INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENT

 

Project Title:     Usability Test for Northwest Digital Archives website.

Principal Investigator:    Tiah Edmunson-Morton, Reference Archivist, University Archives

Co-Investigator(s):        There is no co-investigator for this project

 

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY?

 

You are being invited to take part in a research study designed to help me understand the effectiveness of the Northwest Digital Archives (NWDA) website. The Northwest Digital Archives (NWDA) provides access to archival and manuscript materials in the Northwest through a union database of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) finding aids. I am interested in exploring the usability and effectiveness of the NWDA in comparison to other available search systems.

 

Your input will be used by those who work on the web site to make searching and locating archival information easier. It will also be part of a presentation I am giving at the Society for American Archivists conference on how much information users need about archival collections to locate relevant information. It is my hypothesis that the less information archivists provide, the harder it is to find relevant information. 

 

The archivists involved in the NWDA are genuinely concerned with how researchers are using the site, and whether information is accessible and useful. I am studying this because I believe that user’s experiences should be taken into account when archivists make decisions about processing, describing, and presenting the guides to our archival collections.

 

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS FORM?

 

This consent form gives you the information you will need to help you decide whether to be in the study or not.  Please read the form carefully.  You may ask any questions about the research, the possible risks and benefits, your rights as a volunteer, and anything else that is not clear.  When all of your questions have been answered, you can decide if you want to be in this study or not.

WHY AM I BEING INVITED TO TAKE PART IN THIS STUDY?

 

You are being invited to take part in this study because you have done or are doing research in the OSU Archives.

 

WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING THIS STUDY AND HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?

 

What to expect before the test:

Before you arrive for the testing, I will email you the consent form. Please read the form before you arrive; you do not need to bring a paper copy, as one will be provided for you at the time of the test. You must agree to the consent form before testing can begin. When you arrive at the Archives Reference Desk for the test, I will ask you to show me identification so I can verify that you are over 18. I will show you to the conference room where the testing will take place, I will explain how the study is set up and provide you some background on the NWDA. I will explain the process for the testing, explain the consent process, ask for any questions, and then will ask you to sign the consent form. I will provide you with a copy the signed form for your records.

 

What to expect during the test:

You will use a laptop computer in a conference room on the third floor of The Valley Library for this test. This computer will have an internet connection, but will not record your responses; however, I will have an audio-cassette recorder and will record your responses on an audio tape.

 

I will give you a set of questions about the NWDA site and will ask you to navigate the NWDA site to find answers and information. While the questions and activities have been predetermined, you can expect that I will ask you other questions and give you directions to get your feedback and guide you through the test.

 

Several questions will ask you to compare the NWDA to other union databases; finding aids from the Online Archive of California (http://www.oac.cdlib.org/) and the A2A database (http://www.a2a.org.uk/) will be used for comparison. You will be asked to find the same information in both databases; then, based on your search, you will be asked for feedback on the presentation of the information, ease of use, and any other reactions you would like to share.

 

Time commitment:

If you agree to take part in this study, your involvement will last for 60 minutes.

 

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF THIS STUDY?

 

The possible risks and/or discomforts associated with the procedures described in this study include: There are minimal risks to you as a participant; however, you will be observed and recorded for 60 minutes. There is a possibility that you may feel uncomfortable about being observed and having your actions recorded.

 

This study will involve initial correspondence via email. Email transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. 

 

This study will involve use of the Internet. Secure transmission of information via the Internet cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, or destroyed. 

 

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THIS STUDY?

 

There are no direct benefits to you as a participant in this study. However, we hope that, in the future, other people might benefit from this study because changes made to the presentation and processing of archival information may benefit archival researchers and allow them to be more effective in how they find meaningful archival information.

 

WILL I BE PAID FOR PARTICIPATING?

 

You will be paid for being in this research study. You will receive a $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com for your participation. This certificate will be presented even if you withdraw early from the study.

 

WHO IS PAYING FOR THIS STUDY?

 

The NWDA is providing the gift certificates for this testing. The NWDA is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

 

WHO WILL SEE THE INFORMATION I GIVE?

 

The information you provide during this research study will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law.  To help protect your confidentiality, all email correspondence and testing information will be kept on my office computer, which is password protected.

 

One aspect of this study involves making audio recordings. I will be recording the testing so I can transcribe the session after it is finished; recording our testing session will allow me to focus on the test and your questions. Tapes will be kept in my office, which is always locked in my absence; as added security, my office is in the OSU Archives Workroom, which is a locked area. I will delete all email correspondence and any other materials that pertain to this testing. I will be the only one to have access to the tapes; however, I will share the transcript with the Usability Working Group of the NWDA. Your name will be excluded from the transcription; instead, I will use your first and last initials for identification. I will erase the tapes used for recording the testing session once transcription is complete. 

 

If the results of this project are published your identity will not be made public.

 

DO I HAVE A CHOICE TO BE IN THE STUDY?

 

If you decide to take part in the study, it should be because you really want to volunteer. You will not lose any benefits or rights you would normally have if you choose not to volunteer. You can stop at any time during the study and still keep the benefits and rights you had before volunteering.

 

You will not be treated differently if you decide to stop taking part in the study. During the course of the test, you are free to skip any question you do not want to answer. If you choose to withdraw from this project before it ends, the researcher may keep information collected about you and this information may be included in study reports.