Study title
Understanding harms in online dating: frequency, impact and responses
Invitation paragraph
You are being invited to take part in a research study to identify what different harms occur on online dating platforms, how harmful users perceive them to be, and what they do in response. You do not have to have used online dating platforms to take part in the study. Before you decide 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 before you decide whether or not you wish to take part in the study.
What is the purpose of the project/study?
The purpose of the study is to assess how frequently different harms occur on online dating platforms, how harmful users perceive them to be, and what they do in response. We also want to investigate if individual differences influence both exposure to and perceptions of online dating harms.
Why have I been chosen?
We want to get as many participants as possible to get a range of experiences. You do not have to have used online dating platforms to take part.
Do I have to take part?
It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. You can withdraw from the study at any time during the study by closing the window. Once you have submitted the study you cannot withdraw consent since no personal data will be collected to identify you and your answers.
What will I have to do?
You are asked to answer a series of questions about experiences that might occur on online dating platforms and complete some questionnaires about how you view online communication, romance and your behaviours. The survey should be completed within 20-25 minutes.
What are the possible risks or benefits of taking part?
It is possible that you may find some of the questions distressing as we ask about harmful behaviours that may have occurred on dating applications or websites. We hope that you will find participating in the study interesting and it will help us investigate how common certain harms are on dating platforms.
Data Protection and Confidentiality
Personal data is any data that can lead to the identification of a specific (living) person. It can be obviously identifiable data such as name or ID number but it can also be a combination of "innocent" data such as age, height/weight, wealth, job position, company, city, etc. that when combined can lead to the identification of a person. Personal data (e.g., your name, email address, voice or any data that can identify you) WILL NOT be processed (collected) by this study and your confidentiality will be protected.
What will happen to the results of the research study?
The results of the research study may be used to produce academic articles. All individual responses are anonymous and anything published will be at the aggregate level.
Who has reviewed the study?
The study has received full ethical clearance from the Research ethics committee who reviewed the study. The committee is the Middlesex University Psychology Research Ethics Committee.
Contact for further information
If you require further information or have any questions then please contact: Ruth Spence (r.spence@mdx.ac.uk)