Participating in Research

The School of Psychology is often in need of volunteers to participate in research. This page provides information about these opportunities and includes an on-line form for signing up as a volunteer.  If you sign up you may receive emails asking whether you would like to participate in specific projects. If you are a student of the University, or if you live in or near Leicester, UK, you may also be able to participate in experiments at the University of Leicester. Some of our research is conducted on-line, and some is done through postal surveys, and you can take part in these wherever you are located. A few of our projects include small payments to cover participants' expenses and some also include cash rewards.

The experiments are interesting and fun, and participants are always given information about the purpose of the research and results. If you would like to volunteer, please fill in and submit the very short on-line form, and we will contact you when we need participants. The experiments listed below will give you an idea of what we are doing, and if you sign up as a volunteer you may be invited to participate in one or more of those projects or others that are not yet listed.

Click here to fill in the Participant Panel Volunteer Form

Current projects requiring attendance at the University of Leicester

Autobiographical memory and personality

We are seeking people to participate in a new study about how autobiographical memories are affected by different personality types. You will need to attend three separate sessions spaced across 8 days (e.g. Monday/Tuesday/Tuesday). All sessions will take place at the University of Leicester. Your total participation time will be about 2 hours. To participate in the study you must be fluent in English, and must not have studied psychology at 2nd year level or above.  You will receive £12 for your participation.

If you are interested in taking part of have any further questions please contact Dr Melanie Takarangi direct at: [email protected].

Click here to fill in the Participant Panel Volunteer Form

Current projects on-line

Evaluation of Forensic Evidence

Researcher Lisa Smith is looking for participants to take part in a study exploring the relationship between people's knowledge about forensic science (e.g. DNA, fingerprints, etc.) and their ability to evaluate the strength of different types of forensic evidence.  

Participation in this project involves filling out a 2-part questionnaire online.  In the first part participants will  read a series of statements about forensic science techniques, and indicate their level of agreement with each one.  In the second part, participants will be presented with a description of various types of forensic evidence and asked to consider how strong the evidence would be if it were used in a criminal case.

The questionnaire takes approximately 20 minutes to complete, and responses are collected anonymously.  Participants are required to be between the ages of 18-69 and have no criminal convictions.

The on-line link for this study is:

http://www.survey.bris.ac.uk/leicester/evidence

If you experience any problems accessing the questionnaires or have any questions or concerns relating to the study then please contact Lisa Smith at [email protected]

Well being and health

Researchers Dr John Maltby and Dr Alex Linley are looking for participants to take part in a study exploring the link between health and different types of well-being. This project takes place in three parts. Initially they would like participants to complete a series of short questionnaires asking about their health and various measures of psychological well-being. Three months later participants will be invited to complete a follow up survey. Finally, six months after completing the original questionnaires they will be invited to complete a third short survey. The original questionnaires take around 20 minutes to complete in total. There are no right or wrong answers. Your responses are anonymous and confidential.

The on-line link for this study is:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2f0_2bTBPXEpqyLAcvinb5pXQ_3d_3d
(please cut and paste this address into your address bar, if the link doesn't work)

If you experience any problems completing the questionnaires or have any questions relating to the study then please contact Reena Govindji at [email protected]
 

Perceptions of wrongful convictions

Researcher Melanie Takarangi, who has recently joined the school from the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand is looking for fluent English speakers to participate in her study on public perceptions of wrongful convictions.

This short survey should take around 5 - 10 minutes to complete. There are no right or wrong answers. Your responses are anonymous and confidential. The study is ongoing now.

The on-line link for this study is

https://swww2.le.ac.uk/Members/asa8/mktt1

Very happy youths

Researcher Carmel Proctor is looking for participants aged 16 - 18 yrs for her study on youth life satisfaction.  The study investigates the relationship between various school-related variables, interpersonal and intrapersonal variables, positive and negative affect, health-related variables, and views on environmental issues and youth life satisfaction.

The survey should take around 15 minutes to complete. There are no right or wrong answers. Your responses are anonymous and confidential. The study is ongoing now.

The on-line link for this study is

http://www.youthlifesatisfaction.co.uk

National online Fame Survey

We are looking for adult participants in a study about peoples interests in fame. The survey consists of three questionnaires. Respondents have the choice of answering one of them (each one takes between 20 - 30 minutes to complete).

The first survey is about  interest in fame and personality. The second is about interest in fame, social life and social relationships. The third is about interest in fame and their personal feelings and behaviour.

The online link for this study is

http://www.famestudy.co.uk

Attitudes to celebrities

You are invited to participate in a study of attitudes, thoughts, and feelings about celebrities, run by the Celebrity Research Group of the University of Leicester. This particular study is looking at celebrities, on-line use, marital satisfaction and well-being

The survey should take around 10 minutes to complete. There are no right or wrong answers. Your responses are anonymous and confidential. The study is ongoing now.

The on-line link for this study is

http://www.le.ac.uk/pc/rtg/celebrity/celebrity9.html

Current postal surveys

None currently running.

Click here to fill in the Participant Panel Volunteer Form