Read the story

• Each story takes about 15 minutes to read, including the questions.
• You might want to read the story first on your own to get a feel for it.
• Try to read the story with one child at a time.
• Read in as calm a setting as possible (yes, we know that things are rarely calm when children are involved!)
• If your child isn't interested and wants to go and do something else, you should let them. You can always try the story again later - we know that for the smallest ones, sometimes they want to be a bit more familiar with the pictures and the rhythm of the story before they'll sit through the whole thing. If this is the case, please try to make a note of where you got to in the story each time you read it and how many times you started the story - this will be really helpful when we try to understand your child's answers.

Ask the questions

• When you are reading the story, please ask the questions as they appear, rather than waiting until the end.
• Please make sure you keep the exact wording of the question every time.
• You can repeat the question, but we recommend only repeating it once so that your child doesn't lose interest or become frustrated.
• The questions will tell us about how children develop the ability to talk about beliefs, desires and what is real. This is quite a tricky thing to do, and the questions are designed so that children may not give the answers that you expect. This is not something to worry about! We actually expect your child to give what we call "non-adult-like" answers.
• An "I don't know" response is absolutely fine
• If you still have questions about this, check out our FAQ page.

Collect the responses

• We have made printable 'answer sheets' that you can print out and fill in as you go. They are available to download here. 

• Or you might prefer to download and print the stories and write directly onto them.
• Or, you might audio or video record the story. If you do make an audio or video recording, we would love a copy so that we can learn more about how parents read our stories - but it's entirely up to you whether you share this with us or not.
• Don't 'hide' from the children that you are taking notes. You should tell them that you're all taking part in a game to help us learn more about children, and that they are doing science!

Upload the responses

• Once you have read the story and collected your child's answers, please upload those answers using our questionnaire here. The questionnaire contains the 12 story questions, plus 4 short questions about consent, your child's age and language, and contact details.

• There are multiple stories, so feel free to read as many as you like and upload answers to them all.
• Please only upload each child's answers once per story.
• At the end of the questionnaire you'll be asked a few (optional) short questions about what it was like to do this experiment.
• You'll then be able to download a certificate for your child to thank them for taking part!

Questions?

• Check out our FAQ page for answers to the most commonly asked questions.

• We are also happy to speak to you directly. You can contact us here.

• If you have any questions or concerns about the manner in which the study was conducted please, in the first instance, contact us. If this is unsuccessful or not appropriate, can you contact Wendy Davison, PA to the Dean of Research for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, at wendy.davison@ncl.ac.uk.