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Thank you very much for participating in this study! We are using a
new real-time polling tool to better understand how people evaluate
political candidates and their rhetorical appeals in debates.
The instructions for participating are pretty simple. But note that you
must be watching the debate on TV, not via Internet streaming.
1. About 5-10 minutes before the debate (say, around 8:45pm eastern
Monday night October 22), go to one of the following on a smartphone
(iPhone or Android), iPad, or a laptop browser (Chrome, Firefox, or
Safari):
IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS ON AN EVEN NUMBERED DAY (2, 4, 6, ..., 30) GO TO:
http://app.reactlabs.org/216
IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS ON AN ODD NUMBERED DAY (1, 3, 5, ... 31) GO TO:
http://app.reactlabs.org/217
2. Read and agree to the Terms of Service.
3. Complete the brief pre-debate survey.
4. You will then see a screen that shows the candidates and some
reactions you might have to what they are saying. Reacting is very
simple: just tap the person you are reacting to, and then tap the
reaction button. You can do that whenever you like.
5. Throughout the debate, survey questions may appear on your
screen. Answer any such questions and then continue using the app.
6. At the very end of the debate, a final set of post-debate survey
questions will appear on your screen. Please make sure to answer these
questions! The post-debate questions should appear within 5 minutes of
the end of the debate.
If you have trouble using the app, or if you don't get the survey
questions at the end, the first thing to do is try re-loading the page
in your browser. However, if you get stuck and can't complete the steps
all the way through step 6, please go to
http://bit.ly/RMVRK9 to report the problem. We won't be able to fix things that second, but the feedback will be helpful.
Here is some final fine print, and please also read the "Terms of Service" when you enter the app.
This study collects names of respondents only in order to provide
credit for participation in cases where homework or extra credit is
being offered as an incentive for participation. Upon receiving the
data, the researchers will immediately separate the identifying names
from the responses, so that your responses are completely anonymous. The
researchers will share all participants’ anonymous responses with other
researchers for academic purposes. They will not share names with other
researchers and thus the data shared cannot be linked back to the
respondents. If you are not receiving credit for participating, you
don't need to provide your name.
Participation is completely voluntary; respondents are not required
to answer any of the survey items. If credit is being given for
participants, the instructor will also be making available an
alternative way to obtain credit if you choose not to do this study at
all. By participating in the study, respondents acknowledge that they
are 18 years of age or older and consent to share their anonymous data
with interested researchers. People under the age of 18 or people who do
not wish to have their anonymous responses shared with other
researchers should not participate.
If you have questions, comments or concerns about the study, you may contact Prof. Philip Resnik at
>.
If you have questions about your rights as a participant in this
study, you may contact the UMD Institutional Review Board office, 1204
Marie Mount Hall, College Park, Maryland 20742,