Who are we?
Gema Martin-Ordas (gema.martin-ordas@stir.ac.uk)
Lecturer
I am interested in how children learn and develop. Our studies are set up as games – by asking children simple questions we can learn how they think about the world and how their thinking changes over time.
What will happen?
You will be asked to provide your consent after reading about the study and procedures. Your child will also provide verbal assent. Then, your child will be presented with a short game in which s/he will see two short videos with some characters in different situations, and will be asked some questions. Your child will answer the questions by providing simple verbal answers. There are no right or wrong answers. The game will be recorded via your webcam.
Where and when can I participate?
You can participate from your home (or anywhere with a computer!) whenever it is convenient for you. The links to the studies are on Online studies section. Click on the one that you find more interesting and the study will launch. All you need to take part in the studies is a computer–laptop or desktop- with Chrome or Firefox, a reliable internet connection and a webcam.
Who can participate?
Children 3-5 years of age are invited to participate. If you have more than one child within this age range, they can also take part in the study. We ask you that each child participates separately, and that they do not watch each other’s participation. This is because we are interested in children’s individual responses.
Does your child have to take part?
No, your child does not have to take part and this will not affect them in any way. If you decide to let your child take part, you can withdraw their participation at any time without needing to explain and without penalty by advising the researcher of this decision.
How long does it take to participate in a study?
Participation takes 10-15 minutes, including parental consent and questions to parents. Participation is completely voluntary, and if your child does not like the study, gets bored or fuzzy, you can stop the study by closing the web browser.
Why is the study video recorded? Who can see the videos?
We need to record the study because we have to make sure that a parent is present to consent. It is also important for us to follow strict academic standards, one of which is to take video recordings so that multiple raters can code the responses and compute the degree of consensus amongst different raters. Only members of the research team will have access to the videos. All recordings will be stored and encrypted on the University of Stirling Research Drive, hosted by Microsoft. Recordings will be then downloaded to a secure password protected computer and will be deleted from the password protected server. All information is confidential. We will not ask for your or your child’s name, or other identifying information during the video.
If you have more questions, please contact gema.martin-ordas@stir.ac.uk