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Gender and Relationships Survey

LOIC and hidden variables

Information and Consent Form
 
Title of the study: Gender and Relationships

Principal Investigators: 
Dr. Kathryn Bell, Acadia University and Dr. Rhea Hoskin, University of Waterloo 

Student Investigator: 
Rhonda McInnis, M.Ed., M.Sc. Clinical Psychology Student, Acadia University. 

Research Ethics Board Chair at Acadia University:
Stephen Maitzen, PhD
Department of Philosophy, Acadia University
Stephen.maitzen@acadiau.ca

Research Ethics Board at University of Waterloo:
Office of Research Ethics
reb@uwaterloo.ca
          
To help you make an informed decision regarding your participation, this letter will explain what the study is about, the possible risks and benefits, and your rights as a research participant. If you do not understand something in the letter, please ask for clarification prior to consenting to the study. If you feel safe doing so, please print/save a copy of this letter for your records. 

Invitation to participate
You are invited to participate in a research study on gender, gender expression, femmephobia, relational conflict experience, and mental well-being. Relational conflict can include topics such as sexual violence, aggression, and abuse. This study will add to the growing body of literature on gender and gender expression and aims to gain a better understanding of their role in relationship conflict.

I. Your Responsibilities as a Participant

What does participation involve?

Your participation in this study involves doing an online survey hosted on a secure website and server. The survey will ask for your demographic information and instruct you to respond to a series of questions on gender, gender expression, femininity, femmephobia, relational conflict experiences, violence, and mental well-being. You may also be asked whether or not you wish to participate in an in-depth online interview to discuss your answers in more detail. If you are interested, we will ask for your contact information to schedule the online interview. Please note that not everyone who expresses interest in the interview will be contacted to participate. The survey should take 30-40 minutes to complete. You may exit the survey at any time by simply closing your browser. As the survey is confidential and not linked to an email unless you submit an email address, you may not be able to withdraw your data. However, participants who provide an email address to participate in a follow-up interview may be able to withdraw their data. If you withdraw from the study before you have submitted your survey, your data may still be used in the study.

Who may participate in the study?
In order to participate in this study, you must be aged 18 and older, and have access to the Internet. All relationship types, sexualities, genders, and experiences are welcomed.

II. Your Rights as a Participant

Is participation in the study voluntary?
Your participation in this study is voluntary. You are free to stop taking part in the project at any time. There will be no penalty to you if you choose to stop your participation in the research or if you choose to not answer a question. If you decide to participate, you may withdraw from the study at any time without penalty and without loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. If you choose to end participation early, you can still click through to the end of the survey in order to enter the draw. Alternatively, you may email the researcher and inform them that you decided to end the study early and indicate your preferred email to be entered into the draw. If you withdraw from the study before you have submitted your survey, your data may still be used in the study. Data from the survey may not be removed as it is immediately anonymous. Emails collected for the prize draw will be done using a separate survey link, and thus not connected to survey responses.

What are the possible benefits of the study?
There is no direct benefit to you from taking part in this study. The information gathered in the study will potentially help to increase knowledge about gender, femininity, femmephobia, relationship conflict, and the connection to well-being.

What are the risks associated with the study?
Given the study focus on well-being, gender, relationship conflict, and the kinds of questions that will be asked, it is possible that some participants may feel upset. If you feel upset, you may skip questions, or stop the survey entirely at any time. At the end of the survey, you will be provided with a list of accessible support resources.

Will my identity be known?
Your participation will be kept confidential and identifying information will be removed from the data that is collected and stored. If you participate in the interview, your survey will be connected using a participant number. All identifying information will be removed from the interview data, should you participate.

When information is transmitted or stored on the internet, privacy cannot be guaranteed. There is always a risk that your responses may be intercepted by a third party (e.g., government agencies, hackers). Alchemer temporarily collects your Alchemer ID and computer IP address to avoid duplicate responses in the dataset but will not collect information that could identify you personally.

Will my information be kept confidential?
The investigator will take all reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of your records. There are certain circumstances that cannot be kept confidential and must be reported to law enforcement, emergency mental health services or protection agencies. These circumstances include (1.) if you are a danger to yourself or someone else; (2.) if you report knowledge of current child or elder abuse; or (3.) if your records are subpoenaed by a court of law. For example, information provided during the study that suggests ongoing incidents of child abuse must be reported to Protective Services. Within the extent of the law your participation in this project as well as your responses during the study will be kept strictly confidential. Your involvement as part of this study includes the option of providing your email address to participate in a follow-up online interview. All identifying information (e.g., email addresses) you provide will be kept confidential. With your permission, anonymous quotations from your survey may be used in papers and publications resulting from this study. Your participant number will be used to link the data collected from this survey to the online interview data, should you participate in both. All data will be stored on a secure computer and please note that since your responses will be stored online within the Alchemer database for the survey portion of the study, confidentiality cannot be absolutely guaranteed. Please note that your responses will be accessible to employees of Alchemer for technical or administrative support in accordance with the Alchemer privacy policy. Any contact information provided during the survey will be stored in a password protected encrypted file and will only be used to contact you with information about your participation in this study or to arrange the online interview.  Please note that your employer may have legal access to any information sent using employer-owned equipment. You may therefore wish to use your own equipment when communicating with the researchers and completing the survey. At the completion of the study, your contact information will be purged. All files linking your contact information to your participation number will be permanently deleted upon completion of this study. At no time will your name be connected to the data you provide, as you will be identified to the researchers by email address only. The data obtained from this study will be kept for a minimum of 7 years for future use in related studies. We do plan to publish the results of this research, but all findings will be reported as averages across many participants. Data from this study will also be used for a student thesis. Should direct quotes be used in any publications, they will be selected for their ability to generalize across the experiences of participants and no quotes will be used that could identify a specific participant. No subject identifying information will be published. Once all the data are collected and analyzed for this project, this information will be shared with the research community through seminars, conferences, presentations, and journal articles.

Will I receive anything for participating in the study?
In appreciation of the time you have given to this study, you can enter your name into a draw for 1 prize. The prize will be a $100 Amazon Gift Card (or alternative). Your odds of winning are based on the number of individuals who participate in the study. We expect that approximately 300 individuals will take part in the study.  Information collected to draw for the prizes will not be linked to the study data in any way, and this identifying information will be stored separately, then destroyed after the prizes have been provided. The amount received is taxable. It is your responsibility to report this amount for income tax purposes.

III. Questions, Comments, or Concerns

Who is sponsoring/funding this study?
This study is supported by the AMTD Global Talent Program and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. Additionally, the research is supported by the following organizations by way of graduate scholarships: Nova Scotia Innovation and Research Graduate Scholarship, Research Nova Scotia Scholar Award, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Has the study received ethics clearance?
This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through the Research Ethics Board at Acadia University (REB #22-72). If you have questions for the Board contact the Office of Research Ethics, via the Chair, Dr. Stephen Maitzen at smaitzen@acadia.ca.

This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through a University of Waterloo Research Ethics Board (REB #44530). If you have questions for the Board, contact the Office of Research Ethics at 1-519-888-4567 ext. 36005 or reb@uwaterloo.ca.

Who should I contact if I have questions regarding my participation in the study?
If you have any questions regarding this study or would like additional information to assist you in reaching a decision about participation, please contact Dr. Kathryn Bell at kathryn.bell@acadiau.ca,  Dr. Rhea Ashley Hoskin at femmephobia@gmail.com or Rhonda McInnis at femmephobia@gmail.com.

CONSENT: By clicking on the consent button, you are agreeing to participate in this study. Research participation is voluntary and even by consenting now you may reconsider your involvement at any time and decline to continue participating. You may print this form for your records. Please ensure that all questions and concerns regarding this research as well as what you are being asked to do have been addressed and completely understood. You can contact a member of the research team at any time or if you have a question after participation has been completed.

 
1. Please select one of the following: *This question is required.
2. I agree to the use of anonymous quotations in any paper or publication resulting from this study. *This question is required.
2. I give permission for my anonymous responses to be used in additional studies. *This question is required.