INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDY INFORMATION SHEET FOR RESEARCH

Activity and equations

You are being asked to participate in a research study. Scientists do research to answer important questions that might help change or improve the way we do things in the future. This document will give you information about the study to help you decide whether you want to participate. Please read this form, and ask any questions you have, before agreeing to be in the study.

All research is voluntary. You can choose not to take part in this study. If you decide to participate, you can change your mind later and leave the study at any time. You will not be penalized or lose any benefits if you decide not to participate or choose to leave the study later.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of activity in learning abstract concepts We are asking you if you want to be in this study because we require participants who are 18 years (or older) and have completed an introductory psychology course. The study is being conducted by Ambar Narwal, Ben Motz and Emily Fyfe, from the Indiana University Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.

If you agree to be in the study, you will do the following things You will meet with a trained researcher for a single study session lasting approximately 50 minutes. The session will be audio and video recorded. The session shall have three parts. In the first part, you will be given descriptions of physical situations from everyday life and asked to think about different types of equations corresponding to these situations. Some of these will be presented on a computer screen and others will be presented on physical materials. In the second part, you will be given a training task which shall involve watching or interacting with certain variables and visuals of a physical situation. The third part shall be equivalent to the first part wherein you’ll again think about different types of equations corresponding to the given physical situations. This research will take place in a single session in a participant testing room on the 6th floor of the Geology Building.

Before agreeing to participate, please consider the risks and potential benefits of taking part in this study. While participating in the study, there is a small risk of possible loss of confidentiality. We don’t think you will have any personal benefits from taking part in this study, but we hope to learn things that will help scientists and teachers in the future.

You will be paid for participating in this study. You will receive 1 credit for your participation. Additionally, you can choose to participate in other studies on SONA by various psychology labs and researchers or complete an alternative assignment of writing a brief paper to earn these credits (see your instructor).

We will protect your information and make every effort to keep your personal information confidential, but we cannot guarantee absolute confidentiality. No information which could identify you will be shared in publications about this study. Audio/video recordings of the study will be accessible by current researchers in the lab. Recordings may be used for educational purposes. Your personal information may be shared outside the research study if required by law. We also may need to share your research records with other groups for quality assurance or data analysis. These groups include the study investigator and his research associates, Indiana University Institutional Review Board or its designees, and state or federal agencies who may need to access the research records (as allowed by law).

If you have questions about the study or encounter a problem with the research, contact the researcher, Ben Motz, at bmotz@indiana.edu or by calling 812-855-0318. For questions about your rights as a research participant, to discuss problems, complaints, or concerns about a research study, or to obtain information or to offer input, please contact the IU Human Research Protection Program office at 800-696-2949 or at irb@iu.edu.