Human Research Ethics
Participant Information Statement and Consent
School of Psychological Sciences
The University of Newcastle
University Drive, Callaghan, 2308
Phone number: (02) 4055 3046
Email: cass.gauld@newcastle.edu.au
Regarding Research Project: Billboard Messaging
Document version 1 dated 04/03/2022
Dear potential research participant,
You are invited to participate in the research project noted above which is being conducted by researchers from the University of Newcastle. The research is part of Tanya Craft’s and Marcin Stepnik’s honours studies at the University of Newcastle, supervised by Dr. Cassandra Gauld from the School of Psychological Sciences. The information below provides more detail about the study and how you can participate, if you choose to do so.
1. What is the research study about?
The purpose of the research is to get your reaction (e.g., thoughts, feelings) to newly developed messages aimed at smartphone use while driving.
2. Who is conducting the research?
This research project is being conducted by researchers from the University of Newcastle’s School of Psychological Sciences.
3. Who can participate in the research?
This research study is recruiting people who are aged 18 to 25 years, own a smartphone, have a P1, P2, or open licence, and live in NSW. People who cannot participate include those who do not meet the four selection criteria listed above.
As this information sheet has been circulated broadly as part of our call for participants, you weren’t specifically identified to participate, rather, you most likely responded to an advertisement for participants as part of our recruitment strategy.
4. What does participation involve?
If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete two online anonymous surveys. The second survey will be sent to you 1-week after you complete the first. Your responses to the two surveys will be linked using a unique code identifier in order to maintain your anonymity.
The first survey should take approximately 20 minutes to complete and must be completed in a single session. Survey questions will be directly related to the message, as well as general questions about smartphone use while driving. For example, “How persuasive do you think the message was?”; “I intend to use my smartphone while driving in the next week”; “For me, using my smartphone while driving would be (good…bad)”; and “To what extent do your close friends approve of you using your smartphone while driving?” Most responses will mostly be measured on Likert scales (e.g., [7] strongly agree, [1] strongly disagree). Demographic data will also be collected (e.g., age, gender, smartphone usage while driving, type of smartphone use, hours driving per day).
The second survey will take approximately 5 minutes to complete and must also be completed in a single session. Questions will be about general smartphone use while driving.
At the end of the second survey, you will be invited to leave your email address to enter into a prize draw to win one of twelve $50 shopping vouchers. Your anonymity will be maintained, however, as your email will be collected in a separate survey (via a new survey link) and won’t be linked to your survey responses.
5. Do you have to take part in this research study?
No. Participation in this research study is voluntary. If you do not want to take part, you do not have to. If you decide to participate and later change your mind, you are free to withdraw from the study at any time prior to submitting your completed survey. Due to the anonymous nature of the survey, if you decide to withdraw from the project after submitting a completed survey, we cannot withdraw your responses.
6. What is the benefit of participating in this research study?
By participating in this survey, you will have the opportunity to help the researchers understand how effective the messages targeting smartphone use while driving are and why they may or may not be effective. As such, by providing feedback on your thoughts and feelings about the effectiveness of these messages, you may ultimately help inform the design of more effective road safety messages and reduce the prevalence of smartphone use while driving.
7. Are there any risks involved in participating in this research?
There are minimal risks associated with your participation in this project. Some individuals, however, may have experienced, or know someone who has experienced, a negative occurrence (e.g., a crash) on the road and, as such, may find a study about smartphone use while driving a sensitive issue. If this may be you, we ask that you consider whether or not you are comfortable with participating in this study.
Important! The survey will contain a general question about your prior engagement in illegal smartphone use while driving. However, it will not ask for specifics (e.g., time/date) around this illegal usage. Also, given the anonymous nature of the surveys, there are no risks associated with sharing this information.
Should you find any of the questions upsetting, you can stop your participation at any time prior to submission of the survey without penalty. You can also contact University’s free Counselling Service at (02) 4921 6622, Lifeline’s free national counselling service at 13 11 14, or BeyondBlue at 1300 224636 should you need support regarding any of the issues raised in the survey.
8. How will your privacy be protected?
Due to the anonymous nature of the survey, the responses you provide will not be identifiable.
Data will be retained securely for a minimum period of 5 years from the completion of the research project. Information will be managed and stored in accordance with the
University’s Research Data and Materials Management Guideline or any successor Guideline as week as any other applicable University of Newcastle policy provisions.
The survey will be hosted by QuestionPro. The data will also be stored on their servers that are co-located in off-site data centres. These data centres undergo periodic audits and are monitored for unauthorized access and service availability twenty-four hours a day. More information on QuestionPro’s data privacy and security policy can be found here:
QuestionPro-Security-Policy-Procedures.pdf
9. How will information collected by the research team be used?
The information we collect will primarily contribute to Tanya Craft’s and Marcin Stepnik’s honours theses. It may also be collated, analysed, and presented in academic publications, at conferences, or in articles. Please note that Individual participants will not be identifiable in any of the outputs generated from the research project. As such, your specific contribution will be anonymous. Non-identifiable data may be shared with other parties as part of a peer-review process to verify the robustness and integrity of the study, or to contribute to further research and public knowledge.
If you would like a copy of the summary of the results, please leave your email address when requested, at the end of the second survey. In order to ensure your anonymity, your email will be collected in a separate survey and will not be linked to your responses.
10. What you need to do in order to participate
Read this Information Statement in its entirety and be sure you understand all of the information provided before you agree to participate.
If you would like to participate, please give consent on the following page and complete the online survey. If this document was provided in an electronic form you are encouraged to retain a copy for your reference.
Completion and submission of the survey will be taken as your implied consent to participate.
11. Do you need more information?
Thank you,
Ms Tanya Craft & Mr Marcin Stepnik
Student Researchers
University of Newcastle
Dr. Cassandra Gauld
Associate Lecturer
University of Newcastle
Concerns or complaints about this research
This project has been approved by the University of Newcastle’s Human Research Ethics Committee. Approval No. H-2022-0014.
If you have concerns about your rights as a participant in this research, or if you have a complaint about the manner in which the research is conducted, you can contact the Chief Investigator, Dr Cassandra Gauld on (02) 4055 3046 or cass.gauld@newcastle.edu.au
If you would prefer to contact someone independent of the research project, you can forward your concerns to:
Human Research Ethics Officer
Research and Innovation Services
University of Newcastle
University Drive
Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia
Phone: (02) 4921 6333
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