Thank you for wanting to participate in our study! In our study, we are seeking to understand virtual reality (VR) users’ attitudes towards VR advertising. The following screening survey will ask some questions about your VR usage and attitudes towards advertising in general to determine eligibility for our interview study. Please read this consent form before proceeding.

Investigating VR User Attitudes towards VR Advertisements

Principal Investigator: Abraham Mhaidli, PhD Candidate, School of Information University of Michigan

Faculty Advisor: Florian Schaub, Associate Professor, School of Information University of Michigan

HUM#00230113

You are invited to participate in a research study about VR user attitudes towards VR advertisements. If you agree to be part of the research study, you will be asked to fill out an initial screening survey to determine eligibility. If chosen, you will be invited to participate in a 60-90 minute remote interview. The interview will be conducted using video-calling software (e.g., Zoom) or through the phone, depending on context. During the interview, you will be asked questions about your attitudes towards VR, as well as being shown vignettes depicting various types of VR advertisements. We will record the interviews to make sure that our conversation is recorded accurately. Interviews will subsequently be transcribed, after which the recordings will be deleted. Transcriptions will be kept for up to 3 years, after which they will be deleted as well.

Eligibility for the study: To be eligible for this study, you must be 18 years of age or older and have had some experience using virtual reality (VR).

Benefits of the research: While you may not receive a direct benefit from participating, this study will contribute to the understanding of VR user attitudes towards VR advertising. This information can be used to inform the development of guidelines, paradigms, and legislation to help shape VR advertisements in ways that benefit consumers.

Risks and discomforts: The risks of participating in the study are no greater than those experienced in ordinary life. You may choose not to answer any interview question and you can stop the interview at any time.

Compensation: If selected for the interview, upon the completion of the interview, you can choose to receive $40, in the form of a mailed check, an Amazon gift card, or a PayPal transfer.

Participating in this study is completely voluntary. Even if you decide to participate now, you may change your mind and stop at any time. You may choose not to continue with the study for any reason.

To protect confidentiality of your research records, you will be assigned a participant code at the beginning of this study. This code will be kept separate from your name and contact information. We plan to publish the results of this study, but will not include any information that could identify you. To keep your information safe, the recording of your interview will be transcribed and the recording will be deleted afterwards. We will keep this study data for three years for research documentation purposes.

This study is being conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan.

There are some reasons why people other than the researchers may need to see information you provided as part of the study. This includes organizations responsible for making sure the research is done safely and properly, including the University of Michigan or government research offices. Information collected in this project may be shared with other researchers, but we will not share any information that could identify you.

If you have questions about this research study, please contact the Principal Investigator (Abraham Mhaidli) at vruserinterviewstudy@umich.edu

As part of their review, the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences has determined that this study is no more than minimal risk and exempt from on-going IRB oversight.