Insider's Screener - Direct Entry

Informed Consent

Unfortunately, you do not qualify to participate in the Outsider's survey, but you may qualify to as a participant for the Insider's survey. Please read the information below in order.

Insider’s Versus Outsider’s Views of Romantic Relationships: Insider'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, Kay Jenson

kayjenson@acadiau.ca, Acadia University

Student Researcher, Nicole Tibbetts

nicoletibbetts@acadiau.ca, Acadia University

Research Ethics Board Chair, Dr. Stephen Maitzen

smaitzen@acadiau.ca, Acadia University

You are being 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. Anyone currently in a romantic relationship is welcome to participate, and we welcome all different types of romantic relationship types and experiences. 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.

What will I be asked to do?

You will be asked to answer a few brief questions about your current romantic relationship and to provide the names of other people to participate in other sections of the current study. Completing this initial screening questionnaire will take you approximately 5 to 10 minutes.

Are there any risks?

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 romantic 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.

Is there any compensation?

As an Mturk Partiicpant, you will receive your Mturk compensation when you finish this screening survey. You will be provided with a Survey Code that you can enter on Mturk in order to confirm the completion of your HIT.

Additionally, by participating in this brief Screening study, you will be entered into a monthly prize draw of $50 CAD. 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.

How is my data stored?

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.

Is my participation voluntary? How can I withdraw?

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. However, any partial data already entered on previous pages cannot be removed from the dataset, as we will have no way of identifying your data. Also, note that you can only be contacted for the next phase of the study if you provide us with an email address. 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.

Evaluating Others’ Opinions About Your Romantic Relationship

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, Kay Jenson
kayjenson@acadiau.ca, Acadia University

Student Researcher, Nicole Tibbetts
nicoletibbetts@acadiau.ca, Acadia University

Research Ethics Board Chair, Dr. Stephen Maitzen
smaitzen@acadiau.ca, Acadia University

You are being 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.

Who can participate?

Anyone currently in a romantic relationship is welcome to participate, and we welcome all different types of romantic relationship types and experiences. 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.

What will I have to do?

You will be asked to provide some basic demographic information, such as age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and so on, as well as some information about your relationship, your experiences with receiving feedback regarding your own romantic relationship, and actions you might or might not have taken based on that feedback. Completing this questionnaire will take you approximately 20 to 60 minutes (depending on your responses to certain questions, you might skip some sections, or be asked to provide more detailed information in others, so it is hard to estimate precise completion times. Note you can pause and return later, if you are unable to complete it all in one sitting).

Are there any risks associated with participating in this study?

Is there any compensation for my time?

There will be a monthly prize draw of $50 CAD, and 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. You will be asked if you are willing to be contacted for additional studies; 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).

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. There are no conflicts of interest in conducting this study, and the data will not be used commercially in any way.

Is my participation voluntary? How can I leave the study if I no longer want to participate?

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. Providing consent to the current study does not waive any rights to legal recourse in the event of research-related harm. However, any partial data already entered on previous pages cannot be removed from the dataset, as we will have no way of identifying your data. Also, note that you can only be entered into the prize draw and be contacted for future studies if you provide us with an email address. 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.

Is my data safe? Who will see my answers?

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. If you choose to be in the prize draw, you'll need to provide an email address. 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 ask you to provide an email address so that you may be contacted if you win the prize draw, and/or if you are invited to participate in any future studies. If you agree to participate in follow up studies, we will keep the connection between your e-mail address and your data, to allow us to match the data up properly for future studies. Once all the follow-up studies are completed (we estimate approximately 3 years), we will delete your email address and your data will be fully anonymous.

1. If you have read and understood this form, had your questions answered to your satisfaction, and wish to participate in this study, please click the box below. This is equivalent to providing your signature. *This question is required.