Consent Form
Vancouver Island University Research Involving Human Subjects
The Impact of Utilizing Disability Services and Perceived Faculty Knowledge and Attitudes on
Undergraduates with Learning Disabilities
Kristen Farley, Student
Principal Investigator
Bachelor of Psychology
Vancouver Island University
kfarley@stumail.viu.ca
Dr. Melanie O'Neill
Faculty Supervisor
Psychology Faculty
Vancouver Island University
melanie.oneill@viu.ca
This research aims to investigate the impact of accessing campus disability services and perceived faculty knowledge and attitudes on undergraduate students with learning disabilities’ mental health. To participate in the study, you must be 19+, registered at a post-secondary institution in British Columbia, and have been diagnosed with a learning disability by a qualified medical professional.
As a participant in this research, you will be asked to complete a series of online questionnaires. You will be asked questions about your learning disability, anxiety and/or depression and ADHD history, use of disability services, perceived faculty knowledge and attitudes and associated psychological variables. These questionnaires should take approximately 30 to 60 minutes to complete. Please note that the psychological measures used in this study will not be used as diagnostic instruments.
There is no direct benefit or known harms associated with your participation in this research. However, due to the sensitive nature of the content on the questionnaires, you may feel uncomfortable or experience mental distress during the study. Material which may be triggering include questions about anxiety and/or depression, ADHD and learning disability diagnosis and history. A list of resources that may be helpful are listed on the last page of this document should you choose to seek support following the survey. If answering a question is too uncomfortable or distressing, participants are free to refrain from answering it, and either proceed with the study or withdraw if necessary.
You have the right to decline to answer any question you do not wish to answer, or you may withdraw from participation at any time by exiting out of your browser prior to clicking the ‘submit’ button at the end of the survey. If you choose to withdraw prior to submitting your responses, the information that you provided will not be used in this study. Please be aware that once you have submitted your responses, you may not withdraw from this study. If you wish to save a copy of this consent form, please save this webpage or take a screenshot.
The survey is anonymous – that is, no personally identifiable information will be collected. Please do not include your name or contextual information that might directly or indirectly identify you. If you agree
to be quoted in the products of the research (see checkbox below) quotes will be attributed to a pseudonym or code (e.g., ‘participant #3’).
Your responses to this survey will be stored in SurveyMonkey’s database. Please be advised that SurveyMonkey’s servers are located in the United States and are therefore subject to the U.S. Patriot Act (https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/3162). Data will then be inputted onto SPSS in order to be analyzed and saved on a secured drive that is only accessible to the principal investigator and the student supervisor. Data input will be conducted by the principal investigator and overseen by the supervisor. Consent forms and data collected for the purposes of this study will be kept on the locked drive for the duration of the project, and then deleted from both SurveyMonkey and the drive after the project’s completion.
