Research Disclosure & Informed Consent

This is a short 22 question survey. It should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. 

My name is Sydney Yeager. I am a Ph.D. Candidate studying cultural anthropology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. The survey is part of my dissertation research investigating how Facebook users share their emotions and experiences, and seek out support through Facebook.

Your responses will be utilized in my dissertation research addressing modern grief practices on Facebook. In particular, the contemporary extension of the memorialization into the digital space of Facebook. Your responses will be valuable for providing insight into contemporary Facebook use and the social norms for sharing and responding to emotional posts. Please respond honestly. All identifying information collected in the questionnaire will be removed from your results prior to data analysis and the publication of research findings. The results of this research will be presented at academic conferences, in academic publications, and to the general public through my professional blog and in public talks.

Your participation in the study is completely voluntary. You have the right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. If you do not wish to continue, you can exit the survey at any time. You can also choose to withdraw your participation from the Sharing your Feelings on Facebook Survey portion of the project. To withdraw your material from the research project at any time, contact Sydney Yeager or Caroline Brettell and they will see that all data and analysis relating to you will be destroyed. If you have any questions about this survey or the project in general feel free to contact me at slyeager@smu.edu or my adviser Caroline Brettell at cbrettel@smu.edu.  If you have concerns about your rights and participation in this study, you may contact the Chair of the IRB, Austin Baldwin, Ph.D., researchcompliance@smu.edu.

 
What Is Involved In This Part of the Study?
After providing your informed consent, you will respond to fifteen survey questions regarding your Facebook use history and your specific experiences with emotional content on Facebook. The survey should take less than ten minutes.

Confidentiality & Data linked with identifying information: All participants and their information will be kept secure and confidential. This means that your name and identifying information will be removed from your data during the analysis process. Your information will be assigned a code number.  The list connecting your name to this code will be kept on an encrypted file in a password protected account.  When the study is completed, and the data analyzed, this list will be destroyed.  Your name and identifiable information such as your email will NOT be used in any publication or public presentation of the research.

Payment: You will receive no payment for completing the survey; participation is voluntary.

If you have questions about the study, contact:
Sydney Yeager, MA, Principle Investigator
slyeager@smu.edu OR 512-433-6970

Caroline Brettell, Ph.D., Faculty Adviser
cbrettel@smu.edu OR 214-768-4254

If you have questions about your rights in the study, contact:
Austin Baldwin, Ph.D., IRB Chair
researchcomplaince@smu.edu OR 214-768-3096

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* 1. Clicking on the "Agree" button below indicates that: 
• you have read the above information
• you voluntarily agree to participate
• you are at least 18 years of age 
 

If you do not wish to participate in the research study, please decline participation by clicking on the "disagree" button.

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* 2. Please, initial the text box below as a means of providing your electronic signature confirming your informed consent to participate in this questionnaire.

Digitally sign with the initials for your name. Example: SY for Sydney Yeager

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* 3. Please provide your email address so that we can send you a copy of the Research Description, Informed Consent, and Grief Support Resources. We will not send any additional emails unless you volunteer to participate in further research actives. Your email will also be kept secret and secure. It will not be shared will anyone or any organizations under any circumstances.

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* 4. After the completion of this project the researcher will be sharing the less sensitive data produced by this project in an open access database which is freely accessible to the public. This publicly shared data will be unidentifiable. Inclusion of your data in this archiving effort is completely voluntary. You can participate in this project regardless of your choice.

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