Participant information
Title of the study: Study the efficacy of meditation on aggression, depression, empathy and self-compassion and the associations between these factors.
I would like to invite you to participate in the above research project. You should only participate if you want to. Before you decide whether you want to take part, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what your participation will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully. Ask us if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information.
Aims of the research: The objectives of the study are to investigate the effect of meditation efficacy of aggression, depression, empathy and self-compassion as well as the association between these factors. I aim to provide evidences for positive effects of meditation on empathy and self-compassion and negative effect on aggression and depression. Further, I expect to find correlations between the measured factors. Many studies has examined various ways in which meditation can influence behaviour of the practitioner, few researched difference between experienced meditators and beginners.
Benefits of the research: The data collected during this study will contribute towards a better understanding of the influence of regular meditation practice on level of the measured factors. This may be beneficial for people with depression and high level of aggressive behaviour. Further, association between the measured factors may help to understand mechanism involved in empathic and compassionate behaviour.
Who can take part: You should be an adult currently undertaking any meditation practice.
What is involved: If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to fill in an on-line questionnaire which is designed to measure levels of aggression, depression, empathy and self-compassion. Further, you will be asked questions about your meditation practice which will allow us to divide participants into two groups (experienced meditators and beginners). This will take approximately 10 - 15 minutes. Please note: You are free to skip any question from any section, however if you do so, your data from a particular section are not going to be used in my study.
Participation and Withdrawal: Participation in the experiment is fully voluntary. If you decide to take part you will be asked to sign a consent form. You are still free to withdraw at any time and without giving any reason, even if you have given the consent. . If you wish to withdraw you can click off the webpage and this will withdraw you from the study. If you wish to withdraw after completion of the study you should contact the researcher’s supervisor quoting your unique identifier and ask for your data to be withdrawn from the study by 9th March 2011. The supervisor can then pass on your unique identifier so your name will not be attached as to maintain anonymity.Please note: If you wish to withdraw your data and email the researcher rather than their supervisor you will be giving up your anonymity as they will know who has emailed them.
If you have any questions either out of interest or to seek clarification with any issues related to your participation in this study, please contact Marta Oczkowska who is an undergraduate student at Nottingham Trent University on N0199984@ntu.ac.uk
If this study has harmed you in any way you can contact the following project supervisor at Nottingham Trent University using the details below for further advice and information: Dr Alex Sumich, Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BU. Tel: 0115 848 5590, Fax: 0115 848 6829
Dear International Buddhist Community,