PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET
Research Team: Natalie Bloom, Trainee Forensic Psychologist and Dr Shihning Chou (Supervisor), Associate Professor, Centre for Forensic and Family Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham.
Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences Research Ethics Ref: FMHS 500-0322
You are being invited to take part in research on experiences of stress and its prevalence in the policing population. Specific stressors which have been shown to be relevant to this population are also considered. Natalie Bloom, a doctoral student at The University of Nottingham, is leading this research. Before you decide to take part, it is important you understand why the research is being conducted and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully.
What is the purpose of the study?
The purpose of the study is to explore experiences of workplace stress within the UK police. By looking at stressors in conjunction with this, we hope to provide information which may allow for proactive interventions to improve the professional quality of life of police employees.
What will happen if I decide to take part?
You will first be asked a series of demographic questions relating to your job role and experience in the police. You will then be asked a series of questions which relate specifically to your experiences of working in the police. Some questions relate to experiences concerning stress. Your participation will take place entirely online and your answers will be completely anonymous. You will not be asked for any personally identifiable information. The research team will not be able to identify you from the information you provide. The questionnaire should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
What are the benefits of taking part?
By sharing your experiences, you will be helping us to better understand workplace stress in the police. It is hoped that continued research into this area of psychology within the police will lead to better interventions and support.
Are there any risks associated with taking part?
There are no significant risks associated with participation, but the topic of workplace stress may be particularly sensitive for some participants. If you believe you may be affected by taking part, you are encouraged not to do so. Signposting to various support agencies will be available at the end of the study.
Please note, the information recorded in your responses is not linked with The Occupational Health Unit (OHU), therefore no action will be taken automatically regarding any significant disclosures via the anonymous questionnaires. If you have any concerns or have been affected in any way during the course of taking part in this research, you are advised to self-report these to the OHU or your line manager as soon as possible.
Do I have to take part?
No – it is entirely up to you and participation is completely voluntary. You are also free to withdraw your responses at any time during completion of the questionnaire by pressing the exit browser button. If you do decide to withdraw your consent to participate, you do not need to give a reason. A decision to withdraw, or not to take part, will not affect you in any way. If you withdraw part way through the study, your data will be removed from the final dataset.
Please note, due to the anonymous nature of this research, once you have completed all of the questionnaires and submitted your data to the researcher, you will be unable to withdraw your consent as the researcher will not be able to identify specific data from individuals.
What will happen to my data?
When you have clicked the submit button at the end of the questionnaire, your responses will be uploaded into a password protected database with a code number. The research team will not be able to see who it is from and for this reason it will not be possible to withdraw your data at this point. Your data (research data) will be stored in a password-protected folder sitting on the University of Nottingham OneDrive. Electronic storage devices will be encrypted while transferring and saving the data to the University restricted access and secure cloud based computer system. Data is kept for a minimum of 10 years.
Your data will be combined with other participants’ responses and will be used for a doctoral research project. The results will be written up as a dissertation and may be used in academic publications and presentations. The overall anonymised data from this study may be shared for use in future research and teaching (with research ethics approval).
The only personal data we will receive is your e-mail if you decide to participate in a follow-up research project, or if you contact us to ask further questions. Your email address will be handled separately from your completed questionnaire, and it will not be possible to link your email address to your questionnaire responses. For further information about how the university processes personal data please see: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/utilities/privacy.aspx/
What will happen with the results of this study?
The results of this study will be used for the purpose of this research paper and may be summarised in published articles, reports and presentations.
We would also like your permission to use anonymised data in future studies, and to share our research data (e.g. in online databases) with other researchers in other Universities and organisations both inside and outside the European Union. This would be used for research in health and social care. Sharing research data is important to allow peer scrutiny, re-use (and therefore avoiding duplication of research) and to understand the bigger picture in particular areas of research. All personal information that could identify you will be removed or changed before information is shared with other researchers or results are made public.
Making a Complaint
This study has been reviewed and approved through The University of Nottingham’s formal research ethics procedure. However, if you are unhappy with any aspect of this study, please contact a member of the research team or the Research Ethics Committee:
Lead Researcher: Natalie Bloom
Centre for Forensic and Family Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham
Email: natalie.bloom@nottingham.ac.uk
Research Supervisor: Dr Shihning Chou
Centre for Forensic and Family Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham
Email: shihning.chou@nottingham.ac.uk
In your correspondence, please provide information about the research project, specify the name of the researcher, and detail the nature of your complaint.
If you remain unhappy and wish to complain formally, you should then contact the FMHS Research Ethics Committee Administrator:
Email: FMHS-ResearchEthics@nottingham.ac.uk
