How does this Study Work?
The study takes place over time, and is made up of three, 6-month stages (see image below). The total time commitment averages to less than one hour per month.
How Much Time Does It Take Per Week?
We expect the average time commitment per week to be around 10-15 minutes. We have tried to make each session relatively short, so you can take part in the study without it impacting on your other commitments.
Week 1 will take the most time because that is when the Health and Wellbeing Surveys are completed. There are two surveys to complete, and they take 20 minutes each. After that, there is just one task to do per week. On odd weeks you rate your general mood over the last 24 hours. This takes no more than 5 minutes. On even weeks, you record one positive and one negative memory from the last week. As the study goes on, you will also be asked to provide some ratings of memories you previously recorded. This task shouldn’t take more than 10-15 minutes. We don’t expect people to write too much – a few sentences is more than enough – you just need to write enough that you will recognise the event if it is presented to you later.
Breakdown Of The Study Tasks In A Six-Month Block
The study has three parts. Each part (or block) of the study lasts for six months. The Health and Wellbeing Surveys are always the longest time commitment, as we ask questions about different aspects of your health and wellbeing. After that, there is one task to do per week. On every odd week you rate your mood in the last 24 hours, and every even week you complete a task relating to your memories. The outline of the first six-months of the study looks like this:
· Week 1 Day 1 – Health and Wellbeing Survey 1 (20 minutes)
Day 2 – Health and Wellbeing Survey 2 (20 minutes)
Day 3 – First record of Mood in Last 24 Hours (5 minutes max.)
· Week 2 – Record Two Memories from the Last Week (~10 minutes)
· Week 3 – Mood in Last 24 Hours (5 minutes max.)
· Week 4 – Record Two Memories from the Last Week and Rate Previous Memories (~10 minutes)
· Week 5 – Mood in Last 24 Hours (5 minutes max.)
· Week 6 – Record Two Memories from the Last Week and Rate Previous Memories (~10 minutes)
· ….
· Week 25 – Mood in Last 24 Hours (5 minutes max.)
· Week 26 – Record Two Memories from the Last Week and Rate Previous Memories (~10 minutes)
How Will I Remember When There Is A Task To Do?
The study is not intended to be a test of that type of memory! We will send you a reminder through the app or via email when a task is available for you to complete. You have until midnight to complete each task.
Sometimes, we can read emails and then forget to act on them, or clear our phone notifications without following them to the app. To help you keep track of the study tasks, you could set a weekly reminder in your phone or put a weekly item into your calendar.
Each task occurs weekly based on when you complete the second day of the Health and Wellbeing survey. For example:
Imagine you do the Week 1 Day 1 – Health and Wellbeing Survey on Tuesday the 9th of December.
Then you do the Week 1 Day 2 – Health and Wellbeing Survey 2 on Wednesday the 10th of December.
And then you do the Week 1 Day 3 – Mood in Last 24 Hours record on Thursday the 11th of December.
All future weekly tasks would occur on a Wednesday. The first memory recording task would occur on Wednesday the 17th of December, the next mood record would occur on Wednesday the 24th of December and so on.
You could put a weekly reminder into your phone calendar or reminders app that would let you know that you had a study task to complete every Wednesday.
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