Greetings, my name is Christine Angel.
I am a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina. I am conducting a research study that will explore descriptive tagging and online digital collections among information professionals working in library, archive and museum institutions. I am inviting you to participate in this study, which is sponsored, in part, by the U.S. Institution of Museum and Library Services.
Research participants will be asked to apply descriptive metadata to twenty randomly selected digital artifacts and to complete an online survey consisting of the following demographic information: (1) gender, (2) age, (3) geographic region, (4) type of information professional, (5) type of institution you work for, (6) years of experience, and (7) level of education. The time required to complete the work will be approximately 30 minutes. (Please note, that once the survey process begins, it must be completed in one pass.) The application of descriptive metadata to these documents does not require any advance knowledge. There are no correct or incorrect answers to the work you are doing. In no case will individual participants be asked to provide their name.
Participation is confidential. Your responses will be protected during the data collection and analysis process. In no case will individual participants be identified by name or institution. All data collected online from research participants will be tracked via a unique number coded according to user group defined as "library professional," "archive professional," or "museum professional."
All data collected about research participants during the course of this study will be kept confidential. The results of the study may be presented at various professional conferences and published in professional journals. Participation is anonymous, which means that no one (not even the principal investigator) will be able to connect your answers to your name or institution.
There are no direct benefits for participation in this study. The principal investigator will not be responsible for any costs incurred for participation in this study. Taking part in the study is your decision. You may also stop your participation in the study at any time. We will be happy to answer any questions you have about the study.
Contact
You may contact me at 919-922-0582 or christine.m.angel@gmail.com or my faculty advisor, Dr. Samantha K. Hastings at 803-777-3858 or hastings@sc.edu. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the Office of Research Compliance at the University of South Carolina at 803-777-7095.
