Welcome to our study

Juror’s Perception of a Defendant’s Culpability and Traits

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 would involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with friends or relatives if you wish. Email us if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you wish to take part.

Background
This is a study to investigate juries' perceptions of a defendant’s facial appearance and culpability for committing an offence. We are attempting to understand more about the effectiveness of juries in making judgements of a defendant’s culpability in the courtroom. Our results may eventually be published in a scientific journal and may also be reported at scientific meetings.

Eligibility Requirements
To take part in this study you must be 18 to 70 years old, have been a resident in the United Kingdom for at least five years, be registered to vote, and have never been sentenced by a judge.

Procedure
Participation in the study is entirely voluntary. It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part.  If you decide to participate, we ask you to complete a consent form, but you will still be free to withdraw from the study at any time.  If you decide not to take part, or to withdraw, you do not have to give a reason for doing so. After completing the consent form, you will read a case summary describing a crime. You will then be shown photographs of different faces of defendants and asked to rate whether each defendant is guilty or not guilty of committing the offence and how confident you are about your verdict. You will also be asked to provide some demographic information. Upon completion of the study we will inform you in more detail about the hypotheses we are testing, and you will be given contact details for the researchers for you to use if you have any questions. You will not receive reimbursement for participating.

Length of Study
The study will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Your data
All data collected in this study will be anonymised. There is no record that links the data collected from you with personal data from which you could be identified. Upon completion of the experiment we ask you to give consent to include your data in further analyses. You are free to withdraw your data from the study at that point. Once you have given consent, we cannot withdraw your data at a later stage because of the anonymised nature of the study.

If you have any questions at any time about the study, please do not hesitate to contact Tiegan Cormie, email: tc636@bath.ac.uk.


Consent

Please select all the boxes below to show that you have read and understood the following statements. By checking the boxes and pressing "Continue" below to proceed, you are providing informed consent to take part in the experiment. If you do not consent to participate, please exit the study by closing the browser window.

I confirm that I have read and understand the subject information provided for this study.

I understand that my participation in this research is entirely voluntary and I understand that I have the right to withdraw from the study at any point, without having to give a reason.

I understand and acknowledge that the investigation is designed to promote scientific knowledge and that the University of Bath will use the data I provide for no purpose other than research.

I understand that the data I provide will be kept confidential. My name and other identifying information will not be disclosed in any presentation or publication of the research.

Please select all the boxes below to show that you have read and understood the following statements. By checking the boxes and pressing "Continue" below to proceed, you are providing informed consent for your data to be kept and used. If you do not consent to your data being kept and used, please exit the study by closing the browser window.
I agree to the University of Bath keeping and processing the data I have provided during the course of this study.
I understand that these data will be used only for the purpose(s) set out in the information sheet. 
I understand that my consent is conditional upon the University complying with its duties and obligations under the Data Protection Regulation.

If you have any concerns related to your participation in this study please direct them to the Department of Psychology Research Ethics Committee, email: psychology-ethics@bath.ac.uk.

Click below to begin the experiment.

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