Perceptions of Investigative Interviewing Techniques

Participant Form Sheet

Project / Study title: Perceptions of Investigative Interviewing Techniques

1. Invitation paragraph
You are 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. Please ask 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. Thank you for reading this.

2. What is the purpose of the study?
The aim of this study is to investigate how police officer students' training perspectives and perceptions of investigative interviewing techniques are impacted by their knowledge of the Central Park Five case. The aim of the research is to provide insights that will improve training programs, ethical considerations, and professionalism within the criminal justice system.

3. Why have I been chosen?
It is important that we assess as many participants as possible, and you may have indicated that you are interested in taking part in this study. You have been selected to participate in this study based on your status as a police officer student. The inclusion criteria for participation are: - Enrolled as a police officer students - Willingness to share insights on perceptions to investigative Interviewing techniques The decision to include police officer students is essential to gather relevant perspectives from individuals undergoing training in law enforcement. This group is chosen as they represent a key demographic for understanding the impact of real-life cases on training perceptions. The inclusion criteria ensure that participants have a direct connection to the field of study, enhancing the relevance of collected data. Exclusion criteria involve individuals who do not meet the specified enrolment status or those who have previously participated in a similar study to prevent duplicate responses. The number of participants involved in this study aims to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the topic. Approximately 20-30 police officer students are expected to be part of this research. This sample size is determined to provide a diverse range of perspectives while ensuring the depth and quality of the data collected.

4. Do I have to take part?
It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do decide to take part you will be given this information sheet to keep (and be asked to sign a consent form if your personal data will be processed) . If you decide to take part you are still free to withdraw at any time and without giving a reason. If you do decide to withdraw from the study then please inform the researcher as soon as possible, and they will facilitate your withdrawal. If, for any reason, you wish to withdraw your data please contact the researcher within a month of your participation. After this date, it may not be possible to withdraw your individual data as the results may have already been published. However, as all data is anonymised, your individual data will not be identifiable in any way. Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you are free to withdraw at any time without providing a reason. Withdrawal will not affect your academic standing.

5. What will I have to do?
Your engagement in the research will last approximately 5-10 minutes, requiring only a single session- there is no need for repeated visits. You will engage in a comprehensive survey during this session, designed to capture your insights into investigative interviewing techniques. Notably, the survey accommodates both participants who have undergone training and those who have not, ensuring a nuanced exploration of perceptions. Additionally, a familiarisation context will be provided in the survey to make you comfortable with the survey format and content. Participants will not be divided into groups for this study. Each participant’s responses will be individually analysed to ensure a comprehensive understanding of perceptions. Please note that in order to ensure quality assurance and equity this project may be selected for audit by a designated member of the committee. This means that the designated member can request to see signed consent forms. However, if this is the case your signed consent form will only be accessed by the designated auditor or member of the audit team.

6. Will I have to provide any bodily samples (i.e. blood/saliva/urine)?
No bodily samples will be collected in this study.

7. What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
There are no known risks associated with participating in this study. All procedures have undergone appropriate risk assessments to ensure participants safety. Appropriate risk assessments for all procedures have been conducted and will be followed throughout the duration of the study.

8. What are the possible benefits of taking part?
We hope that participating in the study will help you. However, this cannot be guaranteed. The information we get from this study may help us to provide insights that contribute to the improvement of Investigative interviewing techniques. However, benefits cannot be guaranteed.

9. 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. Processing of personal data is any activity that is carried out with personal data (including collecting, analysing, recoding, etc). https://www.mdx.ac.uk/about-us/policies/privacy/privacy-notice-for-research-participants

10. What will happen to the results of the research study?
The results of the research study will be used as part of an Undergraduate dissertation. The results may also be presented at conferences or in journal articles. However, the data will only be used by members of the research team and at no point will your personal information or data be revealed. 11. 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 Law School REC

12. Contact for further information
If you require further information, have any questions or would like to withdraw your data then please contact: Tess Kandeh Mballow nk879@live.mdx.ac.uk or Susanne Knabe-Nicol S.Knabe-Nicol@mdx.ac.uk