You have reached the consent form for an online study entitled:
Communication processes between victims and transgressors:
Understanding forgiveness in close personal relationships.
This study is conducted by Dr. Paul Yelsma, yelsma@wmich.edu,
Before proceeding with the questionnaire, you must agree to the terms of the
following consent form. Please read the following information.
Western Michigan University
and the Department of Communication support the practice of protection of human
subjects participating in research. The following information is provided to
you to help you decide whether you wish to participate in this process of data
collection. Please be aware that even if you agree to participate, you are free
to withdraw at any time without penalty. However, by completing the questionnaire
below, you acknowledge having read this consent form and state your willingness
to provide the responses to the items within the questionnaire. Please feel
free to save or print a copy of this consent from for you own records.
This research is concerned
with the communication processes that are associated with forgiveness in close
personal relationships. The questionnaire measures various levels of forgiveness
and several possible ways people may engage in forgiving one another.
If you agree to participate
and you are 18 years of age or older, simply click the AAgree@ button at the
bottom of this page to get the online questionnaire. Completing the questionnaire
will take approximately 30 minutes (average time for most people).
Your participation in this study
is VOLUNTARY and CONFIDENTIAL. Your identity will not, in any way, be associated
with your responses. Only you will know the responses you give, unless you choose
to reveal that information to someone else. Only summary data will be used and
no individual scores will be reported. No personal score will be available to
any one. Your significant other will not know your responses.
Although we do not anticipate
that you should experience any discomfort while responding to items in this
study, please be mindful that some controversy could arise if you choose
to discuss your individual responses to these questions with your significant
other, especially if you have not discussed these issues in the past. If
you decide to participate by filling out the questionnaire, but for any reason,
in process, decide you do not care to proceed, you are free to stop your participation
by not completing the questionnaire.
Your voluntary participation
is solicited. We will not collect any identifiable information about you (such
as your name, identity, e-mail addresses or any other form of information).
The information recorded will be only that of the responses to each survey question
shown to you in your web browser.
If you would like additional
information concerning the study (including results) before or after it is completed,
please contact Dr. Paul Yelsma, by email (yelsma@wmich.edu).
If you have any questions or
should any problems arise about this study, you may contact (Paul Yelsma) at
269-387-3149, the Chair, Human Subjects Institutional Review Board (269-387-8293)
or the Vice President for Research (269-387-8298) at Western Michigan University.
This consent document has been
approved for use for one year by the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board
(HSIRB) as indicated by the stamped date and signature of the board chair in
the lower right corner.
Thank you for taking the time
to provide honest and accurate responses about the ways you feel and think about
the process of forgiveness.
Sincerely,
Paul Yelsma, Ph. D.
Principal Investigator, Department of Communication
Western Michigan University
_____________________________________ ___________________
By clicking on the button below labeled AAgree,@ I affirm that I have read the information above, consent to the terms of this agreement and I am at least 18 years of age.
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