Jury Bias NS - Ellie Calow | QuestionPro Survey

Participant Information Sheet/Information about the research

(Draft Version 3.0. / Final version 1.0: 18/12/2025)

Title of Study: Mock Juror Decision Making

***CONTENT WARNING*** Topics of discussion will include different forms of serious crimes/offences, some of which may be violent in nature and include situations like sexual assault and murder. There may also be some discussion of weapon use (e.g., a knife). The study will also ask you to think about biases that might exist for people of different gender identities. Participants should not take part in the study if they feel these topics will be overly distressing for them.

We are inviting you to take part in a research study. If you believe that any of the above may be upsetting or distressing for you in any way, it is advised that you do not take part. Before you decide, it is important that you know why we are doing the study and what is involved. Please read the following information carefully.

What is the purpose of the study?

This study aims to investigate how juries make decisions about criminal court cases and whether the use of instructional information can aid decisions. Specifically, we are interested in how defendants are rated in terms of guilt for the offence. This is an important area to investigate as there is a lack of scientific research surrounding the factors that may lead people to make their decisions and how this might influence the outcome in court. This study is being conducted as part of a PhD project undertaken by Ellie Calow in Psychology at the University of Lincoln.

Am I eligible to take part?

You are being invited to take part because you are between 18 to 75 years of age and are fluent in the English language. We will be asking approximately 464 other people to also take part in this study. Although we believe there to be no significant risks to taking part in the study, participants who feel that reading about a crime take place will be upsetting to them are advised not to take part.

Do I have to take part?

Participation is completely voluntary. You should only take part if you want to and choosing not to take part will not disadvantage you in anyway. Please be reminded that sensitive topics, as noted above, may be discussed. If you believe that any of the above may be upsetting or distressing for you in any way, it is advised that you do not take part.

What will I be asked to do?

Once the participant information sheet has been read, you will be asked to provide consent. After consent is given, you will be asked to provide some demographic information which will include your age, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. We ask for this information so that we can determine the demographics of our sample obtained.

Next, you will be asked to read a mock vignette scenario describing a crime taking place. Please be reminded that the scenario will include details of a serious crime such as murder, sexual assault, sexual abuse or theft. The scenario might also include discussion of a weapon too. Participants might then be asked to read some instructional information about how to make decisions in court. Participants will then be asked to consider the information given and then give their opinion on the likelihood of findings the defendant guilty and provide an overall verdict.

After this, you will be asked to respond to several questions or statements about your attitudes towards people of different genders and your attitudes around punishment. Please be aware that some of these statements may be upsetting for you to read and we ask you to consider whether you are happy to read these before taking part. These statements are taken from a series of validated scales and do not reflect the views of the researchers, or the University of Lincoln, in any way.

Once that is completed, you will be given the participant debrief form to read at the end of the study which will include contact details of the lead researcher, the supervisor and secondary supervisor. There will also be contact details of support services. This is to ensure that if you have any questions, concerns or feel you have been negatively affected you have support available to you. This study will be conducted on QuestionPro and should take approximately 20 minutes maximum to complete.

Will I be paid expenses for taking part?

You will not be paid to participate in the study. However, if you are taking part through SONA you will be rewarded 2 SONA points.

What are the possible benefits / risks of taking part?

The topic of crime in this study may depict violence or other behaviour that could be potentially distressing for individuals to read. You will also be asked to reflect on your attitudes towards gender and punishment. Participants are reminded that they can withdraw at any time by exiting the web browser. Sources of help and support will also be provided at the end of this PIS document and in the Debrief provided.

Although there are no direct benefits to taking part, we hope that the study will advance the research area and have a range of potential benefits. These include adding to the existing research on jury decisions and how we may be able to support people to make better decisions in a courtroom, leading to a fairer judicial system.

Will anyone know I have taken part?

The University of Lincoln (UoL) is the sponsor for this study based in the United Kingdom. We will be using information from you in order to undertake this study and will act as the data controller for this study. This means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly.The information we collect will be handled in confidence. No one will know you have taken part, as your responses are anonymous.
Please note however, if you are signing up to the study using SONA your responses will be pseudo-anonymous as this is linked to your student account. This is so the system can allocate you the SONA points. This identifying information will not be saved alongside the data set, and as such, you will not be identifiable in any analysis.

Where will my data be stored?

The data obtained from the study will be stored securely on the university OneDrive in password protected files. Only the researcher/researchers will have access to it. The data from this study may be put in an Open Access repository for other researchers to use in future research. If so, responses will be anonymised.

What will happen if I don’t want to carry on with the study?

You might decide that you do not want to take part. If this is the case, then you do not have to go any further than this point. If you do decide to take part but want to withdraw once the study has begun, then you can do so by clicking the ‘X’ button in the top right-hand corner and closing down the web browser that you are in. As you will be completing the study anonymously it will not be possible to remove the data already provided, as we will not be able to identify you in any way. Please be aware that partial responses may be used in data analysis.

What will happen to the results of the research study?

The results of this study will be analysed and written up as a part of a Doctoral degree in Psychology undertaken by Ellie Calow at the University of Lincoln. The findings may also be published in peer reviewed academic journals the future. Data will be treated confidentially and any publication results from this study will report only data that does not identify individual participants.

Who is organising and funding the research?

This research is being organised by PhD student Ellie Calow and supervised by Dr Georgina Gous and Dr Kamila Irvine at the University of Lincoln.

Who has reviewed the study?

All research conducted by the University of Lincoln is looked at by an independent group of people, called a Research Ethics Committee, to protect your interests. This study has been reviewed and given favourable opinion by a University of Lincoln Research Ethics Committee [2025_21285].

What if there is a problem?

It is very unlikely that this study would cause you any harm. However, please be reminded that there may be some discussion of sensitive content, as outline above in the content warning. If you have a concern or a complaint about any aspect of this study, you should ask to speak to the researchers who will do their best to answer your questions. The researchers contact details are given at the end of this information sheet. If you remain unhappy and wish to complain formally, you can make a formal complaint through the University complaints procedure or by contacting [email protected].

Further information and contact details

For further information concerning this study please contact:

Project Supervisors: Dr Georgina Gous ([email protected]), and Dr Kamila Irvine ([email protected])

Helpful Resources

Samaritans - A charity providing emotional support to individuals in emotional distress or struggling to cope.
Website - https://www.samaritans.org/ Contact number – 116 123

Victim support – A charity offering 24-hour free support to people by crime or traumatic events.

Website - https://www.victimsupport.org.uk/ Contact number - 08081689111

Gendered Intelligence - Gendered Intelligence is a trans-led and trans-involving charity that works to increase understandings of gender diversity and improve the lives of trans people.

Website - https://genderedintelligence.co.uk/about-us Contact number – 02071551302

Mermaids – Mermaids supports transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse children and young people, as well as their families and professionals involved in their care (Under 20).

Website – https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/helpline-support-services/ Contact number - 08088010400

Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) - Information and advice about discrimination and human rights issues.

Website - https://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/app/ask Contact - 0808 800 0082

Custom Title