You are being invited to take part in a research study. Before you decide it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Ask us if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you wish to take part.
What is the purpose of the study?
In your role it is likely you have to deal with upsetting material, we want to find out about any impacts of working with this sort of material, what you do to cope and what your organisation does to support you.
Why have I been chosen?
It is important that we survey as many participants as possible. You are are being invited to take part because you work in a role where you may be exposed to upsetting material, we aim to have 150-200 participants complete this survey.
Do I have to take part?
It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. You can withdraw from the study at any time by closing the browser window. You will be asked to provide a code word should you wish to withdraw your data, you can email us with this code word. The survey is completely anonymous so no one, including the research team, will know which responses are yours.
What will I have to do?
You will be asked to complete a number of questions about your role, how you cope and sources of stress or support. It should take about 15 minutes to complete.
What are the possible risks or benefits of taking part?
It is possible you may become upset as you think about any negative aspects of your job. You will be given details of places you can go for support and the research teams contact details. We hope that participating in this study will help you by raising awareness of the work you do and its challenges. However, this cannot be guaranteed. The information we get from this study may help us to develop recommendations for employers and an intervention designed to support people who work with distressing material.
Appropriate risk assessments for all procedures have been conducted, and will be followed throughout the duration of the study.
Data Protection and Confidentiality
Personal data is any data that can lead to the identification of a specific (living) person. It can be obviously identifiable data such as name or ID number but it can also be a combination of "innocent" data such as age, height/weight, wealth, job position, company, city, etc. that when combined can lead to the identification of a person. Personal data WILL BE processed by this study and your confidentiality will be protected. All information you provide will be treated in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act 2018 which incorporates the GDPR. Please view/download a Privacy Notice for Research Participants at: https://www.mdx.ac.uk/about-us/policies/privacy/privacy-notice-for-research-participants
What will happen to the results of the research study?
The results will be used in a report given to our funders the End Violence Fund and may be presented at conferences or published in journal articles.
Who has reviewed the study?
The study has received full ethical clearance from the Research ethics committee who reviewed the study. The committee is the Psychology REC at Middlesex University.
Contact for further information
If you require further information or have any questions then please contact:
Ruth Spence, r.spence@mdx.ac.uk
Jeffrey DeMarco, j.demarco@mdx.ac.uk
Elena Martellozzo, e.martellozzo@mdx.ac.uk
