About this study
Participant Information Sheet
You are invited to take part in this research study. Before you decide it is important for you to read this information so you understand why the study is being carried out and what it will involve.
Reading this information, discussing it with others or asking any questions you might have will help you decide whether you would like to take part.
What is the purpose of the study?
The purpose of the study is to assess how videos portrayed in the news and media may affect memory and thinking ability in older adults
Why have I been invited to take part?
-
You are above the age of 60
-
You have no previous clinical diagnosis of a Neurodegenerative disorder
-
You have no history of Mood disorders.
Do I have to take part?
You are under no obligation to take part and you will not experience any loss of benefit or penalty if you choose not to participate.
What will I have to do?
To participate the study will require you to complete tasks assessing self-esteem, watch a YouTube video of a news report and complete a series of memory and thinking tasks (The Corsi block sorting test, the Wisconsin Card sorting test and the Posner task). This will be completed on one day and will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
What are the exclusion criteria (i.e. are there any reasons why I should not take part)?
You should not take part in this study if:
-
You are below the age of 60
-
You have a history of Mood disorder
-
You have a clinically diagnosed Neurodegenerative disorder
What are the possible disadvantages/risks in taking part?
The study includes a randomised exposure to a series of videos, some videos depict a negative view and representation of topics which may be discomforting to certain individuals. However, participants are free to withdraw from the study at any time and information to specific organisations that maybe helpful if any participants feel discomfort have been provided below.
AgeUK - https://www.ageuk.org.uk/
MIND- https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/
Ageing Better- https://ageing-better.org.uk/
Centre for mental health- https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/
Useful NHS links
Will my taking part be kept confidential and anonymous?
Yes. You will provide a unique participant code that will be used to identify any data that you provide. No personal data such as Name or email address will be collected. IP addresses will be collected in order to ensure no repeat responses however these will be deleted upon data analysis.
Only the research team will have access to any identifiable information; any electronic information will be stored on a password protected computer. This will be kept separate from any data and will be treated in accordance with GDPR.
How will my data be stored?
All data will be stored on password protected files within the university network.
What will happen to the results of the study?
The results will be used for an undergraduate dissertation that will be examined as part of a BSc Psychology degree. Occasionally some results might be presented at a conference or published in a journal, but they will always remain anonymous. All information and data gathered during this research will be stored in line with the Data Protection Act and in line with Open Data policies, deidentified data may be held indefinitely, but at no point will your personal information or data be revealed.
Who is funding the study?
The present research project has received no funding.
Who has reviewed the study?
This study and its protocol have received full ethical approval from Northumbria University College of Reviewers (reference number: 52968). If you require confirmation of this, or if you have any concerns or worries concerning this research, or if you wish to register a complaint, please contact the Undergraduate Ethics Coordinator, Dr Jenny Paterson at jenny.paterson@northumbria.ac.uk or the project supervisor Tamlyn Watermeyer at tamlyn.watermeyer@northumbria.ac.uk
How can I withdraw from the project?
During the study itself, you are free to stop your participation at any point by closing your browser and the research team will remove your answers. After you have completed the research, you can still withdraw your data by contacting one of the research team (their contact details are provided in the last section of the infomation sheet) before the 1st of March 2023 and giving them your unique participant code that you will provide on the next page. After this date, it might not be possible to withdraw your individual data as the results might already have been published. As all data are anonymous, your individual data will not be identifiable in any way.
What happens if there is a problem?
If you are unhappy about anything during or after your participation, you should contact the researcher in the first instance or their supervisor. If you feel this is not appropriate, you should contact: jenny.paterson@northumbria.ac.uk
Contact for further information:
Researcher name and email: Holly Brown (holly.a.brown@northumbria.ac.uk)
Supervisor name and email: Tamlyn Watermeyer (tamlyn.watermeyer@northumbria.ac.uk)
Please take a screenshot for your records.
Participant Information Sheet
You are invited to take part in this research study. Before you decide it is important for you to read this information so you understand why the study is being carried out and what it will involve.
Reading this information, discussing it with others or asking any questions you might have will help you decide whether you would like to take part.
What is the purpose of the study?
The purpose of the study is to assess how videos portrayed in the news and media may affect memory and thinking ability in older adults
Why have I been invited to take part?
-
You are above the age of 60
-
You have no previous clinical diagnosis of a Neurodegenerative disorder
-
You have no history of Mood disorders.
Do I have to take part?
You are under no obligation to take part and you will not experience any loss of benefit or penalty if you choose not to participate.
What will I have to do?
To participate the study will require you to complete tasks assessing self-esteem, watch a YouTube video of a news report and complete a series of memory and thinking tasks (The Corsi block sorting test, the Wisconsin Card sorting test and the Posner task). This will be completed on one day and will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
What are the exclusion criteria (i.e. are there any reasons why I should not take part)?
You should not take part in this study if:
-
You are below the age of 60
-
You have a history of Mood disorder
-
You have a clinically diagnosed Neurodegenerative disorder
What are the possible disadvantages/risks in taking part?
The study includes a randomised exposure to a series of videos, some videos depict a negative view and representation of topics which may be discomforting to certain individuals. However, participants are free to withdraw from the study at any time and information to specific organisations that maybe helpful if any participants feel discomfort have been provided below.
AgeUK - https://www.ageuk.org.uk/
MIND- https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/
Ageing Better- https://ageing-better.org.uk/
Centre for mental health- https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/
Useful NHS links
Will my taking part be kept confidential and anonymous?
Yes. You will provide a unique participant code that will be used to identify any data that you provide. No personal data such as Name or email address will be collected. IP addresses will be collected in order to ensure no repeat responses however these will be deleted upon data analysis.
Only the research team will have access to any identifiable information; any electronic information will be stored on a password protected computer. This will be kept separate from any data and will be treated in accordance with GDPR.
How will my data be stored?
All data will be stored on password protected files within the university network.
What will happen to the results of the study?
The results will be used for an undergraduate dissertation that will be examined as part of a BSc Psychology degree. Occasionally some results might be presented at a conference or published in a journal, but they will always remain anonymous. All information and data gathered during this research will be stored in line with the Data Protection Act and in line with Open Data policies, deidentified data may be held indefinitely, but at no point will your personal information or data be revealed.
Who is funding the study?
The present research project has received no funding.
Who has reviewed the study?
This study and its protocol have received full ethical approval from Northumbria University College of Reviewers (reference number: 52968). If you require confirmation of this, or if you have any concerns or worries concerning this research, or if you wish to register a complaint, please contact the Undergraduate Ethics Coordinator, Dr Jenny Paterson at jenny.paterson@northumbria.ac.uk or the project supervisor Tamlyn Watermeyer at tamlyn.watermeyer@northumbria.ac.uk
How can I withdraw from the project?
During the study itself, you are free to stop your participation at any point by closing your browser and the research team will remove your answers. After you have completed the research, you can still withdraw your data by contacting one of the research team (their contact details are provided in the last section of the infomation sheet) before the 1st of March 2023 and giving them your unique participant code that you will provide on the next page. After this date, it might not be possible to withdraw your individual data as the results might already have been published. As all data are anonymous, your individual data will not be identifiable in any way.
What happens if there is a problem?
If you are unhappy about anything during or after your participation, you should contact the researcher in the first instance or their supervisor. If you feel this is not appropriate, you should contact: jenny.paterson@northumbria.ac.uk
Contact for further information:
Researcher name and email: Holly Brown (holly.a.brown@northumbria.ac.uk)
Supervisor name and email: Tamlyn Watermeyer (tamlyn.watermeyer@northumbria.ac.uk)
Please take a screenshot for your records.
Contact information
Information about this study:Researcher: Holly Brown (holly.a.brown@northumbria.ac.uk)
Supervisor: Tamlyn Watermeyer (tamlyn.watermeyer@northumbria.ac.uk)
The University of Northumbria at Newcastle. Faculty of Health & Life Sciences. Department of Psychology
Contact email: holly.a.brown@northumbria.ac.uk