* Adopted from Ed Lamoureux, Associate Professor, Multimedia Program and Co-Director, Bradley University. 

HSP Handout – to be completed by student and made into an SL note card. You can create one by going to Inventory / Create / New Note (be sure to label it HSP card and enter your information into the note card before saving).

My name is ______Avatar name___________________/________Real name_____________.

I am an undergraduate student enrolled in a cyberculture class (NCLC 350) at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA; part of my class is conducted in Second Life. 

We are learning about virtual communities, identities, and bodies, as well as the intersections of sex, gender, race, and ethnicity within online communities such as Second Life. I am required to do a variety of smaller research assignments in-world, as well as a larger end-of-term cyber-ethnographic/research project. 

As part of my course learning experience in-world, I will sometimes either simply observe actions, behaviors, and/or scenes, or I will ask to speak with or interview you. My observations are merely descriptive: I’ll take notes about what I observe, and I may summarize those notes in my papers, in class presentations, on our class web-blog or in our course wiki. The course blog can be found at: < http://nclc350.wordpress.com/>. And our course wiki can be found at: < http://nclc350.pbwiki.com/>. 

I will not record or publish either the SL or RL name of any avatar/person. Any observations about avatars or recording of their talk transcripts would take place only after having obtained the explicit permission (in text chat) of that avatar/person and would only happen after the name of the avatar had been changed via secret coding scheme. I will ask you if I can have your permission to use your chat as an exercise in learning. 

Any pictures taken in SL, that serve as explanatory information and which might include avatars, will be modified so that avatar names and identifying characteristics are blurred/blocked. If I ask to interview you, I will ask you first, in text chat, if I have your informed consent to continue; you may withdraw or give permission (in text chat). I may copy out parts of the chat transcript from our conversations/interviews. When I do, I will change/code your name so that there is no recorded connection between you/your avatar and the data. At any point in my interaction with you, you may choose to withdraw at any time by simply telling me you wish for me to stop.  

If you have questions regarding these studies, you can contact me, in-world or my professor, Professor Neox in-world or out of world as Kristin Scott at kscotta@gmu.edu.

------------------------------------------ (end of notecard) 

Questions you should ask, if applicable (adopted from Ed Lamoureux, Associate Professor, Multimedia Program and Co-Director, Bradley University): 

Do you read English clearly enough to understand this form and to respond?

Do you have any questions?

May I observe your behavior in this setting and make notes about it and/or take photos as part of a class exercise?

May I transcribe a copy your conversation in this location and keep it as data (remembering that I will immediately change the name attached so that the data cannot be connected to your avatar or person)?

May I practice learning to do field research on your land?

Thank you for your time and consideration of my requests.