September 17, 2016

Dear Families,
I am a graduate student in the Department of Early and Middle Grades Education at West
Chester University of Pennsylvania, working toward my M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education.
As part of my Masters degree program, I will be conducting an action research assignment to
understand different perspectives related to improving reading among children in the ages 8-13.
In addition to improving reading I also plan to take this opportunity to compare traditional
reading vs e reading. What is the preferred mode of reading and what are its effects on learning.
For the next six weeks, I would like to include you (parents, teachers and students) in my
research project to gather data about what characteristics are important to you as it relates to an
improvisation in reading and learning.
During a six week period, I will be conducting informal interviews with parents about their
reading experiences with children. Informal interviews will occur twice during the six week
period and will contribute to my understanding about current reading habits and preference of
reading (traditional books vs e reading). I will also sending a survey to parents, teachers, and
students to complete. Finally, I will be examining screen vs paper reading and its effects on
learning.
All data that I collect (interviews and surveys, family logs, and comprehension test results) will
be kept confidential and no references to participant names will be used in my work. Your
confidentiality is most important and every effort will be made to insure that this research
remains confidential at all times.
Your participation in this project is completely voluntary. You may withdraw your consent to
participate at any time. Those who are participants in my research will receive a survey to
complete.
The results of this study will be used for an online website that is required in my course, The
Early Childhood Professional as Researcher, in the College of Education at WCU. Pseudonyms
or codes will be substituted for the names of the participants. This helps protect confidentiality.
The website is a private site, viewable by me, my classmates and my professor only. I will be
constructing a summary of my research project that will be shared during an online presentation.
Each participant name and the name of our school will not be included in the summary of my
research.
In the space at the bottom of this letter, please indicate whether or not you would like to
participate in this project. Participation includes informal interviews and completing a survey.
Simply return your survey if you wish to allow your responses to be included in my research.
Simply discard the survey if you choose not to participate.

Please return one copy of this completed form as soon as possible. The second copy is to keep
for your records. If you have any questions about this research project, please feel free to contact
me.
Sincerely,
Sameena Muneer

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________ I agree to participate in the interview and survey. I understand there is no risk to me
and that I may withdraw my consent at any time, without penalty.
________ I would rather not participate in the survey. I understand that this decision will have
no negative impact.

Signature and date:

______________________________________________________________________________
If you have any questions about your participation or this research project, please contact me my
email address.