Study Title: Agile software game
Researcher: Yiren Li
ERGO number: 49911
You are being invited to take part in the above research study. To help you decide whether you would like to take part or not, it is important that you understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please read the information below carefully and ask questions if anything is not clear or you would like more information before you decide to take part in this research. You may like to discuss it with others but it is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you are happy to participate you will be asked to sign a consent form.
What is the research about?
This study is being undertaken for the MSc final project. I am a graduate student in software engineering and are researching whether the agile software game could be used to complement and enhance the learning of the Scrum method in agile methods. This study will be evaluating a design that was created based on a previous study. The outcome of this study would be to see if the design can effectively help users understand the Scrum method.
Why have I been asked to participate?
The participation in this study is voluntary, and participants are students of the University of Southampton. The study will consist of 9-12 participants and will be divided into 3-4 focus groups.
What will happen to me if I take part?
If you agree to participate in this study, you will first receive some simple training, such as how to operate and use this agile software game. If you already know something about agile methods, you can skip this process. Second, you will be invited to a focus group meeting. In this focus group, you will participate in testing a prototype system in a lab/office environment.
The focus group will consist of 1 visit on a location on campus, which will not exceed 2 hours. The exact building and room will be emailed to you nearer to the date of the focus group meeting.
After the focus group meeting, you will be asked to participate in a short online questionnaire which will ask you a number of questions related to the study. The questions mainly include four aspects: game usability, learning, enjoyment, and improvement suggestions.
Are there any benefits in my taking part?
This research is primarily intended to test and evaluate agile software game used to supplement and enhance the learning of the scrum method. As a participant, you may be able to understand the software development process and the interaction between different roles through this agile software game.
Are there any risks involved?
The study is being undertaken in a normal office/classroom environment and there is no risk beyond normal life.
What data will be collected?
Names, University Email Address, Consent Form (signature), records of the focus group meeting. The data will be collected through questionnaires and focus groups by the researcher in order to be analysed. The data will be stored on a private cloud storage platform, so only the researcher and the supervisor have access to it. At the end of the semester, when the project has concluded, the data will be deleted.
Will my participation be confidential?
Your participation and the information I collect about you during the research will be kept strictly confidential.
Only the researcher and responsible members of the University of Southampton may be given access to data about you for monitoring purposes and/or to carry out an audit of the study to ensure that the research is complying with applicable regulations. Individuals from regulatory authorities (people who check that I am carrying out the study correctly) may require access to your data. All of these people have a duty to keep your information, as a research participant, strictly confidential.
As part of the focus group meeting, the meeting will be recorded in the form of notes or recordings. In the case of recording, to ensure data confidentiality, the recording will be transcribed and any personal information will be deleted. And to ensure that the original recording file will be deleted after the transcription is completed and verified.
Do I have to take part?
No, it is entirely up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you decide you want to take part, you will need to sign a consent form to show you have agreed to take part.
What happens if I change my mind?
You have the right to change your mind and withdraw at any time without giving a reason and without your participant rights being affected.
If you decide to withdraw from the study at any time, please contact the researcher (yl4y18@soton.ac.uk).
If you withdraw from the study, I will keep the information about you that I have already obtained for the purposes of achieving the objectives of the study only.
What will happen to the results of the research?
Your personal details will remain strictly confidential. Research findings made available in any reports or publications will not include information that can directly identify you without your specific consent.
The results will be analysed to create a final design prototype which can help achieve the aim of the project. This will then be used to write a research paper as part of the final project. Although the research may be useful in future studies, it is not guaranteed that it will be expanded upon in the future.
Where can I get more information?
You are free to contact the researcher at any time before and after the study for additional information via university Email addresses. Contact detail is: yl4y18@soton.ac.uk.
What happens if there is a problem?
If you have a concern about any aspect of this study, you should speak to the researcher who will do the best to answer your questions.
If you remain unhappy or have a complaint about any aspect of this study, please contact the University of Southampton Research Integrity and Governance Manager (023 8059 5058, rgoinfo@soton.ac.uk).
Contact detail for the researcher: yl4y18@soton.ac.uk.
Data Protection Privacy Notice
The University of Southampton conducts research to the highest standards of research integrity. As a publicly-funded organisation, the University has to ensure that it is in the public interest when we use personally-identifiable information about people who have agreed to take part in research. This means that when you agree to take part in a research study, we will use information about you in the ways needed, and for the purposes specified, to conduct and complete the research project. Under data protection law, ‘Personal data’ means any information that relates to and is capable of identifying a living individual. The University’s data protection policy governing the use of personal data by the University can be found on its website (https://www.southampton.ac.uk/legalservices/what-we-do/data-protection-and-foi.page).
This Participant Information Sheet tells you what data will be collected for this project and whether this includes any personal data. Please ask the research team if you have any questions or are unclear what data is being collected about you.
Our privacy notice for research participants provides more information on how the University of Southampton collects and uses your personal data when you take part in one of our research projects and can be found at http://www.southampton.ac.uk/assets/sharepoint/intranet/ls/Public/Research%20and%20Integrity%20Privacy%20Notice/Privacy%20Notice%20for%20Research%20Participants.pdf
Any personal data we collect in this study will be used only for the purposes of carrying out our research and will be handled according to the University’s policies in line with data protection law. If any personal data is used from which you can be identified directly, it will not be disclosed to anyone else without your consent unless the University of Southampton is required by law to disclose it.
Data protection law requires us to have a valid legal reason (‘lawful basis’) to process and use your Personal data. The lawful basis for processing personal information in this research study is for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. Personal data collected for research will not be used for any other purpose.
For the purposes of data protection law, the University of Southampton is the ‘Data Controller’ for this study, which means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. The University of Southampton will keep identifiable information about you for 3 months after the study has finished after which time any link between you and your information will be removed.
To safeguard your rights, we will use the minimum personal data necessary to achieve our research study objectives. Your data protection rights – such as to access, change, or transfer such information - may be limited, however, in order for the research output to be reliable and accurate. The University will not do anything with your personal data that you would not reasonably expect.
If you have any questions about how your personal data is used, or wish to exercise any of your rights, please consult the University’s data protection webpage (https://www.southampton.ac.uk/legalservices/what-we-do/data-protection-and-foi.page) where you can make a request using our online form. If you need further assistance, please contact the University’s Data Protection Officer (data.protection@soton.ac.uk).
As part of the focus group meeting, the meeting will be recorded in the form of notes or audio recording. If the audio recording is taken, the data will be anonymized when the recording is transcribed.For example, the nationality of the participant, if mentioned in the audio recording, will be replaced with “[NATIONALITY]”.
Thank you.
Thank the individual for taking the time to read the information sheet and considering taking part in the research. We hope you will enjoy our game and we look forward to receiving your perceptions about the game. Here is the link of "ScrumLearning" game: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EWr-mXwjsUu8QTC6rZ9j_Z2Zx7VVgx35/view?usp=sharing
I have read and understood the information sheet (participant information sheet version 1.0) and have had the opportunity to ask questions about the study.
I agree to take part in this research project and agree for my data to be used for the purpose of this study.
I understand my participation is voluntary and I may withdraw (at any time) for any reason without my participation rights being affected.
I understand that should I withdraw from the study then the information collected about me up to this point may still be used for the purposes of achieving the objectives of the study only.
I understand that I will not be directly identified in any reports of the research.
