Consent Form
You are invited to take part in a research study about how strengths-based coaching affects people's mental and emotional health. This form is part of a process called “informed consent” to allow you to understand this study before deciding whether to take part.
This study seeks 10 to 15 volunteers who:
• Are US-based adults aged 35 or older
• Have received strengths-based coaching for at least six months
• Attended coaching sessions at least once per month
This study is being conducted by myself (a researcher named) Lorenzo Moultrie, Jr., who is a Ph.D. Candidate at Walden University.
Study Purpose:
The purpose of this study is to explore how people feel and what they experience after going through strengths-based coaching.
Procedures:
This study will involve you completing the following steps:
1. Participate in a 60-minute audio-only session conducted via Zoom. The interview will be recorded for data analysis purposes.
2. Review and provide open and honest feedback on the interview transcript and summary to ensure data accuracy via email (30 minutes). This process is called member-checking.
Here are some sample questions:
1. How long did you receive strengths-based coaching?
2. Describe changes in your life that you attribute to focusing on your strengths.
3. What changes have you experienced in how others treat you?
Voluntary Nature of the Study:
Research should only be done with those who freely volunteer. So everyone involved will respect your decision to join or not.
If you decide to join the study now, you can still change your mind later. You may stop at any time. You also have the right to withdraw from the study at any time without any negative consequences. If you choose to withdraw, any data collected from you will be destroyed and not included in the study. However, data collection and analysis will be completed by 07/31/2025.
Risks and Benefits:
Being in this study could involve some risk of minor discomforts that can be encountered in daily life, such as sharing sensitive information. With the protections in place, this study would pose minimal risk to your well-being. You can skip any question that makes you uncomfortable or stop the interview anytime. If distress arises, support can be obtained via www.FindTreatment.gov or 1-800 -662-HELP (4357).
The study offers no direct benefits to individual volunteers. This study aims to benefit society by better understanding the impacts of strengths-based coaching, which may inform more effective and ethical coaching practices. Once the analysis is complete, I will share the overall results.
Payment:
There is no monetary compensation for participating in this study.
Privacy:
I am required to protect your privacy. Your identity will be kept confidential within the limits of the law. I am only allowed to share your identity or contact info as needed with Walden University supervisors (who are also required to protect your privacy) or with authorities if court-ordered (very rare). I will not use your personal information for any purposes outside of this research project. Also, I will not include your name or anything else that could identify you in the study reports. If I were to share this dataset with another researcher in the future, the dataset would contain no identifiers, so this would not involve another round of obtaining informed consent. Data will be kept secure on a password-protected personal computer, using codes instead of names. Data will be kept for a period of at least 5 years, as required by the university.
Contact and Questions:
You can ask questions of me (the researcher) by email at lorenzo.moultrie@waldenu.edu. If you want to talk privately about your rights as a participant or any negative parts of the study, you can call Walden University’s Research Participant Advocate at (612) -312-1210. Walden University’s approval number for this study is 11-12-24-1053909. It expires on November 11, 2025.
You might wish to retain this consent form for your records. You may ask me or Walden University for a copy at any time using the contact info above.
Obtaining Your Consent
If you feel you understand the study and wish to volunteer and to protect your privacy, you may indicate your consent by clicking the “I Consent” button below.