Projects

Consent Form
Non-clinical, Minimum Risk Study
Information Practices in an Online Serious Leisure Environment

You are invited to participate in a research study that is being conducted by Jacob Sanchez, who is a PhD student in the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. The purpose of this research is to define the social norms that are created through the use of the news website Reddit.com.

The study procedures include an online interview based on your Reddit.com usage and will last approximately 30 minutes.

If you agree to take part in the study you will be referred to by your Reddit username and that will be used to attribute your interview. Your real name will appear on a list of subjects and your user name will be assigned a code with a master list that will link the code to your identity and maintained in a secure location.

In lieu of signing this document, a printout of your chat confirmation will be attached to a Consent Form, and signed by myself, Jacob Sanchez. You will be sent a link to this consent form that you may print out for your records. Instead of signing this form, you must consent to the study by typing that you have read and understand this form in the chat window where the interview will take place. The researcher will keep a copy of this chat window with your consent for their records.

There are no foreseeable risks to participation in this study. While your skills in the music site are not likely to improve from participation in this research, the study may produce valuable data about social norms present in online music sites. You will not be paid for your interview.

Participation in this study is voluntary. You may choose not to participate, and you may withdraw at any time during the study procedures without any penalty to you. In addition, you may choose not to answer any questions with which you are not comfortable.

This research is confidential. The research records will include some information about you and this information will be stored in such a manner that some linkage between your identity and the response in the research exists. Some of the information collected about you includes online interviews that will be transcribed as well as online public content you have submitted on Reddit.com which will be linked to your Reddit identity. The identifying information will be your Reddit user name and your public profile information on Reddit.com including music and room preferences if any of this information is available. Please note that we will keep this information confidential by limiting individual’s access to the research data and keeping it in a secure location. The data will only be recorded on the principal investigators password protected computer.

The research team which will consist of the principal investigator Jacob Sanchez, faculty advisor Dr. Ross Todd, and the Institutional Review Board at Rutgers University are the only parties that will be allowed to see the data, except as may be required by law. If a report of this study is published, or the results are presented at a professional conference, you may be provided a copy if you would like. All study data will be kept for at least three years after the data is collected.

If you have any questions about the study procedures, you may contact Jacob Sanchez at (512) 913-7439. If you have any questions about your rights as a research subject, you may contact the Sponsored Programs Administrator at Rutgers University at:

Rutgers University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects
Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
3 Rutgers Plaza
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8559
Tel: 848-932-0150
Email: humansubjects@orsp.rutgers.edu

Contact Information Principle Investigator:
Jacob Sanchez
Tel: 512-913-7439
jacobms@eden.rutgers.edu
4 Huntington St.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Faculty Advisor:
Dr. Ross Todd
Tel: 848-932-7602
rtodd@rutgers.edu
4 Huntington St.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

You will be given a copy of this consent form for your records.

Sign below if you agree to participate in this research study:

Subject _______________________ Date ______________
Principal Investigator ___________________ Date _____________