Research and Informed Consent

It is important with research that involves people that they know what they are getting into and give what is called 'informed consent' before they start. This is normally done by having an information sheet for them to read that gives the basics of what it will involve and then a consent form to fill in. Below is the information sheet for the cs4fn - Pilot Error and Space Invaders experiment. The consent form is part of registration.

Information Sheet

cs4fn - Pilot Error and Space Invaders

YOU CAN PRINT THIS INFORMATION SHEET TO KEEP

We would like to invite you to take part in this original research project. It is intended to be fun for you to do as well as helping us (and you) understand more about why people make mistakes using computers. We hope that as well as playing the game it will help you understand more about the design of computer systems. You should only participate if you want to; choosing not to take part will not disadvantage you in any way. We do not collect personal data about you only about the actions you make playing the game. Before you decide whether you want to take part, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what your participation will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Ask us (email Paul Curzon at cs4fn@dcs.qmul.ac.uk) if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information.

Details of study

This game has two aims - for you to learn a bit about computer science while having fun playing a game and for us to learn more about the causes of people making mistakes when using computers. It involves playing a version of the classic Space Invaders game with a series of levels that get harder. The aim of the game is to get as high a score as possible and get onto the high score table for each level. You must shoot aliens while rescuing astronauts. There is a feature of the game that if you make a particular mistake (forgetting to switch your gun back on after rescuing astronauts) you lose all your points, so to get a high score you will have to avoid making it. We are interested in whether when motivated not to make that mistake people can train themselves never to make it (during a single gaming session and also when they play over multiple sessions) even when there are a lot of other things to think about at the same time in the game.

You will first do a training level and once you successfully complete that you will be allowed to play the game properly. If you decide to play the game to the final level, depending on your skill it could take up to an hour.

If you are under 16 you must obtain permission from your parent/guardian to take part.

Participation is anonymous. We do not collect personal data about you only about the actions you make playing the game. We will store the user id you make up when you register together with the password (and an email if you decide to give one to inform you of results at the end of the study).

If you play the game then this implies consent to participate in the research study. It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part by playing the game. If you decide to play the game, you can stop at any time for any reason without finishing if you prefer to. You also do not have to come back to play the game again if you don't want to.