UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON

INFORMATION SHEET

University Research Ethics Committee

HipHop and Motivation

I would like to invite you to participate in my study which looks into people’s motivation to engage in HipHop Culture. That means actively doing, enjoying or having respect and sympathy for the elements of HipHop such as Rap, DJing, Breakdance and/or Graffiti. I want to help better understand the reasons why people all over the world engage in HipHop in 2009 and possible shifts in that motivation since the commercialisation of rap music during the 1990’s.

If you consider yourself connected to HipHop in any way, please take part in this study.

You will be asked to fill out a simple questionnaire. First some questions about where you are from and your involvement in HipHop, then two open ended questions about what got you into HipHop in the first place and your motivation to engage in HipHop now. Another questionnaire will then ask you several questions about your general aspirations in life and your well-being. Overall this should take no longer than 15minutes +however much you choose to write about your motivations. It is entirely up to you how much you write, however, the more the better.

You can ask me any questions anytime. My email, phone, Facebook, MySpace and chat/messenger contacts are listed below. Please answer the questions as honestly as you can. This is most important. All of your information will be kept strictly confidential.

Confidentiality of Data

Your data will be stored in my database using a number system (no names) and all the information collected will be anonymous to anyone outside the research team (the research team includes me and my supervisor). Please note that the data will be used for the completion of an MSc dissertation and potentially publications. If you are comfortable with providing your contact details, I would appreciate this as I may want to follow up on your specific case.

Disclaimer

You are not obliged to take part in this study, and are free to withdraw at any time.  Should you choose to withdraw from the research you may do so without disadvantage to yourself and without giving a reason, even if you are in the middle of it.

Contact

 
Yannick Jacob, School of Psychology, University of East London, London, E15 4LZ.

E-mail: dj@jazzmen.be
Tel:   +44 (0)7914 057703 (London, UK)

     +49 (0)1726747898  (Frankfurt, Germany)

Facebook: Yannick Jacob      StudiVZ: Yannick Jacob           www.myspace.com/hiphopstudy

Skype: jiggyjazzmen               MSN: delafysh@yahoo.de        ICQ: 248010554     AIM: thejazzmen               

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON

Consent to participate in a research study involving the use of human participants

HipHop and Motivation

I have read the information letter relating to the above research study in which I have been asked to participate.  The nature and purpose of the research have been explained to me, and I have had the opportunity to discuss the details and ask questions about this information.  I understand what is being proposed and the procedures in which I will be involved have been explained to me.

I understand that my involvement in this study, and particularly the data from this research, will remain strictly confidential.  Only the researchers involved in the study will have access to the data. 

I hereby fully and freely consent to participate in the study.

Having given this consent I understand that I have the right to withdraw from the study at any time without disadvantage to myself and without having to give a reason.

By filling out the following questionnaires I agree that my data will be used anonymously for research purposes.

Participant’s initials

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Demographic Information:

Gender:        Male  
                      Female

Age:

Place of birth: (Country, city, borough/hood)

Where do you live? (Country, city, borough/hood)   

  Urban inner city       Suburban parts of the city         Countryside   

  Other (please specify if possible)

Ethnicity (Black, white, Asian, mixed etc):

(Officially completed) Education level:        None

                                                                        Elementary school

                                                                        GCSE/10 school years

                                                                        Job training

                                                                        High school/A-Level etc

                                                                        University (undergraduate)

                                                                        University (post-graduate)

                                                                        PhD

Other (please name):

What is your current occupation? (Work, education, hobbies, etc) 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

What sub-genres of rap music are you listening to on a regular basis?
(check Wikipedia for further description, but don't spend too much time on this one)

Gangsta rap
Conscious rap
Political rap
Abstract rap
Hardcore rap
Storytelling
Party rap
Popular rap (billboard charts, MTV's TRL, popular radio stations, etc)
Comedy rap
Freestyle rap
Dirty South
Jazz rap
Crunk
Grime
Crossover rap
Country rap
Horrorcore
Acid rap
Student rap / Academic rap
Gospel rap / Christian rap
Nerdcore rap

Other subgenres of rap    (Please name or describe if possible)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

How important are the following to you?

MCing (Rapping)               

               not at all 1         2          3          4          5  extremely important

DJing (Mixing, scratching, turntablism)         

               not at all 1         2          3          4          5  extremely important

Breakdancing    (B-boying, street dancing)

               not at all 1         2          3          4          5  extremely important

Graffiti   (Bombing, tagging, writing)

               not at all 1         2          3          4          5  extremely important

Beatboxing (Making music with your mouth)         

               not at all 1         2          3          4          5  extremely important

Street fashion (Having your own individual and authentic style of dress)         

               not at all 1         2          3          4          5  extremely important

Street language (Communicating though slang, vernacular speech and/or local expressions/codes )

               not at all 1         2          3          4          5  extremely important

Street knowledge (Wisdom of the elders, common sense, being aware of one's surroundings and events)          

not at all 1         2          3          4          5  extremely important

Street entrepreneurship (Marketing your HipHop activity and building a business out of it)

               not at all 1         2          3          4          5  extremely important

Poetry slams (Spoken-word poetry competition)      

not at all 1        2          3          4          5  extremely important

Producing (Producing HipHop beats and tracks)      

not at all 1        2          3          4          5  extremely important

Are you actively practising…

            …MCing (Rapping)?                        Yes            No              A little 

            …DJing?                                           Yes            No              A little 

            …Breakdancing?                              Yes            No              A little 

            …Graffiti?                                         Yes            No              A little 

            …Beatboxing?                                  Yes            No              A little 

            …Street fashion?                              Yes            No              A little 

            …Street language?                           Yes            No              A little 

            …Street entrepreneurship?             Yes            No              A little 

            …Poetry slams?                               Yes            No              A little 

             …Producing?                                   Yes            No              A little 

How much time do you spend with HipHop on an average week or day?

(Actively doing, listening, watching or thinking about anything HipHop-related)

            Approximately hours a week

Or:       Approximately hours a day

How long have you been listening to rap music/HipHop DJs or watching breakdance/graffiti?

            Approximately years

How long have you been actively involved in any HipHop activities?

            Approximately years

To what extent do you consider yourself part of HipHop culture/the HipHop community

1 = “I like HipHop but do not consider myself part of it”
10 = “I am HipHop”

   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

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Instructions for qualitative section

In the next section there are 2 open-ended questions. Please read both of them carefully and think about them for a little while. Take as much time as you want to answer the questions. There’s no need to write an essay. The only thing that’s important is that you are authentic and true in your answers. I wanna know why you are really doing it and that is why I want you to think about it for a second. You can write as much as you like in any format: essays, lists, stories, key words, sketches or rhymes (use additional space if necessary). There are no tricks involved or any hidden agenda psychology hit. What I ask is exactly what I want to know.

Why did you get into HipHop in the first place? What attracted you to the culture/music/lifestyle (or whatever it was that attracted you)?

Has anything changed in that motivation? If yes, why are you into HipHop in 2009 or why not?

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Aspirations Index

Everyone has long-term Goals or Aspirations.  These are the things that people hope to accomplish over the course of their lives.  In this section, you will find a number of life goals, presented one at a time, and we ask you how important this goal is to you personally. Please use the following scale in answering the question about each life goal.

                                                                            moderately                          

         not at all important  1            2           3           4          5          6           7 very important

How important are the following life goals to you?

To be a very wealthy person.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To grow and learn new things.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To have my name known by many people.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To have good friends that I can count on.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To successfully hide the signs of aging.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To work for the betterment of society.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To have many expensive possessions.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

At the end of my life, to be able to look back on my life as meaningful and complete.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To be admired by many people.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To share my life with someone I love.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To have people comment often about how attractive I look.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To assist people who need it, asking nothing in return.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To be financially successful.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To choose what I do, instead of being pushed along by life.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To be famous.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To have committed, intimate relationships.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To keep up with fashions in hair and clothing.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To work to make the world a better place. 

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To be rich.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To know and accept who I really am.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To have my name appear frequently in the media.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To feel that there are people who really love me, and whom I love.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To achieve the "look" I've been after.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To help others improve their lives.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To have enough money to buy everything I want.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To gain increasing insight into why I do the things I do.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To be admired by lots of different people.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To have deep enduring relationships.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To have an image that others find appealing.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

To help people in need.

                        not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  very important

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Well-being

Below are eight statements with which you may agree or disagree. Using the scale below, indicate your agreement with each item by ticking the appropriate box.

                                   7 Strongly agree

                                   6 Agree

                                   5 Slightly agree

                                   4 Mixed, or neither agree nor disagree

                                   3 Slightly disagree

                                   2 Disagree

                                   1 Strongly disagree

I lead a purposeful and meaningful life.

                Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  Strongly agree    

My social relationships are supportive and rewarding.

                Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  Strongly agree    

I am engaged and interested in my daily activities.

                Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  Strongly agree    

I actively contribute to the happiness and well-being of others.

                Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  Strongly agree    

I am competent and capable in the activities that are important to me.

                Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  Strongly agree    

I am a good person and live a good life.

                Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  Strongly agree    

I am optimistic about the future.

                Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  Strongly agree    

People respect me.

                Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  Strongly agree    

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Who are your favourite HipHop artists (from all elements)? (Try to stick to a few by listing those that you have spent the most time listening to/watching at your own will, those that inspire you and who you admire or those you identify with the most.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Before submitting, I would appreciate if you would provide any kind of contact details in case I want to follow up on your particular case(email, phone number, chat program contact (skype, icq, msn etc), Facebook account, postal address or the like). This is completely optional and will not have any effect on the analysis of the data you provide.

Name:

Contact details: