Attachment V - 3M Introduction to Study Letter for High School Aged Youth

Child Trends

7315 Wisconsin Avenue

Suite 1200W

Bethesda, MD 20814

www.childtrends.org

Introduction Letter/Email

Parents of Youth

Dear [PARENT OF PARTICIPANT],

Your child expressed interest in participating in a research study that Child Trends is conducting to learn more about questions that may be used in healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) programming and evaluation. We want to make sure that the questions make sense for teens. We want to make sure that the questions make sense for teens. As part of this effort, we will be doing cognitive interviews with 14-17 year old teens.

Cognitive interviews are conversations in which you are asked what you think of different questions. For example, we might ask if the wording of a question makes sense or not. The goal of cognitive interviews is to improve the quality of the questions. The goal is not to get answers to the questions.

Your child’s interview is scheduled for [DATE] at [TIME].

Attached to this letter is a consent form. It describes the study, your child’s rights as a participant, and other important information.  Please read the consent form before the interview. Please be sure that your child also reads his or her consent form. You or your child may ask any questions before we begin the interview. If after reading the consent and assent forms you or your child decides that your child should no longer participate, please call us at (240) 223-9341 to let us know.

The day before the interview, your child will receive a reminder call.  If you or your child have any questions, feel free to call (240) 223-9341. You can also email Shelby Hickman at shickman@childtrends.org with any questions.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mindy Scott, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Senior Research Scientist

Phone: 240-223-9324

mscott@childtrends.org

Introduction Letter/Email

Youth

Dear [PARTICIPANT],

Thank you for agreeing to be in this important study. The goal of this study is to learn more about questions that may be used in healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) programming and evaluation. We want to make sure that the questions make sense for teens. As part of this effort, we will be doing cognitive interviews with 14-17 year old teens.

Cognitive interviews are conversations in which you are asked what you think of different questions. For example, we might ask if the wording of a question makes sense or not. The goal of cognitive interviews is to improve the quality of the questions. The goal is not to get answers to the questions.

We look forward to speaking with you on [DATE] at [TIME].

Attached to this letter is a consent form. It describes the study, your rights as a participant, and other important information.  Please read the consent form before the interview. You may ask any questions before we begin the interview. If you read the assent form and decide you do not want to be in the study, please call us at (240) 223-9341 to let us know.

The day before the interview, you will receive a reminder call.  If you have any questions, feel free to call (240) 223-9341. You can also email Shelby Hickman at shickman@childtrends.org with any questions.  Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

Mindy Scott, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Senior Research Scientist

Phone: 240-223-9324

mscott@childtrends.org

Attachment V. Introduction Letter –High School Aged Youth. 3M Cognitive Interviews. V1. Page 2.
OMB Control Number: 0970-0355

Expiration Date: 1/31/2015