Information for participants
I wish to invite you to participate in my research project, described below.
My name is Grant Schulz, and I am conducting this research as part of my Honours thesis in the School of Psychology at the University of New England. My supervisor is Dr. Deborah Apthorp.
| Research project | Can an online brief assessment battery detect COVID-19-related cognitive and functional impairment? |
|---|---|
| Aim of the research | This study aims to investigate the relationship between cognitive impairment following recovery from COVID-19. I am interested in the effect COVID-19 has on executive function, and how it may affect everyday living. This is a comparative study which will also examine the differences between those who have and have not had COVID-19. |
| Online experiments | I would like you to answer some basic demographic questions, complete four cognitive tests and fill in two brief questionaries. It should take no longer than 45 minutes to complete. The questions in the questionnaires are not of a sensitive nature; rather they are general, and will help to enhance our knowledge about cognitive functioning and quality of life after COVID-19. |
| Downloading Inquisit | You will need to download a small computer program called Inquisit Player to carry out the tasks on your computer. This is perfectly safe and can be deleted with a single click immediately afterwards. |
| Confidentiality | We will not be collecting any identifying information in this study, and thus is is not possible for any individual to be identified by name in any publication of the results. |
| Participation is voluntary | Please understand that your involvement in this study is voluntary and I respect your right to stop participating at any time without recourse or reason. However, once you begin, any anonymous data you provide cannot be withdrawn. |
| Use of information | I will use information from the tasks and questionnaire as part of my thesis, which I expect to complete in October 2021. Information from the study may also be used in academic journal articles and conference presentations, as well as blog posts, preprints, and newspaper articles, before and after this date. At all times, I will safeguard your identity by presenting the information in a way that will not allow you to be identified. |
| Storage of information | During the study, all electronic data will be kept on Cloud UNE, UNE’s centrally managed cloud server managed by the research team, as well as on Millisecond’s secure servers for Inquisit. Any data downloaded from the servers will be kept on a password protected computer. Only the research team will have access to the data. At the end of the study, de-identified data will be uploaded to a public data repository, the Open Science Foundation (OSF), in the interests of open science and replicability. It will also be indexed on UNE’s Open Access database, RUNE. All the data collected in this research will be kept indefinitely. |
| Ethical Approval | This project has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of New England (Approval No. HE21-142, Valid to 01 June, 2022). |
| Upsetting issues | It is unlikely that this research will raise any personal or upsetting issues, but if it does you may wish to contact Mental Health America: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour centre, or text MHA to 741741 to reach a text line – OR, if in the UK, contact Samaritans on 116 123, 24 hours a day or text SHOUT to 85258. |
| Researchers’ contact details | Feel free to contact me with any questions about this research by email at gschulz3@une.edu.au or by phone on (07) 3666 6480. |
| You may also contact my supervisors. My principal supervisor’s name is Dr Deborah Apthorp and she can be contacted by email at dapthorp@une.edu.au by phone on +61 2 6773 4315. My co-supervisor’s name is Dr Clara Murray and her email address is cmurra30@une.edu.au; her phone number is +61 2 6773 1793. In the UK, you may contact Professor Frances Quirk on +6 17900161885; her email is frances.quirk@nhs.scot. | |
| Complaints | Should you have any complaints concerning the manner in which this research is conducted, please contact: Research Ethics Officer, Research Services, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351; Tel: +61 2 6773 3715; Email: humanethics@une.edu.au |
| Should you have any difficulties with Prolific, you can also contact Josh Tulloch at Prolific: support@prolific.co. Participants could also contact the Chief Operating Officer of Prolific Jim Moodle at info@prolific.co. |
Online implied consent for participants
- I have read the information contained in the Information Sheet for Participants
- I agree to participate in the following four cognitive tasks, two surveys and basic demographic questions.
- My participation will be compensated at the agreed rate by Prolific Academic
- My contribution is anonymous
- Information concerning my identity will not be collected
- I may withdraw at any time
- If I withdraw, I will not receive payment for my participation, but there will be no other consequences or follow-up
- I agree that the anonymous research data collected for the study will form part of a thesis and may be published, or presented at conferences at a later date
- I agree that my anonymous data may be publicly available on the OSF once the study is completed
- I am 18 years of age or older.
- In preservation of anonymity, I understand that no name or signature is required of me to give consent.
Please click the link to proceed
By clicking “I wish to proceed”, I am agreeing to participate in this study.
When you click on “I wish to proceed”, you will be prompted to download a small program called Inquisit Player, which will help in collecting accurate data. Once the experiment is complete, which should take approximately 30 - 45 minutes, you can delete Inquisit.
At the end of the study, you will be given a confirmation code which you can provide to Prolific for payment.
