Hi!

My name is Emma-Jean. I am studying a Masters in Applied Linguistics at the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, and my research is looking at the way people write in different languages on the internet. My supervisor is Dr Elizabeth Ellis of the University of New England. Liz can be contacted by email at liz.ellis@une.edu.au or by phone on 02 6773 3639.

I hope you will help me with my research.

All you need to do is answer some questions. The survey is online here, and should take less than 30 minutes to complete.

After that, I will save a copy of your blog (including the friends-only areas) or forum postings. The data from the survey will also be kept as a password protected file for five years and then destroyed.

If you complete the survey, I will understand that you are consenting to my using information about you (including the answers to the survey, and from your blog) in my research. You can change your mind about participating at any time with no disadvantage.

If you decide to participate I will use a fake name for you, and will not mention any names, places or websites, to keep your identity private.

I will be writing more about my research on my blog, which is at www.blog.une.edu.au/emmajeans. Please feel free to visit and leave me a comment.

This project has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of New England (Approval No. HE08/164, Valid to 08 December 2009).

Should you have any complaints concerning the manner in which this research is conducted, please contact the Research Ethics Officer at the following address:
Research Services
University of New England
Armidale, NSW 2351.
Telephone: (02) 6773 3449 Facsimile (02) 6773 3543
Email: ethics@une.edu.au

If you have any questions or want to contact me, please contact me at estewar4@une.edu.au. I hope you will complete my survey, and visit my blog soon.

Best wishes,

Emma-Jean Stewart