If you provide your consent after completing the mini-Test of Financial Skills (mini-TOFS), this website collects your basic demographic information. This includes: age, gender, first language spoken (if not English), highest level of education, retirement status, household income range, if you have been diagnosed with a neurological condition, and if you or your family members/friends are concerned about your cognitive abilities (i.e., thinking skills). The website also collects your responses on the mini-TOFS.
All data collected is non-identifiable, meaning that you cannot be identified in any way through the information you provide. We do not ask for your name, date of birth or contact details. The information you provide is allocated a random ID number.
The Test of Financial Skills (TOFS) is a neuropsychological test that was developed in 2020. It is currently being validated for use in older adults with or without dementia. The TOFS was developed to provide a standardised, objective measure that assesses everyday financial skills, susceptibility to financial scams and financial decision-making. The TOFS is a clinical test that should be administered by a registered Clinical Neuropsychologist.
The mini-TOFS is a shorter version of the test that can be freely accessed by the public through our website. The website allows you to complete the test and get tailored feedback on your results. Your demographic information is used to tailor your test results and feedback based on your age and educational background. This is because we expect that 50-year-olds will perform differently to 85-year-olds.
The information you provide may also be analysed on an aggregate basis. This will allow us to conduct scientific studies, validate the test and fine-tune the test based on the results and conclusions drawn from the statistical analyses. The results from these analyses may be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at scientific conferences. In any publication, only aggregate data will be reported and you will not be identifiable.
By providing your consent, you are allowing us to use your demographic information and mini-TOFS test scores in our research and validation studies. The data may be shared locally or internationally with other research collaborators for related research projects in the future. We do not know at this stage what these other projects will involve, but those projects will have obtained appropriate ethical approval before your non-identifiable data is released for use in the future projects. The data you provide will not be sold to other third parties.
The ethical aspects of this study, including the collection and use of data, have been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of The University of Sydney, project no. 2022/116, according to the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007).
Your information will be stored securely and will be kept strictly confidential, except as required by law. Electronic information will be stored on a secure, password-protected Google Firestore file, as well as on a network drive maintained by the University of Sydney. Access to the data files will only be granted to those approved by the leader of the research group, Dr Stephanie Wong.
We will keep the information we collect for this study in perpetuity as required by law.
By providing your consent, you are agreeing to us collecting information about you for the purposes described above. Any information you provide us is non-identifiable and will be stored securely.
This research is completely voluntary. You may choose to opt-out by selecting ‘no’ to the question ‘do you consent for your data to be saved?’. This means that your demographic information and mini-TOFS test scores will not be saved on the website. You will still be able to access your mini-TOFS test results.
The ethical aspects of this study have been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of The University of Sydney, project no. 2022/116, according to the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007).
If you are concerned about the way this study is being conducted or if you wish to make a complaint to someone independent from the study, please contact the University:
Human Ethics Manager
human.ethics@sydney.edu.au
+61 2 8627 8176
If you have any questions or concerns regarding our Privacy Policy, you can contact us via the Contact Us page of the website.