Title: Stroop, search, digit span for teaching R

Date of approval: 6 January 2025

Invitation to our study

My name is Gijsbert Stoet and I am a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex. I would like to invite you to take part in a study. Before you decide whether you wish to participate in this study, it is important for you to understand why the study is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Ask me questions (via email) if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information.

You are being invited to participate in this research study which is open to anyone of at least 18 years old. You should not take part in this study if you cannot distinguish well between red and green colours (colour blindness).

What is the purpose of the study?

Our study aims to create data sets for teaching how to analyse PsyToolkit data using the statistical software R. All data are completely anonymous and you cannot be identified based on the data set. The data sets will be made publicly available for using in teaching about R and publications related to this.

What happens if you agree to participate

The study takes at least 15 minutes. You will be asked a series of questions, including age, gender, personality, and various other things (e.g., the weather). The main aim is that different types of questions are being answered (e.g., multiple choice questions, Likert style questions). There are also three cognitive tasks, namely the Stroop task, a visual search task, and a digit span test.

What are the potential benefits and risks of taking part?

The benefit is that this study helps the teaching of statistics in psychology, especially for users of the PsyToolkit software.

There are no risks in taking part.

Will my participation be kept confidential?

Your participation is fully anonymous.

How will my data be stored and who will have access to it?

The anonymous data will be used for teaching the statistical software R, especially the analysis of PsyToolkit data. Because of this, your data will be stored together with other similar data files via publicly available repositories. Further, your data will possibly be used for a publication on how to analyse PsyToolkit data.

Withdrawal

It is up to you to decide whether or not you wish to take part in this study. If you do decide to take part you will be asked to provide written consent (tick a box below on this page). You are free to withdraw at any time, without giving a reason. You can withdraw at any time by just stopping the survey. Once completed, you see a unique number/letter code. If you send this within 24 hours to g.stoet@essex.ac.uk, we can still withdraw your data set, but after that, we will add the data to the anonymous database.

Legal basis for using personal data

The University processes personal data for the primary purpose of research under the lawful basis of processing set out in Article 6 (1)(e) of the UK GDPR, ‘processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller’. The University’s lawful basis for processing Special Category data is Article 9 (2), (j) ‘processing is necessary for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1)’. Using this lawful basis requires the University to also meet a substantial public interest condition as set out in Schedule 1, Part 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018. The condition that the University will use is 4. Research, etc. Under UK data protection legislation, the University acts as the Data Controller for personal data collected as part of the University’s research. For more information on data protection legislation and your rights visit the University’s Data protection and research activity web-page. For any queries, email dpo@essex.ac.uk.

Who has reviewed the study?

This project has been reviewed on behalf of the University of Essex Ethics Committee, and had been given approval with the following Application ID: ETH2425-0519.

Concerns and complaints

If you have any concerns about any aspect of the study or you have a complaint, in the first instance please contact the principal investigator of the project (g.stoet@essex.ac.uk), using the contact details below. If you are still concerned, think your complaint has not been addressed to your satisfaction, or feel that you cannot approach the principal investigator, please contact the Director of Research in the department responsible for this project. If you are still not satisfied, please contact the University of Essex REO Research Integrity Manager (reo-integrity@essex.ac.uk). Please include the ERAMS reference (ETH2425-0519), details of the name or description of the study, the researcher involved, and the details of the complaint you wish to make.

Contact details:

Principal investigator: Prof. Gijsbert Stoet (g.stoet@essex.ac.uk)

Director of Research, Dept of Psychology: Prof Sheina Orbell (sorbell@essex.ac.uk)