This research is being conducted by graduate student Mark Fredrickson of the University of Illinois under the direction of Dr. Jake Bowers. It concerns how individuals make decisions about important matters. You will answer questions about yourself (background, interests, personality traits), and your political opinions. You will read some text material and use that material to answer a short series of questions. There are no right or wrong answers. We are interested in your honest reactions the questions.
There are no known physical or psychological risks in participating in this experiment beyond those risks that exist in daily life. Your participation will take no longer than 20 minutes. If you are uncomfortable answering any question, you can simply skip that question and continue to the next. The primary benefit of this study is that your participation will increase our understanding of how citizens make political decisions. Your honest answers will assist us in learning more about how to make politics best serve citizens.
All information about individuals obtained in this experiment will be kept confidential. We do not ask for identifying information. We do not ask for your name. Upon participating in the experiment you will be assigned an arbitrary number to identify you and thus will be completely anonymous. Results of this experiment may be presented at academic conferences and published in academic journals, books, or book chapters, but the information will be in no way traceable to you. The researchers will keep the information you provide confidential. However, the service hosting this survey (Google, Inc.) may have access to the data you submit and your IP number. We cannot guarantee that this service will keep information you submit confidential. For more information see Google's privacy policy. The rules of the Political Science Department and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) give you complete freedom to discontinue any Political Science Department experiment at any time. If you choose to leave before the experiment is complete, simply close your browser window. If you have any questions about your rights as a participant in this study or any concerns or complaints, please contact the University of Illinois Institutional Review Board at 217-333-2670 (collect calls will be accepted if you identify yourself as a research participant) or via email at irb@illinois.edu. If you have any questions about the study, you may contact Mark Fredrickson (fredric3@illinois.edu) or Dr. Jake Bowers (jwbowers@illinois.edu) by email or by telephone: (217)333-3881. In order to be sure there is no confusion about this policy, we ask that you check the following box indicating that you have been informed of the Department policy. You may print a copy of this page for your own records.