School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing 
Email: bethany.growns@canterbury.ac.nz
HREC Ref: 022/83/LR-PS

 

Super-Matching Studies

Information Sheet for Participants

Kia ora,
You are invited to participate in a research study on how people make decisions in forensic tasks like pattern-matching. This study is being conducted by Dr Bethany Growns from the University of Canterbury ׀ Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha (UC) in New Zealand ׀ Aotearoa.

What is the purpose of this research? This research aims to investigate a psychological ability called super-matching – or people with a superior pattern-matching ability. We are interested in finding out more about these people and what underpins their decision-making. The information from this study will help to work out how professional forensic science examiners perform in their work and could be used to develop training programmes for forensic practitioners in the future.
Why have you received this invitation? You are invited to participate in this research because you previously participated in the “Are you a super-matcher” study online and provided your email address to be contacted to participate in future research. Your participation is voluntary (your choice). If you decide not to participate, there are no consequences. Your decision will not affect your relationship with me, the University of Canterbury or any member of the research team.
What is involved in participating? If you choose to take part in this research, you will be asked to complete tasks where you view images of patterns (e.g. faces or fingerprints) and answer questions about them. You will be provided with a link to participate in the studies at your own pace. We estimate that your participation will take around 30-60 minutes per study.
Are there any potential benefits from taking part in this research? We do not expect any direct benefits to you personally from participating in this study. However, the information gathered will potentially benefit our knowledge about decision-making in forensic science. You will not receive any compensation for participating in this study.
Are there any potential risks involved in this research? We are not aware of any risks to participants in the research, although you may experience some fatigue due to the repetitive nature of the task. We have provided specified breaks throughout the study to address this and you are also free to withdraw from the study at any time.
What if you change your mind during or after the study? You are free to withdraw at any time. To do this, please close the browser you are completing the study in and your data will be considered incomplete and withdrawn from the dataset. There will also be an option at the end of the survey to ask whether you wish for your data to be withdrawn from the study. If you select this option, your data will be excluded from the dataset. However, you will be unable to withdraw your data once you have submitted the survey if you do not select this option.
What will happen to the information you provide? You will provide your email address and demographic information to be placed on the Registry to be contacted to participate in future research. This data will be stored on the password-protect OneDrive account of the Principal Investigator in this study. Only the Principal Investigator will have access to this data. You will also be asked to generate a unique username that will be included alongside your contact information to link data from other studies with your unique identity (the username will be a 7-digit code that consists of the first two digits of your first name, the first two digits of your surname, and the last three numbers of your phone number). You will be able to withdraw from the Registry at any time by emailing the Principle Investigator (bethany.growns@canterbury.ac.nz) at any time to request that your contact information and/or study data be removed from the database. You will be contacted every 3 months by the email address provided to invite you to participate in any studies you have not already completed and/or any new research that has been launched. Study data (not including your contact information or unique username) will be stored in password-protected files on the University of Canterbury computer network or in lockable cabinets in lockable offices. Study data (not including your contact information or username) data will also be stored indefinitely on online repositories (e.g., the Open Science Framework) to allow researchers to access this data for future research.
Will the results of the study be published? Results may be published in peer-reviewed, academic journals. Results will also be presented during conferences or seminars to wider professional and academic communities. You will not be identifiable in any publication. A summary of results will be sent to all participants who request a copy of these via Qualtrics at the end of the survey.
Who can you contact if you have any questions or concerns? If you have any questions about the research, please contact: Bethany Growns (bethany.growns@canterbury.ac.nz). This study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Canterbury Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). If you have concerns or complaints about this research, please contact the Chair of the HREC at human-ethics@canterbury.ac.nz).
What happens next? Please read the following statement of consent and start the survey below.

Statement of consent. I have read the study information and understand what is involved in participating. By completing the survey and submitting my responses, I consent to participate. By clicking ‘yes’ below I provide my consent to participate