Consent Form: Applicants
Study Title: 12-min puzzle game
Name of Principal Investigator: Jin Young Yoon, PhD candidate in Department of Economics at Queen’s University
Name of Co-Principal Investigator(s): Chi Danh Dao, PhD candidate in Department of Economics at Queen’s University, Seth Kushniryk, PhD candidate in Department of Economics at Queen’s University
Description
We invite you to participate in a puzzle-solving game. You are eligible to participate if you are between the ages of 18 and 65. We investigate the behavior of players given certain circumstances. The game includes three parts: a short pre-game survey, a main game phase (with three subphases), and a brief post-game survey. Each survey takes about 2 minutes to complete. The entire game phase, including instructions, lasts approximately 10 minutes, with each subphase taking 2 minutes. The puzzles are simple but slightly time-consuming, and each one is designed to be solved in about 15 seconds.
Possible advantages or disadvantages related to your participation
There are no direct benefits to participating, and the risks involved in playing the game are minimal. As part of your participation, you may be asked to answer survey questions about your demographic information, such as age, gender, and educational background. We do not collect any personally identifiable information, and your responses will not be linked to your identity in any way. Participating in the game may offer a potential benefit—you might find it entertaining and enjoyable.
Compensation
You will receive compensation based on your completion of the game. Participants earn a fixed base rate of CAD $5.50 for approximately 10 minutes of participation. In addition, you can earn an average bonus of CAD $0.25 for each puzzle you solve. Each puzzle is designed to take about 15 seconds to complete.
Participation
Your participation is entirely voluntary. You are free to skip any questions in the surveys you prefer not to answer, and you may stop participating at any time without any negative consequences. If you wish to withdraw your data, you can do so at any point by messaging the research team directly through Prolific.
Confidentiality and data management
Your confidentiality will be protected to the extent permitted by applicable laws. Since you take part in Prolific, we will use your Prolific user ID without collecting identifiable data. The study data will be encrypted and stored on Queen’s OneDrive. There are organizations and their representatives that may look at or receive copies of some of the information in your study records for data analysis and quality assurance for monitoring, control, safety, and security. These may include:
GREB is bound by confidentiality and will not disclose any personal information. We will keep your data securely for at least five years per Queen’s University Policy, after which the de-identified data will be deposited into the Queen's University's Institutional Repository.
We plan to publish the results of this study in academic journals and present them at conferences. Any information that we collect as part of the research will not be identified. For example, this includes your responses collected in the surveys.
Complaints or Concerns
This study has received ethical approval by the Queen’s University General Research Ethics Board. If you have any ethics concerns, please contact the Queen’s University General Research Ethics Board (GREB) at 1-613-533-2988 (phone number for outside North America) or email chair.GREB@queensu.ca. If non-English speaking participants wish to contact the Chair for ethics concerns, translation assistance may be necessary, as the REB Chair communicates in English only.
Additional information
If you have any questions about the research, please message the study team through Prolific directly.
This Letter of Information provides you with the details to help you make an informed choice. All your questions should be answered to your satisfaction before you decide whether or not to participate in this research study. You may print one copy of the Letter of Information for your records.
You have not waived any legal rights by consenting to participate in this study.
Supervisor information
This project is supervised by Karen Ye, assistant professor at Department of Economics at Queen’s University. You may contact the supervisor at karen.ye@queensu.ca and office number +1 613 533 2048.
Thank you
Your collaboration is invaluable in allowing us to carry out this project and we thank you for participating.
By clicking the “Yes” button below, I am verifying that: I have read the Letter of Information, and all my questions have been answered.