In my research, I aim to look into the

December 26, 2018

Research Ethics Application
Name: AshaDevi Arunlal

Year:

 2018
Programme: Advanced Applied Management

Research Project
Research project title: What are the study and settlement expectations of international students at NMIT and how far it is met?
Summary of research project and methods:
At least enough detail to accurately assess your methods and the ethical implications.

In my research, I aim to look into the International student’s study satisfaction and their settlement experiences at NMIT. The main purpose of my study is to see the extend of study satisfaction among international students through a questionnaire survey and I believed that the findings of the study will provide an insight to the authorities at NMIT in identifying student’s problems so that corrective measures can be considered. This study “International Student study satisfaction and settlement experiences at NMIT” will be conducted through survey by Survey Monkey. International students as my participants for the survey so I collected their mail ID directly. The invitation link will be send to the participants email and the survey will be open for two weeks. I will analyse survey responses using the basic ‘Analysis tool’ available in survey monkey. My study has the following objectives.

  • “To identify the level of study satisfaction among international students at NMIT.

  • To measure the extent to which support services have an impact on student adjustment.

  • To examine the frequency of support services utilized by international students.

  • To evaluate the gaps in expectation and reality in international education in New Zealand.

  • To investigate the issues that concerns international students”.

Ethics
For guidance on research ethics please read the NMIT Code of Ethical Conduct for Research or talk to the Research and Knowledge Exchange Co-ordinator.  There are brief Instructions at the end of this document but this is not a comprehensive guide.
Ethics Category: ☐ Category A

✓ 

 Category B
Have you received prior ethical approval for this research project:

 

 Yes ☐✓ No
Participant involvement:
Provide details on all participant involvement.  How will participants be contacted and recruited? What will participants will be asked to do and how often? What information will they will be required to provide and how often?
The data will be collected from fifty international students through survey Monkey. The survey monkey contains 13 to 15 questions and requires approximately ten minutes completing. Efforts will be done to collect students who complete 6 months or less at NMIT. Data will be collected from fifty international students. The informed consent statement will be at the beginning of the survey they can click next and start the survey. The survey link will be open for two weeks.
Informed consent:
Detail how you will obtain informed consent from participants.  Attach a copy (below) of your informed consent form and disclaimer.  Have you clearly outlined participant’s rights to withdraw from the study?
Informed consent will be at the beginning of the survey. The participants can read the terms and click ‘next’ if they want to participate in the survey.
Title: What are the study and settlement expectations of international students at NMIT and how far it is met?
Dear Participant,
My Name is AshaDevi Arunlal and I am currently studying Graduate Diploma in Applied Management at NMIT Nelson. I am researching on International Students satisfaction and settlement experience at NMIT, Nelson. I am looking for international students who are age of 18 years and above and have arrived not more than six months and are enrolled in a long term course lasting for more than six months.
The purpose of this survey is to know about the extent of satisfaction among the international students and their settlement experiences.
This project has been approved by the NMIT Research and Ethics Committee. No personally identifiable information is being collected.
It should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. The Survey link will be open for two weeks and you are welcome to do it any time in between.
The researchers greatly appreciate your involvement and the time taken to assist with this valuable research. Should you choose not to participate or not complete the survey you will not be disadvantaged in any way.
If you would like to more about the research please contact me at [email protected]. or my supervisor at [email protected]
By clicking the “next” button below, you are agreeing to participate in my research project.
Thanks and Regards
AshaDevi Arunlal
Procedures to share information with participants:
How will you disseminate your research findings to participants?
I will include my email address at the beginning of the survey so that participants can email me should they wish to get a summary of my report. A copy of the project will also be kept in the library
Anonymity and confidentiality:
How will you protect participant’s identity and personal information?   Will identifying data be de-linked? Provide details on data storage and security, return, disposal or destruction of identifying data. 
Number codes will be assigned to participants rather than names. Data will be stored in a pass worded personal. The responses will be anonymous due to delinking the individuals from their data.
Study Limitations:
Outline the limitations of your research methodology e.g. small sample size, researcher and/or participant bias, methodology employed due to time constraints
  • If there is any problem in getting student information from NMIT, then it can be a limitation. To prevent this prior ethical clearance will be obtained from NMIT to continue with the survey.
  • To minimise the limitation due to time constraints that occurs because of exams, classes and other assignments, help can be taken form tutor and library staffs to deal with the project successfully.
  • There is a limitation in getting the samples due to summer break; hence I have decided to collect student’s emails from current level 7 and level 8 batches.
Supervision:
Detail how your project will be supervised.
My Supervisor is Apekshi Jayawardena
Potential harm:
Outline any potential harm to participants, researchers or NMIT and provide details on how this will be managed and/or mitigated.
None.
Deception:
Detail any deception, the need for this, how this will be managed and how participants will be debriefed.
None.
Vulnerable participants:
Will your research involved children or vulnerable participants?  Provide details on how informed consent will be obtained.
None
Cultural sensitivity:
Researchers must ensure that their actions are appropriately sensitive to participants’ cultural and social frameworks. Detail any issues relating to Māori and other cultures’ ethical values.  Has there been a consultation process with the community concerned?
As I am of one culture and will be asking questions of a range of other cultures, there is the possibility of cross-cultural communication issues. Hence survey questions will be pilot tested on the MGT737 class before it is circulated to be relatively sure that the questions are clearly worded and unambiguous. This will help to address if there is any cultural issues with the questionnaire and I can change it.
Conflict of interest:
Detail any potential conflicts of interest or roles i.e. students as participants. 
The conflicts of interest can include emotional where the participants stay back from research. This can be reduced by giving them proper information about the needs and purpose of the research. Data will be collected from fifty international students who were not completed more than 6 months in NMIT. There can be chances that students who are really new who has just completed three months can stay back in telling adverse experiences with NMIT. This is been rectified by changing participants who has completed up to six months.
Other ethical or legal issues:
Are there any other ethical or legal issues relevant to this research?  List any issues you would like to discuss with the NMIT Research and Ethics Committee.
None