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Researchers: 

Loukas Balafoutas                 L.Balafoutas@exeter.ac.uk

Helena Dawes                       H.Dawes@exeter.ac.uk

Chris Fox                               Christopher.Fox@exeter.ac.uk

Helena Fornwagner               H.Fornwagner@exeter.ac.uk

Mae Mansoubi                       M.Mansoubi@exeter.ac.uk

Gemma Sharp                       G.C.Sharp@exeter.ac.uk

and all from the University of Exeter. 

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Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Project Lead, Dr. Helena Fornwagner, at H.Fornwagner@exeter.ac.uk.

 

 

Invitation and Summary

You are invited to take part in an academic research study conducted by the University of Exeter. The study investigates how daily health and activity patterns relate to economic decision-making. Please take time to read this information carefully before deciding whether to participate. You may discuss it with family, friends, or anyone else you wish. If you have any questions, please contact the Project Lead, Dr. Helena Fornwagner, at H.Fornwagner@exeter.ac.uk.

 

 

Purpose of the Research

The FitToWork project aims to advance our understanding of how sleep, stress, and activity levels influence economic decision-making and well-being. By combining behavioural data from online tasks and validated questionnaires with activity measures from Garmin wearable devices, we seek to identify patterns that explain differences in daily performance.

 

 

Why Have I Been Approached?

You have been invited to take part because you are a Garmin device user. Participation is only possible if you own a Garmin smartwatch and are willing to wear it during the study.

 

You may have accessed this study through Prolific, through Garmin’s official newsletter or blog, or because you saw the study advertised via the University of Exeter’s website, social media, or newsletter channels. Participation is only possible if you own a Garmin smartwatch and are willing to wear it during the study.

 

 

What Would Taking Part Involve?

• The study takes place entirely online.

• It begins with a consent form outlining the study purpose, data use, and your rights.

• After providing consent, you will be asked to authorise access to your data from your Activities, Daily Health Stats, and Women’s Health (if applicable) This authorisation uses Garmin’s secure OAuth 2.0 process - your Garmin login credentials are never shared with or seen by the research team, and are never stored by the University of Exeter.

• We will ask you to share your Historical Garmin data from the last 30 days until after your participation.

• Once access is granted, you will complete an online behavioural task and a series of short questionnaires on health, lifestyle, and well-being (approximately 20 minutes in total).

• These tasks and questionnaires are commonly used in academic research.

• At the end of the study, you will receive a summary of your results and total payment.

• If you accessed the study via Prolific, you will be redirected back to Prolific at the end of the study, where your participation will be recorded and your payment will be processed through the Prolific platform.
  OR

• If you were recruited outside Prolific, you will be redirected to a separate, secure form to provide a valid email address for payment via Wise.com. This email address will be stored separately and permanently deleted once payment has been processed.

All data collection is hosted on the University of Exeter’s secure servers (FEELE Lab, oTree platform).

 

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Possible Benefits of Taking Part

While there are no direct personal benefits, your participation will contribute to scientific understanding of how daily health and activity patterns affect performance and well-being.

 

 

Possible Disadvantages and Risks

The study involves no physical risks and minimal psychological risk. Some questionnaire items relate to physical and mental health, which may be considered sensitive. These questions are optional and include a “prefer not to say” option. All responses are confidential and stored securely.
If any question makes you uncomfortable, you may skip it or withdraw from the study. At the end of the study, you will be provided with links to relevant support services (e.g., NHS Every Mind Matters, Mind UK).

 

 

What Happens If I Don’t Want to Continue?

Participation is voluntary. You may withdraw at any time before completing the study by closing your browser window. Any unsubmitted data will be deleted. Once data have been anonymised after all data has been collected and stored, withdrawal is no longer possible because responses can no longer be linked to individuals.

 

 

Confidentiality and Data Protection

The University of Exeter processes personal data for research in the public interest and complies with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. The lawful basis for processing personal data is UK GDPR Article 6(1)(e): ‘task in the public interest’.

• Garmin Data: Participants will grant access only to selected metrics (activity duration, heart rate, step count, sleep, stress, etc.). Garmin will assign an anonymous study ID; no identifying information (such as name or email) is shared with the research team.

• Behavioural and Survey Data: Responses will be linked only to pseudonymised study IDs.

• Payment Information: Email addresses used for payment are stored separately and deleted once payment is complete.

All data are encrypted during transfer, stored securely on University servers, and accessible only to authorised researchers. No individual-level Garmin data will ever be shared with third parties.
Only aggregated or summary statistics (e.g., average patterns across participants) may be published or shared in replication packages or research repositories.

All anonymised research data will be retained for a minimum of 10 years in accordance with the University of Exeter’s research data management policy.

If you have any questions about how your personal data are processed, please contact the University’s Data Protection Officer at informationgovernance@exeter.ac.uk.

 

 

What Garmin Data will be collected?

At the beginning of the study, you will be asked to consent to share selected Garmin data categories with the research team: Activity, Daily Health Stats (such as heart rate, sleep, stress, and step counts), and Women’s Health data (if applicable). As part of the study procedure, you will also be asked to start a HIIT or cardio activity on your Garmin device during your participation. You may stop the HIIT/cardio activity on your device as soon as you finish participating. 

 

With your permission, the research team will access data from the last 30 days to your participation up to the end of your participation in the study. After all data will be securely transferred to the University of Exeter server via an encrypted protocol, the FitToWork app will automatically disconnect from your Garmin account, no later than 24 hours after your participation.

 

 

Payment for Participation

Participants will receive a flat payment of £15, plus a possible bonus of up to £10 based on your own and others’ decisions.

At the end of the study, you will be redirected for payment:

• Prolific participants will return to Prolific, where the payment will be processed securely.

• Non-Prolific participants will be redirected to a secure form to provide an email address for payment via Wise.com. You will then receive an email from Wise.com with instructions on how to collect your payment. Your email address will be stored separately and deleted once payment has been issued.

Payments will be made latest in three working days. 

Please note that each person may participate only once. If someone participates more than once, they will be paid only for the first participation that is correctly completed.

 

What Will Happen to the Results?

Findings will be published in academic journals, presented at scientific conferences, and summarised on the project website (www.fittowork.org). Only anonymised, aggregated data will be included in any open data or replication packages. Participants may contact the researchers for further information or updates.

 

Who Is Organising and Funding This Study?

This study is conducted by researchers at the University of Exeter Business School as part of the FitToWork project. The project is supported by the University of Exeter.

 

Who Has Reviewed This Study?

This project has been reviewed and approved by the University of Exeter Business School Research Ethics Committee (UoEBS-REC), approval number [11555023].

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In addition, the study has been reviewed by the University of Exeter Information Governance Team, and a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) has been completed to ensure that personal data are handled securely and in compliance with UK data protection legislation.

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Contacts

For questions about this research:
Dr. Helena Fornwagner – H.Fornwagner@exeter.ac.uk

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For queries about ethical review:
University of Exeter Business School Research Ethics Committee

Dr. Steven Boyne
Email: S.Boyne@exeter.ac.uk

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Head of Research Governance, Ethics and Compliance

Dr. Sean Jennings
University Research Services, University of Exeter
Innovation Centre, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4RN
Email: S.Jennings@exeter.ac.uk

 

For complaints or data protection queries:
University Research Ethics and Governance Team
Email: cgr-reg@exeter.ac.uk

 

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Thank You!

Thank you for taking the time to consider this information. Your participation will help us better understand how daily health and activity patterns influence well-being and performance.