Study Information and Consent
This survey is part of my Master's thesis at Universität Hamburg (M.A. Higher Education). In it, I study how AI chatbots can support learning at university. Responsible: Tobias Vlcek, tobias.vlcek@uni-hamburg.de.
What happens? This course offers a course chatbot: an AI chatbot on the course website that is tailored to the materials of this course. You complete two short questionnaires, one now and one at the end of the course (approx. 5–8 minutes each). They cover how you use AI chatbots when studying, your intention to use the course chatbot, and, at the end, your actual use and assessment of it. During the semester, I may also ask for a voluntary one-minute check-in. It is separate from the two questionnaires.
Voluntariness. Participation is voluntary. Not participating or stopping has no effect whatsoever on your course participation, grades, or bonus points. You may skip questions.
Confidentiality. No names, student IDs, or email addresses are collected. So that your answers from the beginning and the end of the course can be matched, you create a personal code on the next page. The code contains neither your name nor your full date of birth. I use it solely for this matching and make no attempt to identify anyone. If you later wish to withdraw your answers, tell me your course and code. I will then delete the corresponding records.
Chatbot usage data. Independently of this survey, the chatbot platform (oshu.eu) logs conversations without any login and without recognizing individuals. Strictly necessary cookies merely allow an ongoing conversation to be resumed for about 24 hours. For this study, these data are analyzed only in aggregate per course and as anonymized conversation transcripts. They cannot be linked to your questionnaire responses.
Data processing. Participation is based on your consent. The data are stored without names, used exclusively for scientific purposes (Master's thesis and possibly a scientific publication), and retained for at least 10 years in line with good scientific practice. Results are reported in summarized form; individual free-text answers and excerpts from chatbot conversations may be quoted verbatim without any reference to a person.
Questions? Contact tobias.vlcek@uni-hamburg.de.