MAGIC, or the Massachusetts Gambling Impact Cohort study, is a multi-year study being conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst in which participants will be contacted once a year to provide insight into gambling attitudes and behaviors among Bay Staters. You were randomly selected to participate in MAGIC and are among a small group of individuals who were invited to participate.
Participant FAQs
NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC) is an independent research organization that is conducting this study on behalf of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Additional information on NORC can be found on its website at www.norc.org.
Your participation in the Massachusetts Survey of Health and Recreation made that study a success! Because we cannot interview everyone in the state, you are one of a small group of individuals who have been randomly selected to continue in this landmark study on gambling within the state of Massachusetts. As a Massachusetts resident, your participation provides valuable insight concerning changes in gambling attitudes and behaviors among Bay Staters over time.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is conducting a research study to investigate changes in gambling attitudes and behaviors over time and the factors that influence these changes (including the introduction of new casinos). Results from the study will be used by the Massachusetts Legislature to enact policies that will improve health services for Bay Staters in the future.
As a Massachusetts resident, your participation provides valuable insight concerning changes in gambling attitudes and behaviors among Bay Staters over time. The information you provide us cannot be replaced by any other source in the state. Your responses are unique and will help researchers and the Legislature understand behaviors of individuals like yourself.
Your name and all other personal information will remain private. Your answers will become part of a large, anonymous group of answers called a data set and will only be reported in summary form, such as in graph or tables. You participation is voluntary. You do not have to answer any question you do not want to answer, though we hope that you will find this survey enjoyable.
As one of the participants in the Massachusetts Survey of Health and Recreation, you were randomly selected to participate in the Massachusetts Gambling Impact Cohort Study, or MAGIC.
The current survey is virtually identical to the survey you took previously, covering gambling attitudes, motivations, and behavior as well as questions about leisure activity, physical health, mental health, and demographics.
The attitudes and behaviors of non-gamblers as well as occasional gamblers are just as important to us as the attitudes and behaviors of regular gamblers.
The current survey will take about 15-20 minutes for most people. Over the next few years, we may contact you around this same time (sometime between March and August) again for your participation.
Only a few people who work on the study ever see any personal information. Answers that could identify you in any way are separated from your other answers. Study findings are put into summary reports that contain no names or other information that identifies you.
Yes. Information collected is encrypted at all times. Our secure servers use “HTTPS” to ensure encrypted transmission of your data between your browser and our servers. The survey link is also independently verified by Network Solutions as a secure website.
No. Your information is kept confidential, and your answers are used for research purposes only. If you have questions about your rights as a study participant, you may call 1-866-309-0542, toll-free, and leave a message asking to speak to the Chairperson of the Institutional Review Board.
Yes. When returning to the study online, enter your unique log in information, and you can pick up where you left off.
