We have our first set of winners:
1. M. Blount, Colwyn
2. Meagan Dragon, Anchorage, Alaska
3. Liam Simpson, Derby
4. Peter Roder, Buckinghamshire
5. Steve Gibbs, British Columbia, Canada
There are still SIXTEEN £20 prizes yet to be won, though! A new winner will be announced every eight completing participants.

The Digital Circles Control Study

Participant Information
Reporting Conceptual Relationships: Validation of a Digital Circles Control

You are invited to take part in a research study that I am conducting at the University of Derby. The study involves validating a new Venn-style digital circles control. For the task, you are presented with a total of 20 scenarios, each consisting of a grid of green or blue triangles and circles. For each scenario, you must set the size and overlap of the two circles to represent the scenario you are given. The task should take around 15 minutes. Participants must be English speakers aged 18 years and over who have unimpaired vision (or are wearing corrective glasses if necessary).

The system will calculate a percentage score for each scenario and participant. Cash prizes (Amazon e-vouchers) will be awarded following the end of the study for those participants whose responses are closest to the correct circle control settings for the scenarios. The prizes will be announced two weeks following the end of the study on June 25th, 2026. There will be one £100 prize for the highest scoring participant, and 20 runners-up prizes of £20 each*

Do I have to take part?
Participation in the research study is voluntary. Even if you decide to take part in the study, you have the right to withdraw from the research study without providing any explanation. This applies at any point until two weeks following your participation. To withdraw your data from the research study, you should contact the researcher via the contact information provided at the end of this information sheet with your email address.

What happens to me if I take part?
Once you decide to take part in the study, you will be required to check boxes on a consent form. Once you have filled out the consent form, you will be asked to give your age, gender and a contact email (to receive a voucher if you win a prize). There is then a multiple-choice question, after which you are taken to the main study task - 20 scenarios which you must respond to using the digital circles control. Finally you will be shown a rebrief form restating your rights. Winners will be announced on the main page of this study link June 25th, 2026 and vouchers will be emailed to the winning participants.

Will my participation in this study be kept confidential?
All the information that you provide in the survey will be kept confidential and anonymous. You will be asked to provide an email address that will be used to store your responses in the survey, but these will be deleted once the project has reached its quota of prizes. As such, you will not be mentioned by your name and your responses will remain confidential and anonymous. You can use the unique code to withdraw from the study. Furthermore, the research team will comply with the data protection act, the data-handling practices set by the university, and the general regulations governing data protection. The data collected will be stored on a password protected computer. All identifying information will be removed after the data has been analysed one week following the end of the study. Access to the data will only be possible for the research team.

What will happen to the results of the research study?
The results of the research study may be published in an academic journal but the data collected from you will be fully anonymised. Anonymised data may be publicly archived on ResearchGate. The results will be a part of a university research report and may form part of a teaching exercise. However, the research participants can be assured of confidentiality and anonymity at all times during and after completion of the research report.

Contact for further information
Further information can be obtained from:

Principal Investigator: Dr Paul Barrows
Email: p.barrows@derby.ac.uk

Co-investigator: William Van Gordon
Email: w.vanGordon@derby.ac.uk

*Runners up £20 prizes (Amazon vouchers) will be given to the top 1-in-8 (About 13%) top-scoring participants (after the £100 prize winner). If the target sample size of 161 has not been met by the end-of-study date, prizes will be awarded based on the top 1 in 8 scorers of the sample size collected, and the study will be extended. The remaining prizes will be awarded for a new runner-up after every 8 subsequent participants until the quota (20 runners up prizes) has been met.

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