Department of Psychology
International survey of media habits and social behaviours
Information and consent page
You are invited to participate in an international study of media habits and social behaviours. The purpose of the study is to identify the impact of violent and non-violent media and computer games upon pro-social and antisocial patterns of thinking and behaviour.
The study is being conducted by Dr Wayne Warburton, from the Department of Psychology at Macquarie University (02 9850 8643; wayne.warburton@psy.mq.edu.au) and his Research Intern, Ms Julia Plumb. It is part of a larger international study being conducted by Distinguished Professor Craig Anderson and Mr Edward Swing from Iowa State University.
If you decide to participate, you will be asked to complete an online survey, detailing: your degree of exposure to different media, patterns of use, content of games played and media viewed. You will also be asked questions about your patterns of thinking and behaviour. It is possible that some participants may find participation unsettling. Should this occur, participants are encouraged to call Lifeline (a 24 hour counselling service) on 13 11 14, or may contact Dr Warburton (a registered psychologist) on 02 9850 8643 during working hours. The survey should take approximately 30 minutes.
All responses are completely anonymous, and any information or personal details gathered in the course of the study are confidential. No individual will be identified in any publication of the results. Access to the data will be restricted to Access to the data will be restricted to Dr Wayne Warburton, Ms Julia Plumb, and Macquarie University Postgraduate Diploma Psychology students Ms Emma Beasly, Mr Patrick McDonald and Ms Karina Smith who are assisting in the study, all in Australia. Data will also be incorporated into a larger international data set by Distinguished Professor Craig Anderson and Mr Edward Swing from Iowa State University. It should be noted that although data sets are anonymous and do not contain any identifying information, there is a very small chance that the data set may be viewed by a third party or tracked. The findings may be published in international journals along with other international findings, and a summary of the results of the data can be made available to you by an email request to Dr Warburton. It is also intended that a summary of findings be made available to the Australian Council for Children and the Media for publication on their Young Media Australia website.
Participation in this study is entirely voluntary: you are not obliged to participate and if you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw at any time without having to give a reason.
The ethical aspects of this study have been approved by the Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee. If you have any complaints or reservations about any ethical aspect of your participation in this research, you may contact the Human Research Ethics Committee through the Director, Research Ethics (telephone 9850 7854; email ethics@mq.edu.au). Any complaint you make will be treated in confidence and investigated, and you will be informed of the outcome.
Download a pdf version of this information and consent form.
By clicking Next you confirm that you have read the above information and give your informed consent to participate in the study “International survey of media habits and behaviours”.