Plain Language Statement

Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences

Project: Cranky Uncle Vaccine game
Responsible researcher: Dr John Cook
Tel: +61 3 9903 4932; email: jocook@unimelb.edu.au

Introduction
You are invited to participate in a study funded by UNICEF and the Sabin Vaccine Institute that assesses the effectiveness of a game teaching critical thinking about the topic of vaccination.

What will I be asked to do?
Should you agree to participate, you will complete a 10-minute survey before the game and if you complete the game, complete another 10-minute survey. The game and surveys will take up to 60 minutes to complete. The survey will ask what you think about different aspects of vaccination. General demographic questions will also be asked (e.g., age, gender).

What are the possible benefits and risks?
This game aims to help players become more accurately informed about vaccination and better able to identify vaccine misinformation. We do not expect there to be any risks by taking part in this survey.

Do I have to take part?
No. Participation in this research is completely voluntary and you are free to withdraw from the research at any time. To withdraw, follow the Settings link on the About screen within the game – then uncheck “Allow collection of anonymous game data.” This will automatically withdraw you from the research study. There are no consequences if you choose not to participate.

What will happen to information about me?
Any information collected is completely anonymous at the point of collection, and the research team will not have access to your identifying information. Once collected, the anonymous data may be summarised for use in reports, journal articles, and conference papers. The fully anonymous data may also be provided to other researchers through an open science platform. The anonymous survey data will be stored on a password-protected University of Melbourne computer and destroyed after 5 years.

Will I hear about the results of this project or get further information?
If you would like more information about this project, please contact Dr John Cook.

Who can I contact if I have any concerns about the project?
This project has human research ethics approval from The University of Melbourne (HREC No. 27720). If you have any concerns or complaints about the conduct of this research project, which you do not wish to discuss with the research team, you should contact the Research Integrity Administrator, Office of Research Ethics and Integrity, University of Melbourne, VIC 3010. Tel: +61 8344 1814 or Email: research-integrity@unimelb.edu.au. All complaints will be treated confidentially. In any correspondence, please provide the name of the research team and/or the name or ethics ID number of the research project.