Informed Consent (Information, risks, benefits, confidentiality and contact information.)

Title of Study: Evaluating Criminal PunishmentsInvestigators: Erin Izer, Iowa State University, eizer@iastate.edu Adele Quigley-McBride MS, Iowa State University, adeleqmb@iastate.edu Gary L. Wells Ph.D., Iowa State University, glwells@iastate.edu Invitation to be Part of a Research StudyYou are invited to participate in an online research study. This form has information to help you decide whether or not you wish to participate—please review it carefully. Research studies include only people who choose to take part. Your participation is completely voluntary and you can stop your participation at any time. If you have any concerns about your participation in this study, please contact one of the researchers listed here prior to taking part.Introduction and Purpose of the StudyWe are interested in how people evaluate criminal behavior and their knowledge of the US legal system. Specifically, we are interested in how these variables influence people’s opinions about sentencing and fine decisions. The main purpose of this task is to establish a baseline for what people’s sentencing views are and legal knowledge at a state and federal level.Eligibility to ParticipateYou may not participate if you are under 18 years of age.Description of Procedure1. If you agree to participate in this online study, you will be asked to consent to participate in a survey with a variety of questions that are either multiple choice or open response.2. Answer questions designed to assess your knowledge of the US legal system.3. Read examples of real criminal cases and the sentences delivered. Then, you will give your opinion about whether the level of punishment was fair or not, and why.4. Read a written debriefing statement at the end of the experiment.Expected Time or Duration of ParticipationYour participation will be no longer than 30 minutes.Risks or DiscomfortsThere are no anticipated risks or discomforts associated with participation in this study. You will read some examples of real criminal cases, but the focus is on the conviction and the sentence delivered rather than describing details of the crime itself. If you do experience discomfort while participating, please contact the researchers listed on this form.Benefits to You and OthersWe hope that the information gained in this study will benefit society by contributing to the growing knowledge concerning how various kinds of information can influence decisions about punishment in the criminal justice system. You will also be educated about the criminology and psychology theories that are being investigated in this study. Therefore, we hope that you learn from this experience and that you find the debriefing portion of the study interesting and educational.Costs and CompensationYou will not have any costs as a result of participating in this study and you will received no compensation for participating in this study.Alternatives to ParticipationParticipation in this study is completely voluntary and there are no penalties associated with not taking part, so there is no need for the research team to notify you of alternative to participation—if you do not wish to participate, you do not need to.Your Rights as a Research ParticipantParticipating in this study is completely voluntary. You may choose not to take part in the study or to stop participating at any time, for any reason, without penalty or negative consequences.If you have any questions about the rights of research subjects or research-related injury, please contact the IRB Administrator, (515) 294-4566, IRB@iastate.edu , or Director, (515) 294-3115, Office for Responsible Research, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011.ConfidentialityResearch records identifying participants will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations and will not be made publicly available without your permission. However, it is possible that other people and offices responsible for making sure research is done safely and responsibly will see your information. This includes federal government regulatory agencies auditing departments of Iowa State University and the Institutional Review Board (a committee that reviews and approves human subject research studies) may inspect and/or copy study records for quality assurance and data analysis. These records may contain private information.To protect confidentiality of the study records and data, the following measures will be taken:• Your answers will be assigned to a random subject number.• Information about your race and age will be collected, but no identifying personal information.To protect your confidentiality when results of the study are reported, the following measures will be taken:• Aggregate data only will be presented, with no reference to any individual’s data alone.• Each person’s data will be associated with a random subject number, not any of their personal information.De-identified information collected about you during this study may be shared with other researchers or used for future research studies. We will not obtain additional informed consent from you before sharing the de-identified data. However, because it is de-identified data, these researchers will not be able to link your responses back to you.QuestionsYou are encouraged to ask questions before completing this study. If you wish to do so, please contact Erin (Principal Investigator; eizer@iastate.edu ), Adele (Project manager; adeleqmb@iastate.edu ), or Dr. Gary Wells (Faculty supervisor; glwells@iastate.edu ).