[ACLA-CAAL] Letter of Introduction & Recruitment of Participants

[Anwar Uddin Ahmed]

Dear colleagues:

My name is Anwar Ahmed, and I am an assistant professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics at York University in Toronto, Ontario. I write to you with a request to identify and recommend post-secondary students who may be willing to participate in my research study: Exploring the Role of Emotions in Multilingual Students' Academic Writing: A Pilot Study.

My primary goal in this project is to better understand the inter-relationship between multilingual students' emotions and their development of academic writing in English. The study is concerned with international students currently enrolled in Canadian post-secondary institutions. This population deserves research attention because there is an increasingly large body of students whose first language is not English; yet, their academic success depends, to a large extent, on their ability to write in this language. By investigating the role and place of emotions in EAP education, this study will aim to provide pedagogical and methodological implications for instructors and researchers of academic writing.

I would greatly appreciate your support to identify participants for this study. Please note that the participants (1) must be enrolled in a Canadian post-secondary institution, (2) are at least 18 years old, and (3) use English as a second/additional language for academic purposes.

The participants will be asked to take part in one semi-structured individual interview. Interviews are designed to last no longer than 90 minutes. Interviews will be conducted in English at a time convenient to the participants. All interviews will be completed between November 2020 and January 2021. Participants will receive $20 Amazon gift card in appreciation of their time.

Participants will join the interview via Zoom. Audio recording function will be used to record the interviews.

Please be assured that participants' privacy will be protected at all times. The interview transcripts and recordings will be kept confidential. Any reference made to the participants' programs and institutions will be done using pseudonyms in order to protect anonymity in any subsequent presentations or publications. I will take great care to ensure that the identities of participants and their background information are not revealed in any form or fashion.

All data, including audio recordings and transcripts, will be stored on my full disk encrypted, password-protected computer and on secure York University server. All data will be destroyed no later than five years following the completion of the study.

There are no known or anticipated risks associated with participation in this study. Please note that I will not collect or use internet protocol (IP) addresses or other information which could link interviews to the participants' computer or other electronic devices.

Of note, participants may withdraw from this study at any time should they wish, with no adverse consequences, simply by emailing me at sardar15 at yorku.ca<mailto:sardar15 at yorku.ca> In this case, their data will be immediately destroyed. However, it is not possible to withdraw consent once research papers and presentations have been submitted to publishers or conferences.

If you have any ethics-related questions or concerns about this research project, please contact the York University Office of Research Ethics at 416-736-5914 or ore at yorku.ca<mailto:ore at yorku.ca> For all other questions, please contact me at sardar15 at yorku.ca<mailto:sardar15 at yorku.ca>

Thank you, in advance, for your support.


Anwar Ahmed

Assistant Professor

Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics
York University, Toronto, ON
New publications:
https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9783030641399
https://www.routledge.com/9780367442750

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