My name is Vivien Giannopoulos and I am conducting a research project with Dr Dianne Vella-Brodrick, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine within the Faculty of Medicine towards my Honours Degree in Psychology at Monash University. My project will be looking into people's well-being and interventions which are thought to increase levels of happiness and positive emotion.
This research is important because it will assist health professionals gain a better understanding of how interventions can help people become happier. It will also help to determine whether an individual's happiness orientation, that is, whether they seek happiness primarily through pleasure, engagement or meaning, influences how effective the intervention is at making people happier.
I am seeking participants aged 18 years and over who are interested in completing some brief online questionnaires and undertaking a short daily activity to learn more about themselves and their orientations to happiness. The online session of questionnaires is anticipated to take approximately 15-20 minutes. Participants will be randomly allocated to one of the activity groups or a control group which is not allocated an activity and is only required to complete the online questionnaires (on three occasions). Activity group participants will complete the assigned activity (for approximately 5-15 minutes) daily over one week and then log onto the web site to complete the post activity online session of questionnaires (approximately 15-20 minutes). A final follow-up session is available for those who wish to participate. It involves simply logging onto the web site again (2 weeks after completing the post activity survey) to complete the questionnaires one last time. (No activity is completed during this 2 week period)
All information that is gathered will be treated with the strictest confidence and stored according to the University regulations and kept on university premises in a locked cupboard/filing cabinet for 5 years. A report of the study may be submitted for publication but no individual participant will be identified. Questionnaires will be matched using a unique code and therefore you will remain anonymous. Completion of the questionnaire will imply consent to participate in this study. If you would like to be informed of the aggregate research findings please feel free to contact me on
Vivien.Giannopoulos@med.monash.edu.au. The findings are accessible for 6 months.
We do not expect that you will experience any discomfort from your participation in this study. However, if you become uncomfortable with your involvement at any time, you may immediately stop participating. If you wish to seek professional assistance you can contact your local community health centre or the Australian Psychological Society for a referral to a health professional.
| If you would like to contact the researchers about any aspect of this study, please contact the Chief Investigator: | If you have a complaint concerning the manner in which this research 2009000306 is being conducted, please contact: |
| Dr Dianne Vella-Brodrick School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine Caulfield Campus Monash University VIC 3800 Tel: 9903 2542 Fax: 9903 2501 Email: Dianne.vella-brodrick@med.monash.edu.au |
Human Ethics Officer Standing Committee on Ethics in Research Involving Humans (SCERH) Building 3e Room 111 Research Office Monash University VIC 3800 Tel: +61 3 9905 2052 Fax: +61 3 9905 1420 Email: scerh@adm.monash.edu.au |
Yours Sincerely,
Vivien Giannopoulos
Email: vivien.giannopoulos@med.monash.edu.au
Tel: 0402 284 151
Thank you for participating in this study.
Your time and effort are very much appreciated.
Participants in phase 1 will have been provided with instructions and asked to return to this site after 1 week to complete phase 2.
It would be greatly appreciated if you could do this.
Thank you for participating in this study and for returning to complete the post activity survey.
This will provide us with valuable data to help us understand how various activities influence well-being.
Once again many thanks.
Participants in phase 2 will have been provided with instructions and asked to return to this site after 2 weeks to complete phase 3.
If you would like to participate in this final stage it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You