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Personality and Long-term Relationships

Study Title: Personality and Long-Term Relationships

 

Researcher: Dr Claire Hart (Associate Professor), Michalina Siemiatkowska (Masters student)

ERGO number: 54450                                                                      

 

You are being invited to take part in the above research study. To help you decide whether you would like to take part or not, it is important that you understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. If you are happy to participate you will be asked to give consent to take part.

 

What is the research about?

The aim of this study is to look at how people with different personality traits view their long-term relationships. 

 

Why have I been asked to participate?

You have been asked to participate because you are in a committed relationship for at least 5 years and are of at least 18 years of age.

 

What will happen to me if I take part?

We will ask you to complete some online questions on personality and long-term relationships. This should take about 15-20 minutes to complete.

 

Are there any benefits in my taking part?

You will be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 Amazon voucher (or equivalent). You may benefit from participating because at the end you will learn about our specific research aims, as well as what scientists currently know about this area.  You will also be told where to go for more information on this area of psychology.  In addition, you will contribute to psychological science and our understanding of personality and learning. 

 

Are there any risks involved?

You will be asked questions regarding your close relationships to others, so you may feel slight discomfort sharing this personal information. Should you feel discomfort from any of the questions asked, we suggest going to the following sites: relate.org.uk  and www.oneplusone.space.

 

What data will be collected?

You will be asked to complete some demographic questions, various personality measures, and then respond to some questionnaires concerning your relationship with your partner.

 

At the end of the study you will be asked for an email address which we can use to contact you about the prize draw.  Your email address will be deleted after the prize draw; it will not be connected to your data.

 

Raw data will be collected and stored on the University’s i-survey platform, which is password protected. The downloaded anonymised data will be stored on the researcher’s personal computers and may be uploaded to the Open Science Framework website for open access.

 

Will my participation be confidential?

Your participation and the information we collect about you during the course of the research will be kept strictly confidential.

 

Only members of the research team and responsible members of the University of Southampton may be given access to data about you for monitoring purposes and/or to carry out an audit of the study to ensure that the research is complying with applicable regulations. Individuals from regulatory authorities (people who check that we are carrying out the study correctly) may require access to your data. All of these people have a duty to keep your information, as a research participant, strictly confidential.

 

Do I have to take part?

No, it is entirely up to you to decide whether to take part. If you decide you want to take part, you will need to give consent to show you have agreed and understood the study that you are about to take part in.

 

What happens if I change my mind?

You have the right to change your mind and withdraw at any time without giving a reason and without your participant rights being affected. You can do this by closing the tab/browser on the questionnaire page and you will not face any penalties for doing so. However, once you have submitted your final answers to the questionnaire you will be unable to withdraw this as each response is anonymously coded and cannot be removed.

 

What will happen to the results of the research?

Your personal details will remain strictly confidential. Research findings made available in any reports or publications will not include information that can directly identify you without your specific consent.

 

Where can I get more information?

At any time after participating you may contact any of the research team:

Michalina Siemiatkowska : ms4g16@soton.ac.uk

Claire Hart: C.M.Hart@soton.ac.uk

 

What happens if there is a problem?

If you have a concern about any aspect of this study, you should speak to the researchers who will do their best to answer your questions.

 

If you remain unhappy or have a complaint about any aspect of this study, please contact the University of Southampton Research Integrity and Governance Manager (023 8059 5058, rgoinfo@soton.ac.uk).

 

Also, we have tried to ensure that the questions in this study do not cause any distress.  However, it is not uncommon to experience some anxieties or concerns when completing questionnaires about emotions, and support is available.  If participating in this study raises any issues for you, we recommend that you contact one of the following resources:

UK participants: find a counsellor at www.bacp.org

Worldwide: www.allaboutcounseling.com

 

 

Data Protection Privacy Notice

The University of Southampton conducts research to the highest standards of research integrity. As a publicly-funded organisation, the University has to ensure that it is in the public interest when we use personally-identifiable information about people who have agreed to take part in research.  This means that when you agree to take part in a research study, we will use information about you in the ways needed, and for the purposes specified, to conduct and complete the research project. Under data protection law, ‘Personal data’ means any information that relates to and is capable of identifying a living individual. The University’s data protection policy governing the use of personal data by the University can be found on its website (https://www.southampton.ac.uk/legalservices/what-we-do/data-protection-and-foi.page).

 

This Participant Information Sheet tells you what data will be collected for this project and whether this includes any personal data. Please ask the research team if you have any questions or are unclear what data is being collected about you.

 

Our privacy notice for research participants provides more information on how the University of Southampton collects and uses your personal data when you take part in one of our research projects and can be found at http://www.southampton.ac.uk/assets/sharepoint/intranet/ls/Public/Research%20and%20Integrity%20Privacy%20Notice/Privacy%20Notice%20for%20Research%20Participants.pdf

 

Any personal data we collect in this study will be used only for the purposes of carrying out our research and will be handled according to the University’s policies in line with data protection law. If any personal data is used from which you can be identified directly, it will not be disclosed to anyone else without your consent unless the University of Southampton is required by law to disclose it.

 

Data protection law requires us to have a valid legal reason (‘lawful basis’) to process and use your Personal data. The lawful basis for processing personal information in this research study is for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. Personal data collected for research will not be used for any other purpose.

 

For the purposes of data protection law, the University of Southampton is the ‘Data Controller’ for this study, which means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. The University of Southampton will keep identifiable information about you for 10 years after the study has finished after which time any link between you and your information will be removed.

 

To safeguard your rights, we will use the minimum personal data necessary to achieve our research study objectives. Your data protection rights – such as to access, change, or transfer such information - may be limited, however, in order for the research output to be reliable and accurate. The University will not do anything with your personal data that you would not reasonably expect.

 

If you have any questions about how your personal data is used, or wish to exercise any of your rights, please consult the University’s data protection webpage (https://www.southampton.ac.uk/legalservices/what-we-do/data-protection-and-foi.page) where you can make a request using our online form. If you need further assistance, please contact the University’s Data Protection Officer (data.protection@soton.ac.uk).

 

 

Thank you.

Thank you for taking the time to read the information sheet and considering taking part in the research.