Information about the research
Title of Study: Robot acceptance in UK agriculture
We are inviting you to take part in a research study. Before you decide, it is important that you know why we are doing the study and what is involved. Please read the following information carefully.
What is the purpose of the study?
The adoption of robots in agriculture is still in its infancy but has been somewhat accelerated in recent years due to widespread labour shortages. The transition from manual machinery to autonomous robots will be heavily influenced by the extent to which the farming community accept this new technology. Therefore, understanding the attitudes of potential robot adopters is important for policymakers, innovators, organisations, and the general farming community. Despite this, little work has been done to measure robot acceptance among farmers in the UK in a large study. The current study aims to address this gap by measuring robot acceptance among UK farmers, with a specific focus on how acceptance varies between farming sectors and job roles. The study will use a survey to measure aspects of robot acceptance. A subset of the sample recruited for this study may be invited to a follow-up study which will use interviews to explore themes highlighted by the survey.
Am I eligible to take part?
You are being invited to take part because you work on a farm in the UK. To be eligible to take part in the study, you must be aged 18 or over, and work on a farm in the UK.
Do I have to take part?
Participation is completely voluntary. You should only take part if you want to, and choosing not to take part will not disadvantage you in anyway.
What will I be asked to do?
Once you have read the information about the study, you will be asked to provide eConsent via a tick box on the following page. You will then complete a short survey which will ask you for some basic demographic information, information about your experience working in farming, and your attitudes towards accepting robots into your workplace. The survey should take roughly 10 minutes to complete, and you should only complete the survey once. You may be contacted later with information regarding a follow-up study, but participation will be completely voluntary.
Will I be paid expenses for taking part?
You will not be paid to participate in the study.
What are the possible benefits / risks of taking part?
There are no direct benefits to taking part in the study, although your responses will help to increase our understanding of robot acceptance in UK agriculture. There are no obvious risks associated with taking part in the study.
Will anyone know I have taken part?
The University of Lincoln (UoL) is the sponsor for this study based in the United Kingdom. We will be using information from you in order to undertake this study and will act as the data controller for this study. This means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly.
The research team will keep your name and contact details confidential and secure. The research team will use this information as needed, to contact you about the research study, and make sure that relevant information about the study is recorded for your care, and to oversee the quality of the study.
Where will my data be stored?
The data obtained from the study will be stored securely on the university OneDrive in password protected files. Only the researchers will have access to it. The data from this study may be put in an Open Access repository for other researchers to use in future research. If so, responses will be anonymised and any personal data (e.g., contact details) will be removed. Any physical copies of data (e.g., paper-based questionnaires) will be stored in a locked cabinet on the University Campus.
We will keep identifiable information (e.g., contact details) about you for up to 2 years after the study has finished. This information may be used to invite you to take part in further research (e.g., the follow-up interview study)– you will be asked to provide your consent if this is the case.
What will happen if I don’t want to carry on with the study?
You are free to withdraw at any point from this study, without having to give a reason, by closing the survey or informing the researcher that you wish to stop. If you choose to withdraw from the study, we may keep the data that we have already obtained, in accordance with our Research Participant Privacy Notice (see below). To safeguard your rights, we will delete all personal details.
What will happen to the results of the research study?
Data will be treated confidentially and any publication resulting from this study will report only data that does not identify individual participants. Participants' anonymised responses, however, may be shared with other researchers or made available in online data repositories. The results will be used in academic publications and conference presentations and may be used in educational teaching.
Who is organising and funding the research?
This research is being organised by Professor Louise Manning and Mr Jack Grant at the University of Lincoln and is being funded by UKRI (project code - 7722323).
Who has reviewed the study?
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 rights, dignity and wellbeing. This study has been reviewed and given favourable opinion by a University of Lincoln Research Ethics Committee [2023_15873].
What if there is a problem?
It is very unlikely that this study would cause you any harm. If you have a concern or question 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 make a formal complaint through the University complaints procedure or by contacting
ethics@lincoln.ac.uk.
Further information and contact details
Contact details
Professor Louise Manning, Lincoln Institute of Agri-Food Technology, University of Lincoln,
LManning@lincoln.ac.uk.
Information compliance
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.
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.
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