Memes in Situ: Understanding Publics through Rhetorical Field Methods in Mediated Environments

Welcome!  You are invited to participate in a research project conducted through the University of Northern Iowa.  The University requires that you give agreement to participate in this study. The following information is provided to help you make an informed decision about whether or not to participate.

The goal of this project is to explore the creation of memes and the communities that are developing around them.  

This survey of demographic information and scheduling information should take 2-5 minutes to complete, then will be followed by an electronic interview through a video conference service. Only the investigators will have access to this data and all results will be presented only in the aggregate format to others if the findings are presented at a conference or published. The answers you provide will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law. We will not collect information that would let us identify you as an individual; IP addresses will not be collected in the course of the study and results will only be shared in aggregated form. Your confidentiality will be maintained to the degree permitted by the technology used. Specifically, no guarantees can be made regarding the interception of data sent via the Internet by any third parties.

There are no foreseeable risks to you as a participant in this project; nor are there any direct benefits.  However, your input is greatly valued and will shed light on our understanding of communities around meme development.  

Your participation is completely voluntary.  You are free to withdraw from participation at any time or to choose not to participate at all, and by doing so, you will not be penalized or lose benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.

Finally, if you have any questions about the survey, please contact Ismael Quinones or Jackson Specker by calling 319-273-6118 or emailing at speckerj@uni.edu or quinonef@uni.edu  If they are not available when you call, please leave a message and they will call back. If you have questions about your rights as a participant in this research project, please contact the UNI Institutional Review Board (IRB) Human Protections Administrator at 319-273-6148 or by e-mail at anita.gordon@uni.edu.

I am fully aware of the nature and extent of my participation in this project as stated above and the possible risks arising from it. I hereby agree to participate in this project. I am 18 years of age or older.  By clicking YES below, I consent to participate in this project.