It's my life: Memories and feelings about life
Thank you for visiting this survey page. This survey has received a favourable ethical opinion from the Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, University of Surrey Ethics Committee (also known as Institutional Review Board or IRB in some countries) (ref FT-PSY-246-16, 16 February 2016).
Before deciding whether to participate in this research, please read the following information. You will need to indicate that you have understood this information before you can continue. You must also be aged over 18 to participate. By checking “Yes” at the bottom of this page and clicking to continue to the next page, you are consenting to participate in this survey.
Investigators
Mirka Orsagova, Research Assistant, and Dr Erica Hepper, Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Surrey.
What will the study involve?
This research aims to explore the link between memories and feelings about life. In this survey, you will be asked to bring to mind a particular type of event from your life, spend a few minutes writing about it, and then fill in some questionnaires about your feelings regarding the event and your emotions in general. The entire study should take about 15 minutes.
You should complete the study when you are alone at your computer and your responses cannot be overseen. Please take your time to respond to the questions thoughtfully and openly. There are no right or wrong answers – so feel free to provide completely honest responses. You are free to decide whether or not to take part, and to withdraw at any time during the study by closing your internet browser.
Will my participation in this study be kept confidential?
Yes, all data will be kept strictly confidential in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act 1998. Responses will be saved and encrypted on a UK-based secure internet server.
For University of Surrey students who would like a psychology research token, we need to ask for your URN. After all data are collected your URN will be deleted from the datafile to ensure anonymity. For all other participants, you will not be asked for any information that can identify you, so your participation is anonymous. For this reason, it will not be possible to withdraw your data from the study after you have completed it.
The anonymised datafile will be stored on the researcher’s computer for at least 10 years, will only be used for the purpose of this study, and will not be shared with anyone other than the researchers involved. Any report based on this study will not identify any participants.
Risks and benefits
At the end of the study we will tell you more about our research aims and hypotheses and tell you where you can find out more about this topic. In addition, University of Surrey psychology students can receive a research token in exchange for participation.
Whilst we do not expect any negative reactions to this study, it is not unusual to experience different emotions when completing questionnaires about feelings. If completing the study raises any issues for you, please use the resources below as a source of support.
Contact
If you have any questions about the research or would like a summary of the findings, please contact Dr Erica Hepper at E.Hepper@surrey.ac.uk. In the unlikely event of a complaint you may also contact the Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Surrey on d.moore@surrey.ac.uk.
If you have read and understood everything on this page, please read the consent statements below and click to indicate whether you want to take part.
Statement of Consent