Facebook Photo Provider Consent Form: Income Inequality and Status Project

Please consider this information carefully before deciding whether to participate in this research.

Purpose of the research: Nate Wilmers and Tom Wooten, graduate students in sociology at Harvard University, are researching how income inequality in a place affects the ways people notice social class. They are running a study in which peoples Facebook photos are shown to mTurk users. mTurk users are asked to guess the income, education, and social class of people in the photos.

What you will do in this research: To provide your photos for use in this study, you will first complete a short online tutorial that shows you how your photos will be used. You will then allow Nate and Tom to download 20 of your Facebook photos by accepting a friend request from the Inequality Study Facebook account. Finally, you will fill out a survey about your education, your income, and your social class. Your participation is voluntary, and you may decline to participate or may withdraw without any penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.

How your information will be used: Nate and Tom will download 20 of your pictures and save them on a secure server. They will show 10 of these photos to mTurk users around the country. They will obscure all of the faces in the photos other than yours. They will not include your photographs in any article or publication.

Compensation: You will receive a $10 payment through mTurk.

Other benefits: If you are interested, Nate and Tom will send you a final version of their research paper. Email them, and they will send you a copy when it is ready.

Risks and possible discomforts: Your Facebook photos will be shown to hundreds of mTurk users. Though unlikely, it is possible that an mTurk participant will know you. If there is content in your Facebook photos that you would not want someone to see, then participating in this study could cause you harm. Also, mTurk users will be judging your photos to guess your education, your income, and your social class. This idea could make you uncomfortable. If you do not want to have your photos judged in this way, or if there is any content in your Facebook photos that you do not want someone to see, do not take part in this research.

To Contact the Researchers: If you have questions or concerns about this research, please contact: Tom Wooten and Nate WilmersEmail:Phone: 574 William James Halltwooten@fas.harvard.edu(617) 997-9430 - TomCambridge, MA 02138wilmers@fas.harvard.edu(248) 219-4688 - Nate

You may also contact the faculty member supervising this work: Chris WinshipEmail: 620 William James Hallcwinship@wjh.harvard.edu33 Kirkland StreetCambridge, MA 02138

Agreement: The nature and purpose of this research have been satisfactorily explained to me, and I have completed the online tutorial that shows me how my Facebook photos will be used in this research. I agree to become a participant in the study as described above. I understand that I am free to discontinue participation at any time if I so choose by contacting Tom or Nate.

Signature: _____________________________________Date: __________________

Name (print): _____________________________________

Whom to contact about your rights in this research, for questions, concerns, suggestions, or complaints that are not being addressed by the researcher, or research-related harm: Committee on the Use of Human Subjects in Research at Harvard University, 1414 Massachusetts Avenue, Second Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138. Phone: 617-496-2847 (CUHS). Email: cuhs@fas.harvard.edu.