Informed Consent
I agree to participate in the "Guessing Game" conducted by Melissa, Cameo, Mallory and Allyson, students in the Research Methods in the Social Sciences class at Simon's Rock College of Bard in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The study is being conducted under the supervision of the professor, Anne O'Dwyer. The purpose is to explore deception and gender in on-line communication.
I understand that I must be 18 years of age or older and that
I am not a SRC student. I also agree to only partake in the study once.
I understand that my participation involves my conducting
two "interviews", each five minutes in length, and that I am committing to do both interviews in succession. These interviews will be done via AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). During these interviews,
I will be asked to determine which of two parties is actually a woman (although both will claim to
be a woman, only one actually is). I will be given the opportunity to ask questions that I believe
will help me determine which of the two parties is a woman.
I understand that I may not use profanity or hostile language during the "interview". If I do, my participation session will be terminated.
I understand that the results of this study will be used by the researchers only for the purposes of their academic research. They may share their overall findings,
as well as specific quotes from the AIM log files, with their class, their professor and in a public presentation format (e.g., paper, conference, on the project website). However, I also understand that my anonymity and confidentiality will be respected. (My real name will not be used and no personal details will be disclosed that could reveal my real identity.) If I choose to disclose my real name during the interviews I understand that it will be edited out of the researchers' data.
If during the course of the interview I feel uncomfortable I can discontinue my participation at any time (by logging out or ceasing to engage in the interview) or by asking for the interview to stop.
I understand that my interviews and my identity will remain confidential.I understand that the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) chat logs of my interviews and other data collected will be kept in a secure manner by the researcher.
If I am concerned about this research I understand that I can contact the Researcher via E-mail at
researcher@theguessinggame.net.
By clicking the button below I consent to
-Participate in the study
-Have my AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) chat logs recorded by the researchers
-Allow my chat logs to be presented at academic conferences and in academic publications (with any identifying information removed)
-Allow my chat logs to be published on the project web site