Title: The Relationship Between Social Anhedonia and Social Network Structure
Investigator: Abigail Vaughton: abigail.vaughton@northumbria.ac.uk
Supervisor: Professor Tomas Pollet: Thomas.pollet@northumbria.ac.uk.
You are being invited to take part in this research study. Before you decide it is important for you to read this information so you understand why the study is being carried out and what it will involve.
Reading this information, discussing it with others and asking any questions will help you decide if you would like to take part.
What is the purpose of this study and what will I have to do?
This study considers variation in people’s capacity for social pleasure and variation in the number of friends, family and acquaintances they have. These groups collectively are considered your ‘social network’. Social network characteristics include network size, closeness and the type of support each member provides you with. We believe variations in capacity for social pleasure will predict information about your social network characteristics. You will be asked to complete the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale and provide information on your social network. You will also be asked to provide some demographic information including age, gender, student status, whether you are a British citizen and marital status. The survey is anticipated to take approximately 15 minutes to complete. There are no right or wrong answers; we know that there are many healthy variations in social networks and preferences. Please complete this survey on a PC or tablet, and not on a phone, as it will not work well on a phone.
Am I eligible for the study?
To take part in this study, you must be:
• Aged 18 or older.
Please do not take part in this research if you are likely to feel upset when discussing family, friends, and acquaintances.
Do I have to take part?
You are under no obligation to take part and you will not experience any loss of benefit or penalty if you choose not to participate.
Will my participation involve any physical or psychological discomfort or embarrassment?
This survey is not anticipated to cause any physical discomfort or embarrassment. However, feelings of discomfort may arise if discussing members of your social network triggers a negative response or if you feel lonely when discussing your social network. If you believe this is likely to happen, we ask that you do not take part in this study to protect your mental wellbeing. You can leave the survey at any point by exiting the web page. In the instance that you complete the survey and wish to withdraw your data at a later point, you can do this by contacting myself or my supervisor with the code word you will be asked to provide at the beginning of the survey. Below is a link to some resources that offer support and guidance to protect your mental health:
https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
https://www.mind.org.uk/
How will confidentiality be assured and who will have access to the information that I provide?
You will not be asked to provide any personal information including your name, phone number or house address. Therefore, the information you provide will be anonymous. You will be asked to provide the names of your social network members, but you are able to provide pseudonyms or ‘nick names’, and the names you provide will be pseudonymised in the write-up of the study. All data will be automatically uploaded onto formr (https://formr.org/), a password-protected computer system, and stored on password protected files within the university network. The formr account will only be accessible to the researcher and their postgraduate project supervisor. The password-protected computer system will only be accessible to the researcher. The analysed, anonymised data from this study will be written into a postgraduate dissertation project and uploaded onto the repository Open Science Framework (https://osf.io), in line with best scientific practice. This is a public repository, meaning others can access the project containing the analysed data. However, these data remain completely anonymous. Should you not want this, please do not take part in the survey.
Will I receive any financial rewards for taking part?
No financial rewards will be provided for participation.
What are my rights as a participant?
You have the right to withdraw from the study at any time during your participation by closing the web page that the survey is open on in your browser. You also have the right to withdraw your data from the study at any point after participation. To do this, please contact the researcher (abigail.vaughton@northumbria.ac.uk) stating the code word you provided at the start of the survey. If you email to have your data withdrawn from the study after two weeks, it may not be possible to remove you from the study.
What will happen to the results of the study?
Your results will be used for a postgraduate dissertation that will be examined as part of an MSc Psychology degree. Occasionally, some results might be presented at a conference or published in a journal, but they will always remain anonymous. The results of the study will be uploaded onto the public repository Open Science Framework (https://osf.io), in line with best scientific practice.
Who is funding the study?
The present research project has received no funding.
Who has reviewed the study?
This study and its protocol have received full ethical approval from Northumbria University College of Reviewers (reference number: 0010). If you require confirmation of this, or if you have any concerns or worries concerning this research, or if you wish to register a complaint, please contact the Taught Postgraduate Ethics Chair, Dr Emma Barkus at emma.barkus@northumbria.ac.uk.
What happens if there is a problem?
If you are unhappy about anything during or after your participation, you should contact the researcher in the first instance or their supervisor. If you feel this is not appropriate, you should contact: emma.barkus@northumbria.ac.uk
Contacts for further information:
Researcher name and email: Abigail Vaughton: abigail.vaughton@northumbria.ac.uk
Supervisor name and email: Professor Thomas Pollet: thomas.pollet@northumbria.ac.uk.
Please take a screenshot for your records.