CONSENT FORM

Researcher(s):

Graduate Students:
Brandon Sparks
Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan
Email: brandon.sparks@usask.ca

Alexandra Zidenberg
Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan
Email: alexandra.zidenberg@usask.ca

Faculty Supervisor:
Dr. Mark Olver
Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan
Email: mark.olver@usask.ca

Attitudes Toward Police and Law Enforcement Officers (F87): You are invited to participate in a research study entitled “Attitudes Toward Police and Law Enforcement Officers (F87)” This study (BEH 1909) has been approved by the University of Saskatchewan Behavioural Research Ethics Board on May 27, 2020. Please read this form carefully and feel free to contact the researchers above if you have any questions prior to, during, or after completing the study. This research project has been approved on ethical grounds by the University of Saskatchewan Research Ethics Board.  Any questions regarding your rights as a participant may be addressed to that committee through the Research Ethics Office: ethics.office@usask.ca; (306) 966-2975. Out of town participants may call toll free (888) 966-2975.

Purpose and Procedure: For society to function at its most optimal level, it is important for law enforcement officials to be held to a high standard and in a positive regard by citizens. However, a number of local, national, and international issues and incidents may influence both of these. These effects—positive and/or negative—may be exacerbated by media coverage of police-related events. Thus, the purpose of the study is to develop a better understanding of citizen attitudes toward the police.

If you consent to participate, you will be presented with news stories about police officers followed by questionnaires pertaining to your attitudes toward police officers in different jurisdictions. Following this, you will be asked a series of demographic questions to help describe the study sample (e.g., to determine how old, on average, respondents are). Completion of this study should take no more than 20-30 minutes.

Potential Benefits: While there will be no direct benefit to you as a participant, you will have the opportunity to better understand the research process and to contribute knowledge about perceptions of police and law enforcement. It is important for researchers and law enforcement agencies to be aware of opinions of the police in the community and what factors may influence attitudes toward police officers. Ultimately, this information will be used to enhance relations between police officers and citizens, resulting in safer, more connected communities. If you are eligible, you may receive a bonus mark in certain classes in exchange for your participation. Your professor and class syllabus will have discussed this if it is an option.

Potential Risks: It is not expected that participation in this study will cause any undue stress or harm, but given the nature of the articles, you may at times feel uncomfortable. If participation becomes too distressing or you do not wish to answer a question, please remember that you have the right to skip any questions you wish or to withdraw your consent at any time without penalty. If you are receiving a study credit, you will still receive this even if you withdraw your consent or skip questions. If you wish, you may contact the graduate student researcher, Brandon Sparks, at the contact information above to discuss the study. If you require further support, please consider the following services:
Student Counselling Services: (306) 966-4920
Saskatoon Crisis Intervention Services (24 hours): (306) 933-6200
University of Saskatchewan Student Wellness Centre: (306) 966-5768

Storage of Data: The research data will be encrypted and stored on the secure servers of SurveyMonkey, whose premises have 24/7 security. Once data collection is complete, data will be stored on password protected computers accessible to only the above researchers. No identifying information, such as your name or student ID, will appear in the database. All the data will be aggregated to further protect the confidentiality of your responses. Anonymized data will be held by the research supervisor, Dr. Olver for a minimum of five years post-publication. However, it may be stored up to 15 years after collection. Once it has been collected from the SurveyMonkey, it will be permanently deleted from their servers upon request from the graduate student researchers or the research supervisor. The information will then reside on a password protected computer in a secure setting for the duration of the storage term described above. When the data will be deleted, it will be done so through a file shredding software, erasing the possibility that the data can be recovered (i.e., it will be permanently deleted). Data collected for this study may be used in future research projects, which will also require review and approval from the REB.

Anonymity and Confidentiality: Your participation is anonymous and confidential. While the data from this research project may be published and presented at conferences, it will be reported in aggregate form. Aggregated / grouped data may be shared with other researchers as required by the ethics and publication guidelines of psychology. If this is the case, none of your identifying information will be included. This ensures that the identification of individuals will not be possible. To ensure the anonymity of your responses, please do not include any identifying information in your responses, such as your name or email in the questionnaire fields. Also note that other identifying information, such as IP addresses, are automatically stored in a separate data file from survey responses and thus will not be associated with any your responses. Because the survey host’s (SurveyMonkey) data is stored on secure servers in a building with 24/7 security in Canada, it cannot be extracted under legislation such as the Patriot Act in the United States, which requires research data to be turned over to the government.

Right to Withdraw: Your participation in this study is voluntary and you are not required to answer any questions that you are uncomfortable with. If you do not wish to continue with the study, you are free to withdraw your consent at any time, for any reason, without penalty. There will also be a text box at the completion of the survey. If you feel comfortable, feel free to share your concerns here, as this will help the researchers in ensuring that the study minimized risk to the greatest extent possible Once the survey has been completed, responses will no longer be able to be removed due to the anonymous nature of the study.

Questions: If any questions or concerns arise prior to, during, or after completing the study, feel free to express these by contacting the research team at the contact information above. Further, any questions regarding your rights as a participant may be addressed to that committee through the Research Ethics Office ethics.office@usask.ca (306) 966-2975. Out of town participants may call toll free (888) 966-2975.
Follow-Up or Debriefing: After completion or withdrawal from the survey, you will be directed to a debriefing form providing more information on the study’s background and purpose. If you wish to receive a summary of the research results, please submit your request to the research team at the contact information above.

Consent to Participate: By completing and submitting the questionnaire, YOUR FREE AND INFORMED CONSENT IS IMPLIED and indicates that you understand the above conditions of participation in this study. This will constitute permission for the researcher to use the data gathered in the manner described above. If you would like a copy of the consent form, please print a copy for your records before proceeding to the questionnaire. You may also contact the researchers for a copy of the consent form.

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* After reading the above consent form...

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* If you are participating through the SONA system (i.e., for course credit), please put your SONA ID below.

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