Truth or Trash? How Believable is the News Today?
You are asked to participate in a voluntary research study conducted by Daniel M.T. Fessler, Ph.D., Associate Professor, from the Anthropology Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. You are a possible participant in this study if you are at least 18 years of age. For scientific reasons, this information sheet does not include complete information about the study hypotheses and the research questions being tested.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study is to explore how people judge the truthfulness of statements about the world of the type commonly encountered in electronic and print news media.
PROCEDURES
If you volunteer to participate in this study, we would ask you to complete a survey. You would be asked to read 20 statements about the world and, for each, asked to judge how likely you think it is that the statement is true or false. You would also be asked to indicate your age and gender. The total length of time for completion of the survey is approximately 10 minutes.
POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
No potential risks or discomforts are anticipated.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO SUBJECTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY
Although you will not benefit from your participation in this survey, those interested in this research will be able to refer back to the author's web site at http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/anthro
/faculty/fessler/ and see the final results. In addition to the benefits of conducting basic research, society may benefit from a fuller understanding of how people evaluate statements presented by the mass media.
PAYMENT FOR PARTICIPATION
You will not be paid for your participation in this research study.
CONFIDENTIALITY
This study is entirely anonymous - no identifying information will be collected about you, the computer you are using, or the Internet service provider through which you are accessing this web site.
PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
This study is entirely voluntary. If you volunteer to be in this study, you may end your participation at any time without consequences of any kind. You may end your participation by either rerouting your web browser to another website or closing your web browser. You may also refuse to answer any questions you do not want to answer and still remain in the study. The investigator may withdraw you from this research if circumstances arise which warrant doing so. Completion of the survey will constitute consent to participate in the research study.
IDENTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATORS
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact the Principal
Investigator:
Daniel M.T. Fessler, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Dept. of Anthropology, UCLA
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553
Email dfessler@anthro.ucla.edu
Tel. (310) 794-9252
RIGHTS OF RESEARCH SUBJECTS
You may withdraw your consent at any time and discontinue participation without penalty. You are not waiving any legal claims, rights or remedies because of your participation in this research study. If you have questions regarding your rights as a research subject, contact the Office for Protection of Research Subjects, 2107 Ueberroth Building, UCLA, Box 951694, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1694, (310) 825-8714.
Approved by the UCLA Office for the Protection of
Research Subjects, Exemption #08-322.
(To begin the survey, please click "Continue.")