Insiders’ Versus Outsiders’ Views of Romantic Relationships: Outsider’s Perspective
Co-investigator, Dr. Diane Holmberg
diane.holmberg@acadiau.ca, Acadia University
Co-investigator, Dr. Karen Blair
kblair@stfx.ca, St. Francis Xavier University
Student Researcher, Nicole Tibbetts
nicoletibbetts@acadiau.ca, Acadia University
Student Researcher, Kay Jenson
kayjenson@acadiau.ca, Acadia University
Research Ethics Board Chair, Dr. Stephen Maitzen
smaitzen@acadiau.ca, Acadia University
You are invited to participate in a research study about insiders’ versus outsiders’ views of romantic relationships. We are interested in learning more about how a person’s own perception of their romantic relationship compares to their friends’ and family members’ perceptions. The objective of this research project is to attempt to understand how people give feedback to, and receive feedback from, their friends and family about different romantic relationships. The questionnaire is being conducted online. This research project is being conducted by Dr. Diane Holmberg, Kay Jenson, and Nicole Tibbetts of Acadia University, and Dr. Karen Blair of St. Francis Xavier University, and is being funded by a SSHRC Insight Development Grant. Participants must be at least 18 years old.
You will be asked to first complete a brief screening survey, asking you a few quick questions about your perspectives on one or more of your friends’ or family members’ current romantic relationships. Completing this questionnaire will take you approximately 5 to 10 minutes.
There are no known risks if you decide to participate in this research study, nor are there any costs to you for participating in the study. In the event that thinking about your relationship experiences upsets you, you may find it useful to use the internet to search for counselling services in your region. Most areas have free support lines that you can call to discuss problematic issues. Note that agreeing to this consent form does not waive your rights to legal recourse in the event that you experience any harm from this study. There are no conflicts of interest in conducting this study, and the data will not be used commercially in any way.
By participating in this brief Screening study, you will be entered into a monthly prize draw of $50 CAD. Additionally, you will be entered into a grand prize draw of $500 CAD, which will be conducted once the study is closed. You will remain eligible for any future prize draws, as long this study is running. During this Screening survey, you will be asked if you are willing to be contacted for additional studies in this program of research; each of those studies will have its own compensation in the form of payment or prize draws. The monthly $50 CAD prize draw money will be rewarded as an online Amazon.com (American participants only) or Amazon.ca (Canadian participants only) gift card. The grand prize draw of $500 will be paid via PayPal or Amazon gift card (options for all participants) or e-mail bank transfer (for Canadian participants with suitable bank accounts only).
If you were invited by a friend or family member to participate in the current study, we will reach out to you via our lab’s email (klbresearch.relationships@gmail.com) with more information about the next steps.
If you were not invited to participate in the study from a friend or family member, the next part of the study will involve forwarding an invitation email to friends or family members to ask them to take part in the study as well. Once a nominated friend or family member completes a brief Screening survey similar to this one, they will get an entry into the prize draws described above, and you will be given five additional prize draw entries as a thank you for inviting them. Afterward, we will invite you both to complete a more extensive online questionnaire. Each of you will be paid $10 CAD if you complete (i.e., answer the majority of questions on) your own survey. If the person you invite also completes their survey, then you'll receive a bonus $10 CAD payment for a total of $20 CAD. If you are not part of a matched pair (i.e., you do not have an eligible friend or family member who is willing to take part in the larger study), you may still take part yourself, for additional prize draw entries. If you meet the criteria to participate in the next stage of the current study, we will reach out to you via our lab’s email (klbresearch.relationships@gmail.com) with more information about the next steps.
This questionnaire stores its data on Survey Gizmo’s servers, which are housed in Canada. Any data sent electronically or stored online may be legally accessed by domestic or foreign authorities. This survey is anonymous. However, we will ask you to give us an email address. Note that any contact information you provide for this study will only be used for the purposes described, and will never be shared with any third parties. If you wish to remain fully anonymous, please provide an email address that does not contain your name or any other potentially identifying information. All data will be analyzed as a group and presented in such a way that you are not individually identifiable.
We will also ask you, if you are willing, to provide first names / initials / aliases of other people to participate in a matched study, giving us their inside perspectives on their relationship. We will ask you, if willing, to forward an e-mail invitation to participate in the study to one or more of these people. (It’s up to them whether they do participate or not). We hope to get as many matched pairs as possible, as that will provide the most useful information to us. Note, however, that neither you nor the other people will ever see each other’s data, and in the end, either of you may choose to participate without the other one.
After completing this initial brief screening survey (5-10 minutes), if you meet criteria, we will email you with instructions on how to invite one of the other people whose names you provided to participate in the current study.
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. If at any point you wish to withdraw from the study, simply exit the survey by closing your browser window. If you wish to withdraw your data after survey completion, send us your email address and we will remove your data, as long as it is still possible to do so; however, if the data you provide has already been used in a study in a de-identified form, it will no longer be possible to remove your data.
Your data will be stored on a secure server, and only downloaded onto password-protected computers stored in locked offices. If you have any questions or concerns about completing the questionnaire or about being in this study, you may contact any of the researchers at the email addresses listed above.