Social Attitudes & COVID-19 Consent Form
Marla Morden, Principle Investigator
INTRODUCTION
I am an instructor of psychology at Vancouver Island University (VIU). I would like to invite you to participate in my study entitled “Social Attitudes & COVID-19”, which is designed to explore attitudes towards COVID-19 and other personality traits/characteristics/disorders.
YOUR PARTICIPATION IS VOLUNTARY
You are being asked to voluntarily participate in an online study. If you decide to participate, you may choose to withdraw at any time without any negative consequences. You do not need to supply any reasons for your decision to decline participation.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
COVID-19 is an exceptional global event that has altered how we navigate our social environments on many levels. My hope is that my research will contribute to the knowledge of how we view community members who have been exposed and/or diagnosed with COVID-19.
WHAT DOES THIS STUDY INVOLVE
This research involves an online survey. You will be asked to answer some brief demographic questions about yourself, such as age, identified gender, schooling level, and ethnicity, etc. for comparison purposes. Then you will be asked to read a series of various vignettes about fictional characters. After reading these vignettes you will be asked to record your initial impression of the characters in the vignette, in relation to others in their age-bracket, as quickly as you can. Finally, you will be asked to rate your current. Understanding/knowledge of a variety of psychological and physical conditions. We are hoping to uncover what role our first initial, gut-instinct fleeting observations plays in our social attitudes. This study should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
BENEFITS AND HARM
There is no direct benefit to you for taking part in this study. It is hoped that the research will contribute salient information in regards to COVID-19. There is a risk that some of the questions may make you uncomfortable. It is possible that in reflecting on your answers, and considering questions about physical disorders or disease and mental disorders and disease, you may experience feelings of increased vulnerability, or a sense of distress or loss. There are local support-resources listed at the start and end of the survey (https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/en/looking-for-local-resources-support/ and https://services.viu.ca/health-and-wellness/mental-health . Furthermore, answering these questions may pose a perceived or actual risk to your privacy. To mitigate both of these risks, please remember that you are free to decline to answer any question that you do not wish to answer. You may also withdraw from participation at any time by closing your browser. If you close your browser prior to clicking the ‘submit’ button at the end of the survey, information you provide will not be used in the study. Please note that you may withdraw from participation at any time. All study participants will be invited to enter their email address to be entered into a draw to win one of 5 Amazon gift cards worth $20. Entering your email address is completely optional
Your privacy is important to us. Therefore, no personally identifiable information will be collected. SurveyMonkey (surveymonkey.com) is being used to collect your survey responses. SurveyMonkey survey responses will be stored on SurveyMonkey’s regional servers located in Canada, and thus are subject to Survey Monkey’s data management and privacy policies. Some of the data associated with this survey may also be stored on servers located outside of Canada (the United States). In those instances, data you provide would not be protected by Canadian privacy legislation, and may be accessed by the government of the United States in accordance with its laws. For information on Survey Monkey’s privacy policy, see [https://help.surveymonkey.com/articles/en_US/kb/SurveyMonkey-Data-Transfers-and-EU-Laws?bc=Your_Data#storage]. All survey responses will be removed from SurveyMonkey.com within one week of receipt.
COST AND REIUMBURSEMENT
There are no costs for you to participate in this research. Participants who wish to be entered into the draw to win the $20 Amazon gift cards will have the option of entering their email at the end of the survey. Please note that these emails will not be connected to survey responses, so that survey responses remain anonymous.
MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH INFORMATION/DATA
Data stored by the researcher will be password protected. Only the researcher or members of the research team will have access to the data as collected. I will delete all survey data from SurveyMonkey’s servers not more than one week after submission. Anonymized data will be securely stored and preserved for two years after the end of the project; it will be deleted and shredded by approximately April 2023.
Use of Research information/Data:
The results of this study may be used for conference publications, presentations, and published in academic journals.
PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
You have the right to withdraw from the study at any time where practicable. You will be able to withdraw from this survey at any time up until your answers are submitted. While the survey is in progress, you are able to revise your answers at any time, and if you wish to withdraw you may simply close your browser window. As we are not collecting information that will allow us to identify individual surveys, once you have submitted your survey you will not be able to revise your answers. At that time you will no longer be able to withdraw from the study, as we will no longer be able to identify individual responses.
CONSENT AND CONDITIONS OF CONSENT
I consent to participate in this research
in accordance with the conditions described above.
Yes No
Participant Name ____________________________________________________
Participant Signature______________________________________________________________
I, Marla Morden, promise to adhere to the procedures described in this consent form.
Principal Investigator Signature ______________ Date ___
CONCERNS
If you have any concerns about your treatment as a research participant in this study, please contact the Vancouver Island University Research Ethics Board at reb@viu.ca or (250) 740-6631.