FAQ

Below you will find answers to some frequently asked questions about our study. If you have any other questions or clarifications needed, please contact us here.

1. Is participation compulsory?
Participation is on a voluntary basis. Participants are free to withdraw from this study at any time prior to publication without penalty, prejudice, negative consequences, repercussion or disadvantage. The decision to withdraw from this study will also be kept confidential. 

2. What will the commitment level be should I choose to join the project?
As this is a longitudinal study, data collection will take place over three waves over the course of three years.

Parents/Caregivers. We will ask parents/caregivers to complete survey booklets once a year (no more than 45 minutes). This annual survey will help us understand more about your child's behavior, family background and general well-being.

Child. We will meet your child/ward yearly for between 60 to 90 minutes at a suitable venue (e.g., school) and time that will be mutually arranged. During this meeting, we will be using a range of activities that involve asking questions, solving activities, and writing to understand your child’s development. There will be no photography or video recording in this study but some responses of your child may be audio recorded for further analysis.

Teachers. Your child’s teachers will also be asked to fill in survey about your child and what he or she is doing to support your child.

Classmates. We also be asking your child’s classmates (if appropriate) to rate their relationships with children in the class and to rate their general life satisfaction (no more than 15 minutes). We respect your child's privacy and your child will not be identified as having a special educational need to the classmate. 

3. Will my (child's) data be kept confidential should I choose to participate?
While personal data will be collected from this study, all information collected is strictly confidential. Unless written permission is provided, the identity of participants will not be disclosed in the reporting of the research data nor in any intended publication of any sort, be it electronic or print media. All records containing personal information will remain confidential and no information, which could lead to identification of any individual, will be released. All participants will only be identified by their assigned participant code during the process of data analysis by the research team. Information collected will not be shared with anyone outside the university without prior written consent. All physical records will be destroyed at the end of this study. They will however be scanned and stored in electronic format for 10 years in accordance with the university policy. Likewise, all audio recorded files of language samples will be deleted at the end of 10 years.

4. Are there any risks/dangers/ethical issues involved in this study? 
Prior approval has been received from the NTU Institutional Review Board. There is no foreseeable risks/dangers/ethical issues that may potentially harm/injure our participants. 

5. What are the benefits of participating in this study?
Each parent will receive an annual developmental summary of their child following the completion of the research tasks for the given year. In addition, a small annual token of appreciation will be given to all our participants (teachers, parents, children).