Will my taking part in the study be kept confidential?
We will follow ethical and legal practice and all information about you will be handled in confidence. We will keep identifiable information (e.g. contact details) about you for 10 years after the study has finished. This information may be used in relation to further projects – you will be asked to provide your consent if this is the case.
Privacy notice
The University of Lincoln is the lead organisation for this study and will be the data controller for this study. This means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. The university’s Research Participant Privacy Notice https://ethics.lincoln.ac.uk/research-privacy-notice/ will explain how we will be using information from you in order to undertake this study.
What will happen if I don’t want to carry on with the project?
Your participation is voluntary and you are free to withdraw at any time, without giving any reason, and without your legal rights being affected. If you withdraw from the study, we may keep the data collected that we have already obtained in accordance with our Research Participant Privacy Notice. To safeguard your rights, we will delete all personal details/use the minimum personally identifiable information possible.
Where will my data be stored?
The data obtained from the study will be stored securely on the university OneDrive in a password protected file. Only the researcher/researchers will have access to it. The data from this study may be put in an Open Access repository. If so, any personal data (e.g. contact details) will be removed.
What will happen to the results of the project?
Data will be treated confidentially and any publication/communication resulting from this project will report only data that does not identify individual participants (unless you have agreed to be identified). Participants' anonymised responses, however, may be shared with other researchers or made available in online data repositories. In addition, we will ask specific consent to use the pictures provided on any publication/communication related to the project. All these pictures will be credited as ©Data Collector, Lincoln Swans.
Who is organising and funding the research?
This research is being organised by the University of Lincoln.
Who has reviewed the project?
All research conducted by the University of Lincoln is looked at by an independent group of people, called a Research Ethics Committee, to protect your interests. Ethics code (LEAS2020-2236)
What if there is a problem?
If you have a concern about any aspect of this study, you should ask to speak to the researchers, who will do their best to answer your questions. The researchers’ contact details are given at the end of this information sheet. If you remain unhappy and wish to complain formally, you can do this by contacting ethics@lincoln.ac.uk.
If you feel that we have let you down in relation to your information rights then please contact the Information Compliance team by email on compliance@lincoln.ac.uk or by post at Information Compliance, Secretariat, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS.
You can also make complaints directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is the independent authority upholding information rights for the UK. Their website is ico.org.uk and their telephone helpline number is 0303 123 1113.
Further information and contact details
Swanrings@lincoln.ac.uk
Dr. Jenny Dunn (Principal Investigator)
Dr. Laëtitia Maréchal (co-PI)
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