Looking for participants

[NSPGHUGH]

Hello everyone,

I'm a third year student on a psychology course in Liverpool. I will be doing my dissertation this year and I'm looking for women whom are happy to meet at one of the university's libraries to be interviewed about their experiences of having endometriosis. I've personally had endometriosis since I was 13 and I'm now 45. Which is why I wish to analysis the interviews to discover what it feels like for other women to have endometriosis. Because I'm at the planning stage, I have no further information as yet. If you're interested please e-mail me on [e-mail].

[maxine71]

i'd happily talk about my endo life, but i'm in devon, so would have to be by phone/email etc if thats any help xx

[AkiBoo]

Hi, yes, I would be interested in what your are doing for dissertation, too. But I am also in Devon so it would need to be done by telephone or skyping. x

[Scooteeder]

Sorry to point this out... but, as you are only at the planning stage, do you even have permission from the University to contact people to use as research subjects? It is my understanding (both professionally-based, and educationally-based) that research requires ethical clearance BEFORE potential subjects may be contacted. Furthermore, because the intention is to use people who are NOT students of the University as subjects in research, you should be utterly certain that ethical clearance has been granted prior to contacting potential research subjects. As a Psychology student, it is important for you to understand that research using human subjects may be a very sensitive issue - especially if these people may be disclosing sensitive personal information (such as experiences of Endometriosis and its symptoms). In the planning stage, it's not even clear as to how you would deal with HOLDING this information, or how you would ensure ANONYMITY of subjects.

Personally, I suggest a little more planning and detailed thought is in order - to ensure that you have water-tight methods for keeping sensitive personal information safe, ensuring anonymity, and to ensure that you have gained the required ethical clearance to go ahead with the project.

There are many women on this site who have Endo, and who are happy to talk about Endo. However, this is on a forum for women with Endo. Such conversations, when used as the basis for research, become altogether a different kettle of fish - because there are implications for research subjects in terms of breach of confidentiality, and of risk of harm. Perhaps you need to refer again to University guidelines? Just double check with your Tutors/Mentors to make sure that you are going about things the right way, and make sure that you have secured ethical clearance. Having the right approach now may well lead to a good mark for the dissertation. By contrast, failing to follow ethical guidelines may land you in a heap of trouble!

Good luck with it all.

[NSPGHUGH in reply to Scooteeder]

Hi Scooteeder,

Thank you for your post and you have raised some important points. You’re right, I have just started the planning stages of my research. I am sorry if it did not come across as such, but my intention with my post was to announce that I plan to carry out a research project and to see if there was any interest. As a student of psychology I understand the need to gain ethical approval before starting any research and that includes receiving approval from ‘gatekeepers’ e.g. of sites, forums and groups. In working on the plan and proposal for the research it has become clear that I need gatekeepers provisional approval i.e. approval contingent on gaining ethical approval, before I can make an ethical application, and this also necessitates some indication of whether members would be interested. It is crucial for my course that I am not allowed to start the research project without ethical approval for all relevant and I appreciate fully the need for informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity and any other ethical principles and always set out to apply these to all of my work. With hindsight, I could have considered different ways for people who may be interested to express their interest instead of email/messaging me. I will not be posting on this specific topic of my research again until the plan has been set in concrete and I’ve received ethical approval.

Thanks for the good luck wishes I think I need it!