you for showing an interest in this project.  Please read this information sheet carefully before deciding whether or not to participate.  If you decide to participate, we thank you.  If you decide not to take part, there will be no disadvantage to you of any kind and we thank you for considering our request.

What is the Aim of the Project?
This research study, which is the empirical component of a PhD dissertation, is an investigation of knowledge conversion within virtual environments including blogs and online social network sites.  Specifically it will address the question, “How is knowledge shared within virtual environments?”

What Type of Participants is being sought?
This research study seeks participants who are software developers and create applications as:

(1) an employee of a traditional organisation,
(2) contracted as part of a virtual organisation, or
(3) who develop software as part of a virtual community as a hobby.

All participants must have some experience in software development and be familiar with online social network sites, although they may not be currently participating in virtual environments.  They will also be of working age, between 18 and 65 years.

What will Participants be asked to do?
Should you agree to take part in this project, you will be asked to participate in a face-to-face interview of 30 minutes to an hour in duration.  The audio of the interviews will be recorded and later transcribed.  During the interview, you will be asked to describe your participation within virtual environments such as blogs, discussion groups, and online social network sites.  In particular, you will be asked to recount experiences of software development related problem solving in these environments.  During the interview, you will also be asked to list virtual environments you use.  In the event that the line of questioning does develop in such a way that you feel hesitant or uncomfortable you are reminded of your right to decline to answer any particular question(s) and also that you may withdraw from the project at any stage without any disadvantage to yourself of any kind.

In addition to the individual interviews, at a later date you may be invited to participate an ethnographic study of a virtual community based on responses to interview questions. During the ethnographic study, online knowledge sharing behaviours as well as documents and other narrative artefacts will be observed and analysed.  Additionally, you may be asked questions about observed behaviours via the online environment and email.  The time commitment for participation will be limited to a few minutes of reading and responding to questions posed occasionally over a period of six months.  The total time of the ethnographic study will not exceed a few hours.  If you choose to participate in the ethnographic study, the conditions stated within this document will also apply.

Can Participants Change their Mind and Withdraw from the Project?
You may withdraw from participation in the project at any time and without any disadvantage to yourself of any kind.

What Data or Information will be collected and What Use will be made of it?
Both the artefacts from the virtual environments and the interview transcriptions will be analysed for themes related to knowledge conversion, sense of community, and virtual organisation.  Participants will have the opportunity to review interview transcripts to ensure that the personal information collected is accurate, up to date, complete, relevant and not misleading.

The interviews will have both audio recordings and typed transcripts kept in electronic form.  The ethnographic artefacts and fieldnotes will also be kept in electronic form.  At the end of the project, any personal information will be destroyed immediately except that, as required by the University’s research policy, any raw data on which the results of the project depend will be retained in secure storage for five years, after which it will be destroyed.  All files will be stored on an external drive kept in a locked filing cabinet in the department for five years, after which time it will be erased using reformatting software. The PhD student researcher and the student’s supervisors will have access to all research material including personal information on participants.  Individual participants will have access to their own interview transcripts. Reasonable precautions will be taken to protect and destroy data gathered by email.  However, the security of electronically transmitted information cannot be guaranteed.  Caution is advised in the electronic transmission of sensitive material.

The results of the project may be published and will be available in the University of Otago Library (Dunedin, New Zealand).  Every effort will be made to anonymise the identifying personal information in the PhD dissertation and other publications using the research material by using pseudonyms for individuals and organisations.  You are most welcome to request a copy of the results of the project should you wish.

What if Participants have any Questions?
If you have any questions about our project, either now or in the future, please feel free to contact:

Ms. Fa Martin-Niemi
PhD Student Researcher
Department of Management
+64 (0)3 479 8126
fa.niemi@otago.ac.nz

Dr. Richard Greatbanks
Primary Supervisor
Department of Management
+64 (0)3 479 8658
richard.greatbanks@otago.ac.nz

Dr. Bronwyn Boon
Secondary Supervisor
Department of Management
+64 (0)3 479 8054
bronwyn.boon@otago.ac.nz

This study has been approved by the University of Otago Human Ethics Committee. If you have any concerns about the ethical conduct of the research you may contact the Committee through the Human Ethics Committee Administrator (ph +64 (0)3 479 8256). Any issues you raise will be treated in confidence and investigated and you will be informed of the outcome.