Examining Gender Differences in the Role of Personality Traits as a Facilitator of Violence in the Community

INFORMATION SHEET FOR PARTICIPANTS 

Ethical Clearance Reference Number: 

I would like to invite you to participate in this research project which forms part of my master’s degree research. Before you decide whether you want to take part, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what your participation will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Ask me if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information.

The purpose of the project is to gain a better understanding of the types of personality traits that have more or less controversial attitudes towards violence. Moreover, this project seeks to understand if a certain personality type is linked with stronger attitudes of violence.

You are being invited to participate in this project because you are a male/female UK citizen, aged 21+, and you do not have any diagnosed mental illnesses or criminal convictions. If you do not meet the above criteria, please do not take part.

If you choose to take part in the project you will be asked to complete 3 surveys. The first is a demographics survey, the second is a personality survey, and the third is a attitude towards violence survey. Participation will take place remotely, as the surveys can be accessed via your mobile phone or computer. Completion of all 3 surveys should take no more than 10 minutes. As part of participation you will be asked to provide some demographic information i.e., age, marital status, occupation, etc, that is all non-identifiable. This data is relevant for assessing any links between response analysis and to get a better understanding of any trends in the data. You will also be presented with personality statements, for you to score on a 4-point scale of “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. Similarly, a third survey will be presented that assesses attitudes towards violence, again, all items are to be scored on a 5-point scale. All data will be anonymised throughout the entire research process and no names will be required to complete the surveys.

Participation is completely voluntary. You should only take part if you want to and choosing not to take part will not disadvantage you in any way. Once you have read the information sheet, please contact us if you have any questions that will help you make a decision about taking part. If you decide to take part, consent will obtained after reading the participant information sheet, via you clicking the “Start” button and commencing the surveys.

Given the nature of this research, some individuals may find the topic of violence sensitive to read. Therefore, participants are urged not to participate if they are sensitive to topics of a violent nature or find them distressing. Furthermore, it is stressed that any prospective participants with a diagnosed mental illness (e.g., PTSD) do not take part.

Your data will be processed under the terms of UK data protection law (including the UK General Data Protection Regulation [UK GDPR] and the Data Protection Act 2018). Therefore, all data will be anonymised from completion of the surveys. No identifiable information is requested in any of the surveys, in conjunction with participant anonymity. All data will be stored on the personal laptop of the researcher and held in their private university OneDrive. All data will be retained and archived. All data will only be shared within the immediate research team (i.e., the researcher and researcher supervisor).

Liverpool John Moores University has a responsibility to keep information collected about you safe and secure, and to ensure the integrity of research data. Specialist teams within Liverpool John Moores University continually assess and ensure that data is held in the most appropriate and secure way.

If you would like more information about how your data will be processed under the terms of UK data protection laws please visit the link below:

You are free withdraw at any point of the project, without having to give a reason. Withdrawing from the project will not affect you in any way. You are able to withdraw your data from the project up until you reach the “Debrief” page at the end of all 3 surveys. After which withdrawal of your data will no longer be possible due to your survey responses being completed and submitted; they will automatically be anonymised and it would not be possible to locate your specific responses. If you choose to withdraw from the project we will not retain the information you have given thus far. After completion, you will not be able to access or change any responses made.

The results of the project will be summarised in the researcher’s Master’s Degree dissertation, for a degree in Forensic and Investigative Psychology. If the results of this research prove to be valuable, the project may be considered for publication.

If you have any questions or require more information about this project, please contact me using the following contact details:

Jade Muirhead – Researcher – psyjmuir@ljmu.ac.uk

School of Psychology - 0151 231 5829

If this project has harmed you in any way or if you wish to make a complaint about the conduct of the project you can contact Liverpool John Moores University using the details below for further advice and information:

Dr Victoria Blinkhorn, v.j.blinkhorn@ljmu.ac.uk, 0151 904 6304

The Chair, School of Psychology Research Ethics Committee: PsyREC@ljmu.ac.uk 

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