I am a graduate student in the Sociology
department at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale,
Illinois, USA. I am carrying out a study of language use in
online communities. As part of this study I will analyze
messages posted to this club. This project will result in
a research paper written for a Sociology research
methods course at my school, in which text from messages
posted may be quoted described and analyzed. It is
possible that this paper may be presented at lectures and
conferences and perhaps published in scholarly publications.
All materials will be kept anonymous. At no time will
any individual’s Yahoo identification be associated
with any quoted message text. The goal of this study
is to describe and study language use in online
communities, not to evaluate them or their members.<br> There
are no risks or benefits involved in this project. I
am willing to reply via email to any member of this
club and provide examples of how posted message text
may be used in this study. If any member of this club
would prefer I refrain from quoting any message text
posted by them please contact me via email at
football_researcher@.... <br> This study has been reviewed and approved by
the Southern Illinois University Human Subjects
Committee. The Committee believes that the methods and
procedures of this study adequately safeguard the subjects’
privacy, welfare, civil liberties and rights. If you have
any questions about your participation in this study
please email me or contact my project director at
kbward@.... <br> Thank you once again for your participation
in this project.