INFORMATION FOR PARTICIPANTS
Frequently asked questions
Q1: Why have I been invited to take part?
You have been invited because we are very interested in any gift experiences you may have been involved in (either as a giver or a receiver) during the covid-19 pandemic.
Q2: Do I have to take part?
No. You do not have to take part. If you do decide to take part, you can withdraw your participation at any time without needing to explain and without penalty by advising the researcher of your decision.
If you withdraw, we will not collect any more data from you. However, any data collected up until the point that you withdraw will be kept and used in the data analysis unless you ask us not to. If you do ask us not to keep the data we have already collected, we will delete it.
We will send you confirmation of these conditions in writing and you be asked to complete an electronic consent form.
Q3: What will happen if I take part?
We have shared with you a link to a website, where you will be asked to choose how you would like to participate. You will be able to choose from the following two options:
OPTION 1: Participate in an interview (e.g. phone or video conference).
OPTION 2: Write a single story (complete an online form). If you wish, let us know and we will send you an online form to share more stories with us.
After clicking in your chosen option you will be directed to a short questionnaire, we will ask you to:
1) read the information for participants,
2) give your consent where you agree to take part in the study and
3) answer some questions about your gift experiences.
These questions will change depending on your chosen method.
If would like to take part in an interview (option 1), the form will help us to arrange a suitable time and method (e.g. phone, Skype). The interview will last approximately 1 hour. We can stop earlier or continue for a little longer if you wish to do so.
If you prefer to report a single experience (option 2), you only need to complete the information in the form in as much detail as possible. It will take a few minutes or longer depending on the level of detail of your story. If afterwards you would like to share more stories, once you complete this first single experience, we will send you a form to share as many stories as you want.
Q4: Are there any potential risks in taking part?
In these difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic, you might feel stressed when you share your stories with us. If this happens, we do not expect you to engage with any sensitive issue that makes you feel uneasy. If at any point you need a break or if there are any questions that you do not want to answer or talk about, this is absolutely fine.
Q5: Are there any benefits in taking part?
There is not a particular reward associated if you take part in the study. However, hopefully results from this study will help developing insights to improve people’s gift experiences and inform related ways of coping in situations of crisis.
Q6: Legal basis for processing personal data?
As part of the project, we will be recording personal data relating to you if you wish to disclose it (e.g. age, gender, nationality). This will be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Under GDPR the legal basis for processing your personal data will be public interest/the official authority of the University.
Q7: What happens to the data I provide?
The research data will be kept anonymous. The data you provide will not be linked to you as we will not be using your real name.
Personal information and data (interviews, single gift-giving stories or photos) will be stored anonymously in the University Research Drive – a secure data centre on the Stirling Campus- and using a password protected computer. Personal information will be kept separately from the interview data.
The research team will have access to personal research data, which will be anonymised and this data will not be shared with third parties.
Your personal data will be kept for 10 years on Research Drive and then will be securely destroyed.
Q8: Recorded media
If you chose to participate in an interview (option 1), we will ask you for permission to audio record our interview in order to ensure that we can concentrate in our conversation and capture your views accurately. We will subsequently transcribe it and the written transcripts will be used for data analysis.
Q9: Will the research be published?
The research may be published in Academic Journals and conference proceedings. You will not be identifiable in any report/publication as any information that might tie you with what you say will not be included.
The University of Stirling is committed to making the outputs of research publicly accessible and supports this commitment through our online open access repository STORRE. Unless funder/publisher requirements prevent us this research will be publicly disseminated through our open access repository.
Q10: Who is organising and funding the research?
There is presently no funding associated with this research.
Q11: Who has reviewed this research project?
The ethical approaches of this project have been approved via The University of Stirling General University Ethics Panel.
Q12: Your rights?
You have the right to request to see a copy of the information we hold about you and to request corrections or deletions of the information that is no longer required.
You have the right to withdraw from this project at any time without giving reasons and without consequences to you. You also have the right to object to us processing relevant personal data however, please note that once the data are being analysed and/or results published it may not be possible to remove your data from the study.
Q13: Who do I contact if I have concerns about this study or I wish to complain?
If you would like to discuss the research with someone, you can contact the members of the research team:
Dr Ines Branco-Illodo, University of Stirling (ines.branco-illodo@stir.ac.uk)
Dr Teresa Pereira Heath (teresa.pereiraheath@eeg.uminho.pt)
Alternatively, if you need to make a complaint and prefer to speak with someone from University who is not involved in the study, you could contact the head of the Marketing and Retail Division:
Prof Paul Freathy, University of Stirling (paul.freathy@stir.ac.uk)
You have the right to lodge a complaint against the University regarding data protection issues with the Information Commissioner’s Office (https://ico.org.uk/concerns/).
The University’s Data Protection Officer is Joanna Morrow, Deputy Secretary. If you have any questions relating to data protection these can be addressed to data.protection@stir.ac.uk in the first instance.
You will be given a copy of this information sheet to keep.
Thank you for your participation