Research Participant Information and Consent Form

This study is being conducted by Professor Ann Marie Ryan, along with her graduate students in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University.

The intentions of this study are to gather data about the nature of interviews and the job-seeking process.

For this study, participants will watch videos and answer questions based on the videos. Participation in this study is voluntary. If you do not feel comfortable answering a given question, you may skip it.  Furthermore, you may withdraw from the study at any time if you feel compelled to do so. There will be no penalty or loss of HPR credit for withdrawing.

The researchers do not foresee any risk pertaining to this study, but there is a potential that participants could feel uneasy answering different questions. If at any time the participant feels uneasy he/she may skip the question or withdraw himself/herself from the study completely. Also, we urge any participant feeling uncomfortable after the study to consult a professional in their community. It is not our intention to make any participant feel uneasy and we wish to maintain the well-being of everyone involved in the study. If participants do feel the need to consult a professional, a list of resources will be provided at the end of the study. Also, the principal investigator’s contact information will be made available if there are any questions, concerns, or comments.

Participant privacy is very important to us and will be protected to the maximum extent allowed by law. This includes complete anonymity of participants’ participation. Names will only be collected so that HPR credit can be dispersed. They will not be connected to your responses in any way and they will be deleted from our records after you have received HPR credit. All data gathered from this questionnaire will be kept on a password-protected computer.  As mentioned above, the survey does not request you to provide your name or other information that could be highly identifiable. If requested, participants may have a data summary of results made available to them.

If participants have any questions in regards to this study, they may contact Dr. Ryan, Department of Psychology, 333 Psychology Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, Phone: (517) 353-8855, E-mail: ryanan@msu.edu. If you have questions or concerns about your role and rights as a research participant, would like to obtain information or offer input, or would like to register a complaint about this study, you may contact, anonymously if you wish, the Michigan State University Human Research Protection Program at (517) 355-2180, Fax (517) 432-4503, or e-mail irb@msu.edu. Also feel free to send them a letter at 207 Olds Hall, MSU, East Lansing, MI 48824.

You indicate your consent by continuing to complete this survey.