Information for participants
Who can participate?
All first-year, non-returning, undergraduates starting Bachelors courses at the Colchester campus of the University of Essex in October 2015 are invited to participate in this study.
Foundation students, second and third-year students, post-graduate students, those continuing from a Foundation course or resitting or restarting their first year, and those who have arrived at Essex as part of an exchange or Erasmus programme from another university are not eligible.
Do I have to answer the surveys if I sign up?
No, by signing up, you just give consent for the research team to get in touch with you and let you know when the surveys are. But you are completely free to answer the surveys you want.
Can I get a copy of the consent form?
Yes, you can pick one up from the stand, or you can download one from the BOOST2018 website. www.essex.ac.uk/see/boost2018
How will confidentiality be maintained and my privacy protected?
All information collected will be strictly confidential. Apart for the initial sign-up and handling of compensation, the study team will work with anonymised data.
How will I know about the surveys?
We will send you an email and a text message on your mobile phone to let you know when the surveys will take place. Some surveys will be done online and others will be done at the EssexLab.
We will also continually update this study website, our Facebook page and our Twitter account
When will the surveys take place?
There will be between 1 and 3 surveys per year. You will receive a reward whenever you complete a survey.
The more surveys you complete, the more we will understand about how your experience changes over time. You will get a £10 bonus for completing all surveys.
Here is the likely timeline (which may vary slightly):
What is the EssexLab and where is it located?
You can find information about the EssexLab here
The EssexLab is located on the ground floor of the social science building (UK Data Archive and Institute for Social and Economic Research). The entrance is across the bridge from square 2, and on the path from the North Towers bus stops to square 2.
Our interactive online map will help you navigate around campus. If you search for ISER under the ‘department, schools and centres’ category it will lead you to the building of ESSEXLab.
Download the consent form here