February 1, 2021
Dear Potential Participant:
We are conducting a research project called Self-Care Behaviours Amongst Canadian Professional Psychology Graduate Students. The purpose of this project is to examine self-care, stress, and wellbeing amongst trainees in professional psychology graduate programs. All graduate students in professional psychology programs (e.g., clinical, counselling, school, clinical neuropsychology) are welcome to participate.
Participation in this study consists of the completion of a 20 minute questionnaire via SurveyMonkey regarding your (a) current self-care behaviours and (b) stress and wellbeing. There are no known physical or psychological risks associated with participating in this study. You may feel some distress as a result of being asked about current stress and stressors. Please remember that you may be able to access support through your campus health and wellness centre. There is no direct benefit to participants. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. You may choose not to answer any question asked in the questionnaire without penalty or consequence. However, as information will be submitted electronically and anonymously, withdrawal post-submission is not possible.
To thank you for your participation, you can choose to enter a draw for one of four $25 Chapters/Indigo gift cards.
At no point will your name be associated with your responses. Only the research team will be permitted to view your information, and all data will be presented and published in group format. All data will be collected using Survey Monkey. Please note that Survey Monkey is hosted by a server located in the USA. The US Patriot Act permits U.S. law enforcement officials, for the purpose of anti-terrorism investigation, to seek a court order that allows access to the personal records of any person without the person's knowledge. In view of this we cannot absolutely guarantee the full confidentiality and anonymity of your data. With your consent to participant in this study, you acknowledge this. You can read more about Survey Monkey‘s privacy policy here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/policy/privacy-policy/.
This research will contribute to our knowledge of self-care and training and may be used to inform teaching and policy on self-care, stress, and wellness. Findings may also be presented at academic/professional conferences and in journals. You may request a summary of the study findings by indicating so at the end of the survey (a separate website will be used to collect your email address, so that your responses are separate from your contact information).
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Amanda Maranzan (phone: 807-343-8322; email: kamaranz@lakeheadu.ca).
Sincerely,
Dr. Amanda Maranzan (kamaranz@lakeheadu.ca), Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Programs
Jane Harder (jharder@lakeheadu.ca), Clinical Psychology Graduate Student
Joshua Hawkins (jhawkin5@lakeheadu.ca), Clinical Psychology Graduate Student
Chiao-En (Joanne) Kao (ckao@lakeheadu.ca), Clinical Psychology Graduate Student
Angela MacIsaac (amacisaa@lakeheadu.ca), Clinical Psychology Graduate Student
This study has been approved by the Lakehead University Research Ethics Board. If you have any questions related to the ethics of the research and would like to speak to someone outside of the research team please contact Sue Wright at the Research Ethics Board at 807-343-8283 or research@lakeheadu.ca
