About the Study

Miss Victoria Akyea, a doctoral candidate at Liberty University, seeks to identify and explore the quality of life of young adult females, ages 18-24, who are currently or enrolled full-time in an undergraduate degree program.  The goal of the study is to learn more about their time as students through discussion of stories of personal life experiences.  Through Photovoice, you have the opportunity to tell your story through photos, share it in interviews and focus groups, bond with other students, and learn how to navigate the college experience.    

You are invited to participate in Miss Akyea’s study, “Using Photovoice And Grounded Theory To Explore Quality Of Life Indicators Of Female, Traditional, On-Campus Undergraduate Students” if you are a female, 18 – 24 years of age living in the United States, are currently enrolled in an undergraduate program full-time at a US college or university, attend classes on campus, you read and write in English fluently, and you do not suffer from severe visual, speech, hearing, cognitive/mental health impairments, or a serious illness.   

Your maximum time commitment to the study over 2 months is 1 1/2 hours for training, 2 hours to take pictures, with 3 weeks for completion and submission, 1 1/2 hours for a follow-up one-on-one interview and transcript review, and 1 1/2 hours for a focus group).  If you agree to be in this study, you will be asked to:  

  • Complete a video-recorded PhotoVoice training session over conference call and PowerPoint  

  • Take pictures that describe your life experiences as a student.   

  • Select pictures that best describe your quality of life and make notes about photos  

  •  E-mail photos and notes to the researcher  

  • Participate in an individual interview on Skype with the researcher that will be audio-recorded to ensure information accuracy  

  • Participate in a follow-up interview and transcript review to discuss the Photovoice observations and ensure the information in the transcript is an  accurate description of your experiences  

  • Participate in an action-planning focus group over conference call with PowerPoint to discuss quality of  life experiences as a group and identify themes (video-recorded to ensure accuracy)

Any information you provide will be kept confidential, as the researcher will not use your information for any purposes outside of this research project. You will receive consent forms via DocuSign for signing to ensure your privacy and private information is protected. Upon completion of the study, you will receive a $50 Amazon gift card via email as a token of appreciation for your participation.  You will have access to the findings and can request a summary of the report at the completion of the study.   

If you would like to participate, please feel free to e-mail Miss Victoria Akyea at vakyea@liberty.edu or call her on her cell phone at 412-652-8667 for more information.   

For more background on Miss Akyea’s previous experience and work with students, please see her current profile here.

Thank you for participating!