Hello and welcome to our study,
The MLSE Foundation in collaboration with Dr Simon Darnell of the University of Toronto Centre for Sport Policy Studies is engaging in a research study to better understand issues of access, engagement, safety and equity in youth sport, which you are invited to participate in.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to learn about the diversity of youth who are able to access and play sport, and whether interests and experiences are associated with gender, race, ability, geography and other intersections of identity.
Recruitment: Youth aged 6-29 and/or parents/guardians on behalf of youth are being invited to complete a short online questionnaire. The target goal is for at least 8000 youth survey participants to have completed the survey by mid November 2023.
Participation: The commitment involves filling out one anonymous 6-8 min online Survey Monkey questionnaire about you and your identity, interests and any experiences with sport. Some demographic information such as age, gender and ethnicity will be asked in order to learn about the different kinds of experiences by people who identify differently.
Voluntary: Your participation is voluntary and you do not need to participate in this research in order to sign up for any sport program. If you are not comfortable answering a question, you may choose not to answer.
Benefits: The feedback provided may help generate new knowledge to an under-researched intersection of sport engagement and equity. Key insights and recommendations will be used to inform the provision of safe and inclusive sport for youth. The results of the research will be publicly available online for organizations, funders and policymakers to access which may help inform and improve the diversity and quality of sport opportunities available in different communities.
Risks: The risks of involvement in this project are minimal. There is a chance you might feel some emotional discomfort in reflecting on your experiences related to sport, privilege and/or marginalization. You may skip any questions you do not feel comfortable in answering.
Prize Draw: Everyone who completes the survey will be eligible to be entered in a draw for a grand prize of tickets to a future Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto FC or Toronto Argos home game and/or a special apparel package from one of the teams. At the end of the questionnaire, you will have an opportunity to volunteer your e-mail address for inclusion in a prize draw for interested participants. This is the only time your name and contact will be asked, and it will be deleted directly by the Project Lead identified below upon completion and fulfillment of the prize draw.
Data Storage: If you enter your contact information for the prize draw, it will take you to a separate link that is not connected to any of the survey questions. Individuals who will have access to the raw data are to specific members of the project team. Upon completion of the project, all raw data will be removed from Survey Monkey and downloaded directly to a secure MLSE server with additional password protections known only to the project team.
Confidentiality: The research team treats all responses to survey questions as confidential. Shared results or reports from the research team will only involve anonymized, aggregated findings that do not include personally-identifying information. If you choose to enter additional open-ended feedback, any direct quotes used in reports will be anonymous without participants being able to vet quotes or be individually identified as the source of quotes.
More information, additional details about the project team, an FAQ, and past reports have been made publicly available at https://www.mlsefoundation
