You are invited to be in a research study. The research is about how different kinds of image content can affect human perception of a real or fake image. You are invited to take part in this study because you have met the proper qualifications. Before you agree to be in the study, please read this form. Your participation is completely voluntary. This means that whether you take part in this research is completely up to you.

By agreeing to this consent form, you confirm that:

This study is being conducted by: Joshua Krinsky of the Lehigh University Department of Computer Science and Engineering, under the direction of Dr. Aparna Bharati, Lehigh University Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

Background Information

The purpose of this study is:

To test how image content impacts human ability to discern whether an image is real or manipulated. This will provide us with a stepping stone for future work on problems related to misinformation in media.

Procedures

If you agree to be in this study, we will ask you to:

Risks and Benefits of being in the Study

The study involves the following foreseeable risks: Aside from minimal risks associated with any study, we anticipate no significant risks from participating in this study beyond that which one would experience when browsing the internet in day-to-day life.

The benefits to participation are: We anticipate no significant benefits from participating in this study.

Your participation in the study involves the following time commitment: We estimate this study will take on average 10-15 minutes.

You will receive: We will give monetary compensation of $2.00 for completion of this study.

Confidentiality

We will collect only image bounding boxes and keypoints. This information will be stored on secure (password-protected) servers with limited access.

We will not collect any personally identifiable information. By agreeing to this consent form, you give permission for us to also use your anonymous responses in future projects of a similar nature, and to release your anonymous responses to other researchers in the future.

The research team does their best to keep your information confidential to the degree permitted by technology. It is possible, although unlikely, that unauthorized individuals could access your online responses. However, this risk is similar to a person’s everyday use of the internet.

It is unlikely, but possible, that others (such as Lehigh University, or state or federal officials) may require us to share the information you give us to ensure the research was conducted safely and appropriately. We will only share your information if law or policy requires us to do so.

Your consent will be kept for 3 years, and then destroyed.

Participation in this study is entirely voluntary

If you decide not to participate there will be no penalty, and you will not lose benefits to which you are otherwise entitled (unrelated to the study compensation). Your decision whether to participate will not affect your current or future relations with the Lehigh University. If you decide to participate, you are free to not answer any question or stop participation in the study at any time without affecting those relationships.

Contacts and Questions

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the protection of human research participants at Lehigh University has reviewed and approved this study. If you have questions about the research study itself, please contact the Principal Investigator at abp220@lehigh.edu. If you have questions about your rights or would simply like to speak with someone other than the research team about the questions or concerns, please contact the IRB at (610) 758-2871 or inirb@lehigh.edu. All reports or correspondence will be kept confidential.

We recommend you save this web page to keep for your records.

Statement of Consent

I have read and understood the above information. I consent to participate in the study.