DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BIRKBECK UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

INFORMATION SHEET

I’m a first-year PhD student in psychology at Birkbeck, University of London. As such, I’m beginning to conduct the research necessary for my thesis, and I’d like you to help.

Now, before you decide to take part in this study, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully—discuss it with others if you wish—and make your decision whether to participate a thoughtful one. Also feel free to contact me for further information.

In my thesis, I’m investigating the frequency with which we misrepresent everyday problems and why. Everyday problems, or ill-defined problems, are virtually every problem in life. Whereas a well-defined problem is clear in every respect, at least one critical aspect of an ill-defined problem is unclear. For instance, we may be uncertain as to our actual problem, or we may be unsure of our goal.

You have been approached as a participant given an assumed willingness to participate in such studies, perhaps as indicated by your being in the Birkbeck database.

Should you agree to participate, you will do so online in May 2016. You will be presented with two everyday scenarios and be asked to answer one reasoning question regarding each. Your responses will be confidential and anonymized. There are no risks envisioned in participating, but you are free to withdraw at any time prior to the aggregation of any data collected. The data will be referred to in my thesis and may be referred to collectively in conference proceedings and other published works.

This particular study is the second in a series that will inform my thesis. I envision this particular study being complete no later than August 2016. The project has received approval from Birkbeck’s Department of Psychological Sciences Research Ethics Committee.

Many thanks for your consideration, and I sincerely hope you’ll participate. By participating, you will help me find answers to some important and currently unanswered questions. And should you want any further information, please feel free to contact one of us:

Primary Investigator		Supervisor
Ronald Balzan		Professor Richard Cooper
rbalza01@mail.bbk.ac.uk		r.cooper@bbk.ac.uk

Best regards, Ron Balzan