Informed Consent

Please read the following carefully before proceeding

Study Title: Investigating LLM Usability by Different Populations

Application No.

HIRB00023175

Sponsor/Supporter/Funded By

Schmidt Sciences

Principal Investigator

Anjalie Field
Johns Hopkins University,
3400 N Charles St,
Baltimore,
MD 21218
anjalief@jhu.edu

You are being asked to join a research study. Participation in this study is voluntary. Even if you decide to join now, you can change your mind later.

Research Summary (Key Information)

The information in this section is intended to be an introduction to the study only. Complete details of the study are listed in the sections below. If you are considering participation in the study, the entire document should be discussed with you before you make your final decision. You can ask questions about the study now and at any time in the future.

The goal of this study is to understand how people approach tasks with AI assistance. In this study, you will be asked to complete a task using an AI assistance tool. Your interactions with the tool, outputs from the tool, and edits you make to the outputs will all be collected. This data will be made available for research purposes.

Why is this research being done?

This research is being done to understand how people approach tasks with AI, and how approaches may differ for different populations. This knowledge will help people understand how to use AI more effectively and help AI companies build tools that are more effective for broader populations.

What will happen if you join this study?

If you agree to be in this study, we will ask you to complete a task, like writing an email, using an AI assistant. We expect you to be able to complete all study activities in a single session, lasting 5-30 minutes. Following the task, we will ask you to complete a brief post-study questionnaire. We will also use your responses to screening demographic questions as research data, and we will analyze them along with your interactions with the AI assistant.

To join this study you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must be a user of Prolific
  • You must speak English
  • You must be based in the US
  • You must be at least 18 years of age
  • You must be willing and able to agree to participating in this research

What are the risks or discomforts of the study?

It may be possible for someone to learn that you participated in this study. While we do not solicit or disseminate any personal or identifying information about you, it may be possible for someone to infer information about you based on your interactions with the AI system, which will be released as a research dataset through open access data sharing. This research dataset will include your responses to the screening demographic questions, your interactions with the AI system, the final data you write to complete the task, and edits you make as you are drafting this data.

What is Open Access Data sharing?

Open access data sharing includes the following:

  • Removal of any personal information from the study data that could identify you (like name, birthdate, age, gender, address including zip code, medical record number, etc.). This is called de-identified data.
  • Each participant's data will be assigned to a code number to distinguish one study participant from another.
  • De-identified data from this study are made publicly available (e.g. on a website).
  • Anyone can use the data for any purpose in the future.

Participation in this study requires that you agree to this open access data sharing.

What risks and benefits are associated with open access data sharing?

Any research data collected from you, excluding your personally identifiable information, could be included in the open data sharing. However, even with your identifiable information removed, there may be a risk of you being identified. Anybody in the world can have access to information in an open access database. If you tell other people that you participated in this study, you may increase the chance that someone will be able to link your data to you.

We do not know how likely it is that your identity could become re-connected with information shared through open access. As of today, we believe there is a low risk that most de-identified study data could be used to re-identify you. However, data that cannot be used to identify you today could be used to identify you in the future.

If you decide to withdraw from the study after consenting to open data sharing, we will not have any way to know who has already used your data before you withdrew and will not be able to prevent continued use of your data.

There is no direct benefit to you from placing your data in an open access database. If you agree to open data sharing, this will help a wider range of researchers make discoveries that may help others in the future.

Are there benefits to being in the study?

There is no direct benefit to you from being in this study. In the long term, we aim to develop improved AI systems that are useful for society.

What are your options if you do not want to be in the study?

Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You choose whether to participate.

If you decide not to participate, there are no penalties, and you will not lose any benefits to which you would otherwise be entitled.

Will it cost you anything to be in this study?

No

Will you be paid if you join this study?

You will be compensated you for your participation through the Prolific platform in accordance with the pay scale indicated on the platform. A bonus of $5 will be paid to the top 10% of participants who provide the highest-quality responses.

Can you leave the study early?

  • You can agree to be in the study now and change your mind later, without any penalty or loss of benefits.
  • If you wish to leave at any point during the study, you can exit at any time.
  • If you would like to withdraw from the study later, please contact the principal investigator; instructions to do so are provided at the end of this document.

How will the confidentiality of your biospecimens and/or data be protected?

Any study records that identify you will be kept confidential to the extent possible by law. The records from your participation may be reviewed by people responsible for making sure that research is done properly, including members of the Johns Hopkins University Homewood Institutional Review Board and officials from government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the Office for Human Research Protections. (All of these people are required to keep your identity confidential.) Otherwise, records that identify you will be available only to people working on the study, unless you give permission for other people to see the records. All potentially identifying information will be removed from the data and the data could be used for future research studies or distributed to another investigator for future studies without additional informed consent being obtained. De-identified data will also be shared with a collaborating research team at the Indian Institute of Science.

What is the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and how does it protect you?

This study has been reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB), a group of people that reviews human research studies. The IRB can help you if you have questions about your rights as a research participant or if you have other questions, concerns or complaints about this research study.  You may contact the IRB at 410-516-6580 or hirb@jhu.edu.

What should you do if you have questions about the study?

Contact the principal investigator, Anjalie Field at anjalief@jhu.edu. If you wish, you may contact the principal investigator by letter. The address is provided at the start of this consent form.

If you cannot reach the principal investigator or wish to talk to someone else, call the IRB office at 410-516-5680.

If you have questions about your rights as a research participant or feel that you have not been treated fairly, please call the Homewood Institutional Review Board at Johns Hopkins University at (410) 516-6580.

This study does not have any program for compensating or treating you for harm you may suffer as a result of your participation.