Welcome to my research study about learning!

A bit background about me and this project

Hi, my name is Yiqiong Yang, I am on my way through a tough Ph.D. journey at the University of Cambridge, major in Psychology and Education. I obtained a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and then I became specialised in educational psychology as I think learning how do we learn is fun.

Learning is an amazing phenomenon in both human beings and animals. We may think it just comes so naturally to us, but there are lots of steps involved that are worth taking a closer look at, such as how do we reason a simple math problem, making decisions in a multiple-choice and how do we aware of our judgment in different contexts.

For me, I am in particular curious about how do we respond to tasks that subject to different rules. Do we use the same set of strategies to perform all tasks? Do we stay alert in boredness? So, if you are willing to help me answer these questions, this page has almost everything you need to know before continuing :)

How does this project work?

This research project has three components:

1. A brief questionnaire,
2. A computerised experiment,
3. and a self-report survey.

Part 1 Questionnaire

The first thing you will come across is a super short questionnaire. It consists of an information sheet about the project for you to read through, a consent form for you to sign/click, and an ID generator that gives you a unique ID, which you may need to write it down for later use.

Estimate duration: 1min

Part 2 Computerised experiment

If you click the link at the end of the questionnaire, you will be directed to an online research platform that only works for PC or laptops. So please make sure you open the experiment link on an appropriate device. You will complete three tasks on this platform, and the task rules and instructions will be displayed before you start.

Estimated duration: 25-30min

Part 3 Self-report survey

Once you have done the experiment, you will be re-directed to the survey platform to complete a short demographic questionnaire as well as a task-related questionnaire. You will need the ID number generated in Part 1 to answer one of the survey items. This is because the survey data and the experiment data are stored separately, which requires an ID to pair two datasets done by the same participant for later analysis. However, it does not mean that your data can be tracked by any means as all data are saved anonymously.

Estimated duration: 3-5min

You will have a chance to win a prize draw of up to £50 for participation.

So if you are ready to go, you can click here to begin the experiment!

Q&A

1. Are the any risks?

There are likely no known risks associated with participating in this study.

2. How will my data be used?

The data collected for this study are likely to be analysed and reported at professional conferences and/or in academic books or articles. These reports will be written based on group data. For the individual data, no identifying information will allow others to trace responses back to the person who gave them.

3. Will my responses be kept anonymous and confidential?

All information gathered will be kept strictly confidential and only used for research purposes. We store the data using random ID numbers so that the data cannot be linked back to you or your family. The data will be stored on secured electronic files or in a locked cabinet in the Faculty of Education, and it will be accessible only by the PI and the lead researcher for this study (Yiqiong Yang).

4. Will there be any form of incentives?

You will have a chance to win a prize draw of up to £50 for participation. However, you will be informed after the data collection process has done, which can take months.

This study was reviewed by the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education ethics panel. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns you would like to discuss.

Researcher: Yiqiong YANG

Drop me an email

Gonville & Caius College

University of Cambridge