Hello! I’m Lia Schuermann, a PhD candidate at Texas Woman’s University, and I’d like to invite you to participate in my oral history study. The purpose of this study is to collaborate to tell mixed Chicana’s stories of their cultural expression and identity & enable the American public to be more aware of mixed Chicanas’ presence and to be more understanding of their culture through their varied stories.
To participate, you must be a mixed, female Mexican-American/Chicana who has at least one parent with a Mexican/Mexican-American/Indigenous American (Mexico & Southwest U.S.) identity and at least one parent with a different racial/ethnic identity (can be the same parent). As a mixed Chicana myself, your participation in this study will help me highlight our stories and experiences because they deserve to be told and we deserve to be heard.
The total time commitment is 6 hours & is completely optional. Participation involves the following:
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Filling out a pre-screening survey, informed consent form, and an additional survey on Google Forms that will take no longer than 20 minutes each.
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Participating in a Zoom interview which will take no longer than 2 hours. The interview will be video-recorded or audio-recorded (with an included self-image).
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Reviewing the final version of the recording and transcript to ensure participant satisfaction and collaboration that will take no longer than 3 hours.
All video & audio recordings will be transcribed and potentially used for analysis & research published in conferences and/or articles, and you may opt-in to include your interview (and potentially shared images) in an online, public archive. A pseudonym will be used upon request during the interview.
How to get started:
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If you, or someone in your network, are interested in participating, start by taking an online pre-screening survey via Google form. If you qualify, you will be emailed a link to a consent form where you can choose to participate and submit your consent.
Thank you for reading through the call for research participants! If you have any questions about the study in general, or any part of the study, please email me at lschuermann or my faculty advisor at dlackey.
If you have questions about your rights as a participant in this research or the way this study has been conducted, you may contact the Texas Woman’s University Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at (940) 898-3378 or via e-mail at IRB.
Your participation is voluntary, and you may decline participation without penalty. Note: There is a potential risk of loss of confidentiality in all email, downloading, electronic meetings, and internet transactions. The investigators of this study will take every measure of precaution into account when handling email correspondences. Data from your questionnaire will be stored in Google Forms using the primary researcher’s TWU Google account. Google forms will collect your emails. Google Calendar will collect your first and last name and your email. Participants must be logged into their Google account to schedule their appointments for this study.
IRB-FY2022-449
Warmly,
Lia Schuermann
PhD Candidate, Texas Woman’s University