Briefing Sheet for Use with Recruited Student Participants, Jessamine County, 1998

Q: Why am I here?
A: You are here because you have been invited to participate in a research effort for the Jessamine County School System.

Q: What do you want me to do?
A: We would like you to participate in a focus group, which is a guided conversation about a certain topic.

Q: What do you want me to talk about?
A: We would like you to talk about school safety and school climate.

Q: Who wants to know?
A: A variety of people, including the Jessamine County School System, the School Board, and the Partnership for Kentucky Schools.

Q: How was my name chosen?
A: Your name was chosen through a process of random sampling, which means that the researchers took a list of all students at the school and drew some random numbers, kind of like a raffle, until they had enough students for the group.

Q: Who else will be there?
A: For high school and middle school groups: You will be in a group with six or seven other students of the same gender. There will be a mix of students from different grades, who vary on other factors as well.

For elementary school groups: You will be in a group with seven or eight other students from grades 4 and 5.

Q: Anyone else?
A: For high school and middle school groups: Yes, there will be two high school students there who will be the facilitators, the people who guide the conversation and ask you questions. For female groups, there will be female facilitators, and male groups will have male facilitators. There may also be one or two adults at the site who will be there to make sure that everything goes well. They will stay outside the room while the focus group takes place.

For elementary school groups: Yes, your school counselors will guide the conversation. There may be one or two other adults at the site who will be there to make sure that everything goes well.

Q: When will this take place?
A: The focus group will take place on [insert date and time], here at school in Room X, which means that you will be excused from class. There will be refreshments.

Q: Can I say whatever I want?
A: Yes. The researchers will make a tape recording of the conversation and will make a written copy of parts of that tape, but will remove all names from the record. Your identity will be kept strictly confidential.

Q: Do I need to bring anything?
A: Just your ideas, opinions, and feelings. If you agree to participate, we need you to return this parent permission form by [insert date] to [insert recruiter's name]. We need a maximum of eight students, so there's a chance that we may not need you to participate. We will take students in the order in which they show up at the group.