San Francisco State University
Informed Consent to Participate in Research
MA2 App

A. PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

The purpose of this research is to gain insight regarding the microaggressive and microaffirmative experiences that students encounter.

The researchers, Leticia Marquez-Magaña, Charlotte Tate, and Lindsey Seril are professors and graduate students at San Francisco State University conducting research for SF BUILD. You are being asked to participate in this study because you are an SF State student.

B. PROCEDURES

If you agree to participate in this research, the following will occur:

  • You will watch a tutorial video about microaggressions, microaffirmations, and how to utilize the MA2 app, which will take approximately 7 minutes.
  • You will complete a pre-assessment in the MA2 app, which will take approximately 10 minutes. It will ask about your feelings of school connectedness, self-efficacy, sense of dignity, sleep quality, and a few demographic questions.
  • You will log microaggressions and microaffirmations experienced on SF State’s campus within the app. Each entry should take approximately 5 minutes to log.
  • You will receive one notification from the app a day, Monday through Friday. You will earn $1 for each notification you accept within 1 hour of receiving. Responding to a notification takes less than a minute.
  • You will complete a post-assessment in the app, which will take approximately 10 minutes. It will ask about your feelings of school connectedness, self-efficacy, sense of dignity, sleep quality, and about your experience with the app.

The minimum time commitment, in total, is approximately 27 minutes (if you do not create any reports or respond to any notifications).

C. RISKS

There is a possibility of psychological risk and discomfort associated with identifying and logging microaggressions; however, there is no more risk than what would be experienced in daily life. If you feel uncomfortable at any time, you may stop participating in the study. There is also the possibility of loss of privacy. To mitigate this risk, you will never be asked to provide your name. You will be assigned a unique, de-identified numerical code that corresponds with your app activity.

D. CONFIDENTIALITY

Research data will be stored in an encrypted database. Data will only be accessed by the researchers on a password-protected computer. Data will only be accessed by the researchers on a password-protected computer and will be kept for a minimum of 10 years.

Users cannot request that their anonymous data be deleted because that would violate anonymity.

E. DIRECT BENEFITS

There will be no direct benefits to you as the participant.

F. COSTS

There will be no cost to you for participating in this research.

G. COMPENSATION

There will be no automatic compensation for participating in this research. You will receive $5 for downloading the app and completing the pre-assessment, and you may earn up to $5 a week for responding to app notifications within one hour of receiving them.

H. ALTERNATIVES

The alternative is not to participate in the research.

I. QUESTIONS

If you have any questions about the study, you may ask the researchers on ma2sfsu.blogspot.com or contact Lindsey Seril directly at lseril@mail.sfsu.edu.

Questions about your rights as a study participant, or comments or complaints about the study, may also be addressed to the Human and Animal Protections at (415) 338-1093 or protocol@sfsu.edu.

PARTICIPATION IN THIS RESEARCH IS VOLUNTARY. You are free to decline to participate in this research, or to withdraw your participation at any point, without penalty. Your decision whether or not to participate in this research will have no influence on your present or future status at San Francisco State University.

By proceeding in the MA2 app, you are agreeing to participation in this research study.