What's Involved
Call for Participation has now concluded. Thank you for your interest in the YMAP project.
Are you an Australian citizen or permanent resident aged 18-30 and currently spending six months or more living, working, studying or travelling outside of Australia?
OR
Are you a citizen/resident of a country other than Australia aged 18-30 and currently spending six months or more living, working, studying or travelling in Australia?
If you answer YES to either of the above sets of questions, then we warmly invite you to participate in our Youth Mobility, Aspirations and Pathways (YMAP) project.
This Australian Research Council Discovery Project is a five-year longitudinal study examines the international mobility of 2000 young people – moving both in and out of Australia – in order to understand its effects on their economic opportunities, social and family ties, and sense of citizenship. We want to know how young people think about and experience moving and living overseas: what are the highs and lows, the pros and cons? We're interested in how youth manage mobility and develop economic, social and civic benefits and manage challenges.
Participants will be asked to complete a survey (up to three times, over the course of the project). A small subset of participants will also be asked if they wish to participate in a series of in-depth Zoom/Skype or face-to-face interviews (three times, over the course of the project) and/or a series of online tasks (three times, over the course of the project). These tasks will include posting in-the-moment videos, screen recordings, photos and notes.
Confidentiality
Your participation is entirely voluntary and you can decide to withdraw from the project at any time, and without reason. If you decide to withdraw, there will be no negative consequences, your data will be destroyed and you will no longer be contacted by the researchers (the only exception to this is in the case of unidentifiable information already provided that cannot be extracted because it cannot be linked to you).
Anonymity
All participants will be assigned a pseudonym and data used in project outcomes such as reports or published findings will not contain names or identifying characteristics. All information gathered from participants will be kept securely on university networked and password protected cloud storage. Only the research team directly linked with the project will have access to the raw data during the project.
Benefits of taking part
As well as the enjoyment of participating in this research project, your participation also gives you the opportunity to reflect on and develop insight into your life experiences and to share your hopes, aspirations and concerns. Data collected will advise government and non-government stakeholders who facilitate diverse kinds of youth mobilities (e.g. youth social services and education providers) about how to maximise potential benefits that flow from these mobilities.
Possible risks?
Taking part may involve the disclosure of sensitive personal information (e.g. issues related to cultural identity, belonging, life plans and hopes will be explored). While it is highly unlikely, there is a potential for you to experience some discomfort or distress when responding to project questions. If this occurs, please contact Lifeline (a 24 hour counselling service) on 13 11 14 if you are in Australia. If you are outside Australia, please contact Befrienders Worldwide (assist with finding an emotional support service in your country) https://www.befrienders.org/.
Please also feel free to contact the research team directly and we will recommend an appropriate local service:
Ethics approval
This research project has been approved by the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee (project number 2017-315). If you have any further enquiries or wish to make a comment, please contact us. If you have any concerns or complaints about the conduct of this research project which you do not wish to discuss with the research team, you may contact:
The Manager - Integrity, Ethics and Biosafety
Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus
Telephone: +61 3 9251 7129