The purpose of this information sheet is to provide you with sufficient information so that you can then give your informed consent. It is thus very important that you read this document carefully, and raise any issues that you do not understand with the investigator (via email).



Name of Researcher: Freddie Lister



Name of Supervisor: Melanie Mitchell



What is the purpose of the project? To evaluate how particular personality traits and pornography use affect relationship satisfaction.



Why have I been selected to take part and what are the exclusion criteria? The reason we have contacted you is because you are currently an undergraduate student older than 18 years of age. If you are below the age of 18 or have not been in a romantic relationship then you are not eligible to take part.



What will I have to do? This present research should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete. You will be asked to complete 3 separate questionnaires by reading the statements and clicking the response that feels most appropriate to you. The questionnaires are designed using a likert scale in which you will be given a statement then asked to respond with either strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree or strongly disagree, depending on how much the statement relates to you. The aim of the questionnaires is to assess how satisfied you are or were in your romantic relationship, how much pornography you use and if you score highly in psychopathy, Machiavellianism or narcissism.



Will my participation involve any physical discomfort? No.



Will my participation involve any psychological discomfort or embarrassment? The test may involve some embarrassment when answering questions about your personal pornography use and levels of relationship satisfaction. You are free to withdraw at any point if it becomes too much. Advice on where to go if you are worried about your relationship or the level of pornography you use are given at the end if you still feel in anyway uncomfortable or embarrassed.



How will confidentiality be assured?

All data that you provide will be completely anonymous. No e-mails are taken and you must give a codename at the beginning in case you would like to withdraw. We will also store all data on a password-protected computer to ensure that only the research team has access to this information. Please note that this online survey will automatically collect your IP address. This is to make sure that you do not take part in this study more than once. All data will be stored and treated in keeping with the Data Protection Act.



Will I receive any financial rewards for taking part?

No



How can I withdraw from the project?

You can withdraw from the study at any time throughout this session by simply closing the browser. If you do this, any information that you have provided will be destroyed. You can also withdraw after you have completed the study by emailing the researcher within 1 month of taking part in the study with your unique codename. If you do this, any information that you have provided will be destroyed. If you email to be withdrawn from the study after 1 month then it may not be possible to remove you from the study.



If I require further information who should I contact and how?

Feel free to contact me at freddie.lister@northumbria.ac.uk or the supervisor of this project Melanie Mitchell at melanie.mitchell@northumbria.ac.uk.



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