We would like to invite you to take part in the above-named research study. Before you decide whether or not to take part, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please therefore take time to read the following information carefully.

What is the Purpose of the Study?
The current study aims to re-examine the association between schizotypy and the Stroop task. In the past no association has been found.  However, it is possible that insensitive methods were used in these previous studies. The current study will use a method of administrating the Stroop task which should increase its sensitivity to subtle cognitive deficits then an association can be observed.

Why have I been invited to participate?
The project will recruit anyone over 18 years old who have 20:20 or corrected vision. However, if you currently have a diagnosis of any mental health condition or are currently taking medication for mental health related problems, you should not participate in the study.  You should also not take part in the study if you have colour blindness.

Do I Have to Take Part?
Participation in this project is entirely voluntary and if you are willing to take part you will be asked to complete a Participation Consent Form prior to the investigation. If you choose to participate, your data will eventually be anonymous (see How will my data and my privacy be protected? below). No personal identifiers will be collected and 7 days after your participation has ended, there will be no way to link the data to you. You have the right to withdraw your participation at any time during data collection by closing the web browser. You will also have 7 day’s after you have ended your participation to withdraw your data from the study. 

•             If you are a Cardiff Met student recruited through the psychology participation panel and wish to remove your data from the study, email healthethics@cardiffmet.ac.uk and quote the Study reference Number (insert study ref number here)
•             If you have not been recruited through the Cardiff Met psychology participation panel and wish to remove your data from the study, email healthethics@cardiffmet.ac.uk, quote the study reference number (insert study ref number here), the last 3 letter of your last name and the last 4 digits of you telephone number. 

What Would Happen If You Agree to Participate?
If you agree to participate in this study, you will first complete an O-LIFE questionnaire that contains 160 yes or no questions that relate to your feelings and experiences. After this, you will be required to click on a web link that will open the Stroop task in a separate web browser page.  Each trial of the experiment will present a fixation cross for 500ms followed by a colour word (RED, GREEN, YELLOW or BLUE) presented in different print colours (red, green, yellow and blue).  You will be required to respond to the colour of the print not the word.  For example, if the word RED is presented in green print then the correct response is green. You will do this by pressing r, g, b, y on the computer keyboard for red, green, blue and yellow.  You will be instructed to respond as fast and as accurately as they can.  If you do not respond within 2000ms then the trial will time out and the experiment will move to the next trials.  There will be 4 block of 96 trials in the experiment. You will get more detailed instructions and some practice at the task when the study begins.

If you choose to participate, please complete the study in a quiet distraction free environment (i.e., alone with mobile phones and other electronic devices turned off). You must also complete the study in one sitting. Once the study starts, you cannot pause it and return later. Your participation should take around 30 minutes.
Are there any risks associated with taking part?

There is a possibility that you may experience anxiety or worry when answering the O-LIFE questionnaire as the questions relate to your feelings and experiences. To clarify, the O-LIFE is not a diagnostic measure of any mental health problems. If you have any concerns about your mental health, then please contact your GP. If you are a student, then contact your GP, your Universities student support services, Samaritans helpline (Tel: 116 123), Nightline; a listening service for students in the Cardiff area (Tel: 02920 870555) and/or YoungMinds - children and young people's mental health charity. If you are a student at Cardiff Metropolitan University, you can contact student services by phone (02929 416170) or email (studentservices@cardiffmet.ac.uk)”.

Are there any benefits associated with taking part?
As the participant you will gain a further understanding of the topic area being researched. If you are a participant recruited via the Cardiff Metropolitan Research Participation Panel, then you will gain research credits for participating.

What Will Happen to the Results of the Research Project?
The results of this research project will form part of a final year undergraduate dissertation and possibly a research publication.

How will my Data and my Privacy be Protected?
If you were not recruited form the Cardiff Met psychology participation panel, the only way that you can identify your data is by using the ‘participation code’ (i.e. last 3 letter of your surname and last 4 digits of your telephone number).  You can use this ‘participation code’ to remove your data from the study (see Do I have to take part? above). You will have up to 7 day’s to request that you data be removed from the study.  After the 7 days has elapsed, your ‘participation code’  will be deleted from your data.  At this point, your data will be completely anonymous.  There will be no way to link you to your data.
If you are a Cardiff Mat student recruited through the participation panel, your student email will be linked to your data.  This will enable participation credits to be granted for your participation and enable you to remove your data from the study (see Do I have to take part? above). You will have up to 7 day’s to request that you data be removed form the study.  After the 7 days has elapsed, your email will be deleted from your data.  At this point, your data will be completely anonymous.  There will be no way to link you to your data.
The data collected from the project will be stored securely on the researchers’ Cardiff Metropolitan student OneDrive account and on the supervisors Cardiff Metropolitan OneDrive account. Only the researcher and the project supervisor will have access to the data. Data collected will only be data required for completion of the study. All data will be anonymous as no personal identifies will be collected. Data will be held for up to two years after graduation of the undergraduate researcher or indefinitely if the research is published. Who is Involved in the Project?
This project is being conducted by Olivia Meredith who is being supervised by Dr Deiniol Skillicorn:
If I have any questions, who should I contact for further information?
Dr Deiniol Skillicorn – dskillicorn@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Thank you for taking your time to read the information sheet.


Please click here to download a copy of the participant information sheet