Informed Consent

Purpose of this study:
This is a study in social psychology being conducted by Stephanie Dufort, an undergraduate student at Manhattan College, working under the mentoring of Dr. Kimberly Fairchild. The study has been designed to examine the relationship between online usage and the health and well-being of an individual. You have been selected as a participant based on the belief that you are either a facebook, twitter, or a blog user.

What will be done:
You will complete a 15-20 minute online survey. The survey will include questions on demographics such as age, gender, and race. It will also include questions about internet usage behaviors. Finally, it will include questions on subjective thoughts. After you complete the survey you may exit the survey.

Benefits of this study:
You will be contributing to the research on the impact that computer usage can have on an individual. After the research is completed, you may contact the researcher for more results and details on the study.

Risks and discomforts:
There are no known risks or discomforts for completing this study. If you feel uncomfortable at any time with a question you may stop taking the survey. Any uncompleted surveys will NOT be included in the research data and will be discarded.

Confidentiality:
Your responses will be kept completely confidential. We will not know your IP address when you complete the survey. Your name will not be necessary to include on the survey, and thus your survey will not be identified.

Decision to quit at any time:
Your participation is voluntary; you are free to withdraw your participation from this study at any time. If you do not want to continue, you can simply leave this website. If you do not click on the "submit" button at the end of the survey, your answers and participation will not be recorded.

How the findings will be used:
The results of the study will be used for scholarly purposes only. The results from the study may be presented in educational settings and conferences. Because we will ask you about a number of different aspects of your online communication patterns and subjective thoughts, it is likely that we will use your data to address multiple questions regarding such issues.

Contact Information:
If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact Stephanie Dufort at sdufort.student@manhattan.edu or Dr. Kimberly Fairchild at Kimberly.fairchild@manhattan.edu. If you wish to speak to a counselor, you may contact the Manhattan College Counseling Center at 718-862-7394.

By beginning the survey, you acknowledge that you have read this information and agree to participate in this research, with the knowledge that you are free to withdraw your participation at any time without penalty.