Participation Information Sheet
Dear English Language Learner,
We would like to invite you to participate in an online questionnaire study conducted by researchers at the University of Graz– the link is https://edu.survey.uni-graz.at/index.php/331461?lang=en. The purpose of the research is to better understand language learners’ emotions, such as embarrassment in relation to other learner variables, for example, attitudes and perceptions of the learning environment. Your participation in this study is greatly appreciated as it will help adding further detail to the understanding of language learner psychology. However, please consider beforehand how comfortable you feel reflecting on moments of embarrassment. If you anticipate feeling discomfort, then perhaps consider not taking part.
The questionnaire takes about 5-10 minutes to complete, and you can choose to stop at any time. There are no right or wrong answers. Please, answer all the questions honestly as only this will guarantee that your participation impacts the study positively. There are no anticipated risks in participating in this study. We will not ask for any identifying information. There will be some demographic questions, which can be answered voluntarily, but it is not possible to identify you personally from these. Participation in this survey is entirely voluntary and anonymous, and your responses will be treated confidentially.
The collected data will be stored safely on a computer and will be subjected to statistical analyses. We will not collect any identifying data with your questionnaire responses. Consequently, any report on this study will not include any information that will make it possible to identify any participants personally. All or part of the content of the survey data may be used in academic papers, policy papers, conference presentations, or news/blog articles.
If you feel that the data collected in this study is misused, you have the right to contact the data protection authority (Art. 77, GDPR) (contact details: Dr. Birgit Strauß-Koscher [data protection officer at the Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz]; +43 (0)316 380–2139; dsba(at)uni-graz.at).
This study has received approval from the Ethics Committee of the University of Graz (No.39/7/63 ex 2023/24).
For questions about the study, please contact:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Sarah Mercer: sarah.mercer(at)uni-graz.at
Dr. Gholam Hassan Khajavy: gholam.khajavy-fadafen(at)uni-graz.at
Dr. Dávid Smid: david.smid(at)uni-graz.at
Carlos Murillo-Miranda, MA: carlos.murillo-miranda(at)edu.uni-graz.at
Many thanks for your help and input!