University of St. Thomas – Institutional Review Board
Informed Consent to Participate in Research
You are being asked to participate in the research project described below. Your participation in
this study is voluntary; you may refuse to participate, or you may decide to stop your
participation at any time.
Should you refuse to participate or withdraw your consent and stop participating in the study,
your decision will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which you may be entitled otherwise.
Please read the information below carefully and ask questions about anything you do not
understand before deciding whether to participate.
STUDY TITLE: Locus of Control Among Adults and College Students with Diverse
Backgrounds
RESEARCHER(S): Auden Griffiths, Aiden Crawford, Jazlyn Bautista, Gabrielle Kong
FACULTY ADVISOR: (if applicable): Dr. Crystal D. Tran
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The purpose of the study is to create and validate scales assessing
internal and external locus of control in adults as well as university students.
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 200
PROCEDURES FOR PARTICIPANTS: Participants will be completing an online questionnaire
conducted via Survey Monkey upon consent for participation.
EXPECTED DURATION OF PARTICIPATION: 15-30 minutes
RISKS OF PARTICIPATION AND SAFEGUARDS:
There is the possibility that participants may experience mild discomfort when answering the
questions. If you experience any discomfort, you may choose to skip questions and/or stop
participating. For UST students who experience any distress due to participation, the University
of St. Thomas Counseling and Wellness Services office can be reached at (713) 525-2169 or
cws@stthom.edu. The Center is open Monday through Friday. UST students are offered free
counseling in their office, located on the second floor of Crooker. For non-UST students, in the
event that you experience any distress due to participation, the following resources are available:
Crisis Hotline, (832) 416-1177, and Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988.
POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION: Participants will receive no direct benefits for
participation.
COMPENSATION: UST students enrolled in a psychology course will earn up to 0.5 hours of
extra credit for a psychology class of their choosing for participation in this study.
PARTICIPANT PRIVACY:
The study uses an anonymous survey to collect data. The researcher will not collect any
information that could identify you as a participant.
ACCESS TO RECORDS: The following people will have access to study records that do not
include your name or other identifying information: Auden Griffiths (primary researcher), Aiden
Crawford, Gabrielle Kong, Jazlyn Bautista (Additional Researchers), and Dr. Crystal Tran
(faculty advisor).
CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS: Every effort will be made to keep your study records
confidential. The data collected from the study may be used for educational and publication
purposes, but you will not be identified by name. The researcher will securely maintain study
records for a minimum of three years, after which the records will be destroyed.
FUTURE USE OF DATA:
The researcher may use your data for future studies alongside the current study, which may be
presented at local and regional conferences.
INVESTIGATOR’S RIGHT TO WITHDRAW PARTICIPANT: The researcher has the right to withdraw you from this study at any time.