Participant Information Sheet
Please read the following information carefully before proceeding to
the study.
Study title
Sketching Sounds: User evaluation of drawing interfaces
Researcher’s name
Sebastian Löbbers supervised by Dr. George Fazekas
Queen Mary Ethics of Research Committee reference number:
QMERC20.009
Invitation paragraph
You are being invited to participate in a research study. Before you decide whether or not you wish to
participate 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 and discuss it with others if you wish.
Ask us questions if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information.
What is the purpose of the study and what would taking part involve?
The purpose of this study is to evaluate a digital drawing interface.
The results will be helpful for the development of a sketch-based sound synthesiser.
You can find out more about this PhD research here.
In this study, you will be presented with a digital drawing interface and
you will be asked to draw your representation of five different sounds.
After finishing the task, you will be prompted to fill in a short questionnaire about your
experience before and very general personal data about your age, gender, occupation,
the device that you are using and your experience with music, art and design.
It will take approximately 15 minutes to complete this study.
The study will be conducted entirely online and you will only have to participate once.
Your replies to the survey questions and your interaction with the interface will be recorded for analysis.
All data will be submitted at the end of the study.
Why am I being invited?
You are being invited to participate in this research study because you are over the age of 16 and
have normal or corrected vision and hearing. You should not take part in this study if you are under the age of
16 and
if you are not able to perceive objects on a computer screen, listen to sound with headphones or through
loudspeakers
or if you can only access the study through a phone or tablet.
Do I have to take part?
This participant information sheet has been written to help you decide if you would like to take part.
It is up to you whether you wish to take part. If you do decide to take part you will be free to withdraw at any
time without needing to provide a reason, and with no penalties or detrimental effects.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
Taking part in the study will support this PhD research that aims to further our understanding of human
associations
between sound and visual shapes and how these finding can be used in practical sound applications.
The proposed outcome of a sketch-based sound synthesiser will make it easier for anyone to create a sound in a
straightforward way.
What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
Keep in mind that this study involves sound. Sounds might be louder than expected and could potentially
startle you or
in a very unlikely scenario cause harm to your hearing. Please make sure that the volume of your headphones or
speakers is on a
low level before starting this study.
Expenses and payments
This study is unpaid.
What information about me will you be collecting?
Data about your age, gender and occupation, your experience with music, art and design and your experience
with the interface will be collected through surveys and very general information about your browser and device
will be
extracted automatically. In addition, the position of your mouse and mouse events (click and release) and
the width and height of your browser window during the interaction with the interfaces will be recorded.
None of the collected data will enable the researchers to identfy you.
How will my data be stored and who will have access to it?
Your data will be stored in fully anonymised format in London, UK, and only the PhD researcher Sebastian
Löbbers and the principal
investigator Dr. George Fazekas will be able to access it. Your data information will be treated as strictly
confidential and
handled in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 and comply with the data processing
and storage policies of
Queen Mary University of London.
Data
Protection Policy
Information/Data Governance Policy – DG14 – Storage of information
When and how will my data be destroyed?
Your data will be saved electronically for five years after collection and erased through hard drive
formatting.
How will my data be used and shared?
The results of this study will be part of the PhD thesis that is connected to this research project.
Results will be mentioned in a future conference or journal paper publication.
All data is stored locally in an anonymised form and will not be accessible for or
shared with anyone else than the involved researchers.
Under what legal basis are you collecting this information?
Queen Mary University of London processes personal data for research purposes in accordance with the lawful
basis of ‘public task’.
Please read Queen Mary’s privacy notice for research participants containing important information about your
personal data and
your rights in this respect. If you have any questions relating to data protection, please contact
Queen Mary’s Data Protection Officer, Queens’ Building, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS or data-protection@qmul.ac.uk or 020 7882 7596.
What will happen if I want to withdraw from this study?
You can withdraw from this study at any time without providing a reason.
Withdrawing will have no disadvantage for you, and you will hear no more about this study.
Your data will only be submitted if you complete the study. Your data will be saved entirely anonymised and is
not possible to
link the data to a particular person. For this reason, it is however not possible to delete the data entry of a
specific person.
What should I do if I have any concerns about this study?
If you have any concerns about the manner in which the study was conducted, in the first instance, please
contact the researcher(s)
responsible for the study Sebastian Löbbers - s.lobbers@qmul.ac.uk.
If you have a complaint which you feel you cannot discuss with the researchers then you should contact the
Research Ethics Facilitators by e-mail: research-ethics@qmul.ac.uk.
When contacting the Research Ethics Facilitators, please provide details of the study title, description of the
study and
QMERC reference number (where possible), the researcher(s) involved, and details of the complaint you wish to
make.
Who can I contact if I have any questions about this study?
Sebastian Löbbers
s.lobbers@qmul.ac.uk
