WELCOME TO THE POLITICAL DREAMS PROJECT!
You must be 18 or older to participate.

Your dream donation is quick and easy!

First you'll see a consent document that describes the project. You can keep a copy for your records by saving and printing it. Your name will not be collected.

If you click on the consent button, you can enter your dream into a text box and then tell us any thoughts about your dream in a second text box.  We then ask you a few questions about yourself and invite you to tell us more about your political views. 

Then you're done!


CONSENT FORM FOR PARTICIPATION IN A RESEARCH STUDY

The Political Dreams Project: Donating a Dream via Survey
(UNH IRB# 8226)

 

Our names are Robin E. Sheriff and Kelly Bulkeley and we are conducting a study called The Political Dreams Project.

 

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE FORM?

This consent form describes the research study and helps you to decide if you want to participate.  It provides important information about what you will be asked to do in the study, about the risks and benefits of participating in the study, and about your rights as a research participant.  You should:

·       Read the information in this document carefully, and ask us any questions, particularly if you do not understand something.

·       Not agree to participate until all your questions have been answered, or until you are sure that you want to.

·       Understand that your participation in this study involves reporting a recent dream about US politics and answering survey questions, such as your age and the state where you live.  This will take approximately 15 minutes. 

·       Understand that the potential risks of participating in this study are minimal and your name will not be collected. 

 

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY?

 The purpose of this study is to understand how people dream about current political events and similar aspects of public culture. We anticipate that at least 100 people will participate in this study.  You must be at least 18 years old to participate. 

 

WHAT DOES YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS STUDY INVOLVE?

This study involves writing a description of your recent dream, and, if you like, telling us your thoughts on your dream.  You will answer some survey questions about yourself, such as your age, the state where you live, and how (or if) you identify yourself on the political spectrum.  This should take about 15 minutes, although it could be longer if you wish to tell us a lot about your thoughts about your dream. 

 

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF PARTICIPATING IN THIS STUDY?

The risks are minimal.  Sometimes dreams are disturbing but many people feel better after they share their dream. 

 

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATING IN THIS STUDY?

There are no direct benefits, but many people enjoy sharing dreams, their political opinions, and other aspects about their life.  Also, many people feel that they gain personal insight by thinking about their dreams. You will also be helping to build knowledge about the connections between dreaming and real life. 

WILL YOU RECEIVE ANY COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATING IN THIS STUDY?

No compensation is provided.   

 

DO YOU HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS STUDY?

Taking part in this study is completely voluntary.  You may choose not to take part at all.  If you agree to participate, you may refuse to answer any question.  If you decide not to participate, you will not be penalized in any way.

 

CAN YOU WITHDRAW FROM THIS STUDY?

If you agree to participate in this study and you then change your mind, you may stop participating at any time. Any data collected as part of your participation will remain part of the study records.  If you decide to stop participating at any time, you will not be penalized in any way. 

 

HOW WILL CONFIDENTIALITY OF YOUR RECORDS BE PROTECTED?

We plan to maintain the confidentiality of all data and records associated with your participation in this research.  Our survey will not collect your name or IP address.  At the conclusion of the survey, we invite survey participants to email us if they are interested in sharing another dream or in a follow-up interview.  If you email us, we will send a separate consent document for your review.  Any communication via the internet poses minimal risk of a breach of confidentiality.


Even though your name will not be collected by the survey, we will protect the confidentiality of your information by storing it in password-protected, university-administered cloud storage, and one password-protected hard drive, where it will be kept indefinitely.  Only the researchers and their supervised assistants will have access to the storage facilities, although data could be used in future studies and shared with other researchers besides ourselves. 


We will report our results using both aggregate data and discussing individual dreams and dreamers, who will be given false names. Our results may be used in reports, presentations and publications.     


If you have any questions pertaining to the research you can contact Robin Sheriff at Robin.Sheriff@unh.edu or Kelly Bulkeley at PoliticalDreams@unh.edu to discuss them.


If you have any questions about your rights as a research subject you can contact Melissa McGee in UNH Research Integrity Services, 603-862-2005 or Melissa.mcgee@unh.edu to discuss them. 


Please save or print a copy of this letter for your records.  If you wish to participate and you are 18 or over, please click the consent button below. 


Thank you for sharing your dream!

 

Robin E. Sheriff, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of New Hampshire

 

Kelly Bulkeley, PhD, Sleep and Dream Database

Click here to download this consent form:
CONSENTPoliticalDreamsSurvey.pdf
 

 

Please click YES if you are 18 or older and consent to participate.