Study Title: International Students’ Awareness of U.S. Tax Filings
Primary Investigator: Denise O’Shaughnessy
Co-Investigator(s): Janene Finley, Amanda Grossman
The following contains information you will need to help you decide whether to be in this research study or not. You must be at least 18 years old to participate. Please read this information carefully and contact the study team member(s) with any questions you may have.
1. Nature and Purpose of Project: The purpose of this study is to determine the extent of your knowledge regarding your responsibility to file tax documents with the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
2. Participant Selection: You are being asked to participate because you are identified as an international student currently studying in the United States.
3. Explanation of Procedures: The survey consists of questions asking about your history with U.S. tax filings, your current knowledge of U.S. tax filings, your plans to file in the future, your sources of information regarding U.S. tax filings, and demographic information. You will be provided the opportunity to comment on the survey.
4. Study Duration: The online survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
5. Discomforts and Risks: There are no anticipated risks and/or discomforts for participants.
6. Benefits: This project is not designed to benefit you directly. However, your participation will help us evaluate international students’ awareness of tax filing issues.
7. Confidentiality: Your participation in this study is anonymous. Neither the researcher(s) nor anyone else will know if you have participated or how you responded. We will use survey responses only on an aggregate basis and will not attempt to identify or trace individual responses. All survey responses that we receive will be treated confidentially and stored on a secured server. However, we are unable to guarantee the security of the computer on which you choose to enter your responses. Information (or data) you enter, and websites you visit online can be tracked, captured, corrupted, lost, or otherwise misused.
8. Refusal/Withdrawal: Your participation is strictly voluntary and you are free to withdraw/stop participating at any time with absolutely no penalty. Please note, however, that all questions must be answered in order for your responses to be included in the study results.
9. Contact Information: Any questions about the procedures or conduct of this research should be brought to the attention of Dr. Denise O’Shaughnessy at 270-809-4195 or doshaughnessy@murraystate.edu. Please contact her if you would like to be informed of the study results, which will take at least a few months to compile. Results derived from this survey may be presented at academic conferences or published in academic journals.
This project has been reviewed and approved by the Murray State University Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, you should contact the MSU IRB Coordinator at (270) 809-2916 or msu.irb@murraystate.edu.
Continuing with this survey indicates that you have read the study explanation above, your questions have been answered, and you agree to take part in this study.