Consent to Participate in Research: Autism and the Internet
You are asked by Dr. Patricia Greenfield, of the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, if you would like to participate in this anonymous internet survey comparing how people with and without autism use the internet. Your participation in this study is voluntary and you may stop doing the survey at any point in time. If you decide to withdraw from the study before completing it, your data will not be analyzed.
Purpose of the Research: The goal of this study is to see if the internet helps autistic and non-autistic people make friends and/or learn about their hobbies. We would also like to know if different ways of seeing the world, regardless of diagnosis, relate to different ways of using the internet.
Outline of Procedures: If you would like to participate in this study, please select the box at the end of this consent form titled “I consent to participate in the survey Autism and the Internet”. If you would not like to participate, select the box titled “I do not consent to participate in the survey Autism and the Internet.” If you consent to participate, the survey will appear on your computer screen. If you ever decide that you no longer want to complete the survey, you are free to stop taking the survey at any point in time. Your responses to the survey will remain anonymous. The survey will take between 15 minutes and one hour to complete.
Foreseeable Discomforts: Your may feel uncomfortable emotions when thinking about questions on the survey. If the survey questions make you feel uncomfortable, you are free to stop taking the survey at any point in time. The questions are designed to be as clear as possible so it is likely that you will not experience emotional discomfort as a result of the survey.
Potential Benefit to Participants and Society: Possible benefits of the study to society are that the knowledge gained may help people evaluate whether the internet helps autistic and non-autistic people to form connections and learn about their passions. This information may be useful in designing treatments to help autistic people communicate more effectively or in recognizing when such treatments are unnecessary because the autistic people are already satisfied with how they use the internet to communicate and learn.
Payment for Participation: You will not be compensated for completing this survey.
Confidentiality: All information that is obtained in connection with this study will remain anonymous.
Participation and Withdrawal: Your participation is VOLUNTARY. If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw your consent and discontinue participation at any time without penalty. Your decision to participate will not affect your relationship with UCLA, or the agency or individual that referred you to us.
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact the Principal Investigator, Patricia Greenfield Ph.D., at (310) 825-7526 or in room 2344A Franz Hall. If it is easier to communicate by email, please email the graduate student researcher on the project, Kristen Gillespie-Lynch, at proserpinae@ucla.edu.
If the study design or use of data is to be changed, you will be informed and your consent reobtained.
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, UCLA, Box 951694, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1694, (310) 825-8714.