Who is the sponsor and data controller for this research? 

This research is funded by the UKRI/AHRC Covid-19 Rapid Response Fund. (UKRI= United Kingdom Research and Innovation; AHRC= Arts and Humanities Research Council) Newcastle University 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 Newcastle University is responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. The lawful basis for carrying out this study under GDPR is Task in the Public Interest, (Article 6,1e) as research is cited as part of the University’s duties.  

Your right to access, change or move your information are limited, as Newcastle University needs to manage your information in specific ways in order for the research to be reliable and accurate. If you withdraw from the study, Newcastle University will keep the information about you that has already been obtained unless requested otherwise. To safeguard your rights, the minimum personally-identifiable information will be used.  

You can find out more about how Newcastle University uses your information at [https://www.ncl.ac.uk/data.protection/dataprotectionpolicy/privacynotice/] and/or by contacting their Data Protection Officer [Maureen Wilkinson, [email protected]]. 

Has this study received ethical approval? 

This study follows both Newcastle University’s and Dundee University’s ethics guidelines and has received ethical approval from Newcastle University Committee on 19/02/2021 [Ref: 9317/2020].

What information will be collected and who will have access to the information collected? 

The information you provided will only be used for the purpose of research, or to contact you about future opportunities to participate in this research. It will not be used to make decisions about future services available to you. Your anonymised research data and photographs may be published as a report. You will not be identifiable in any publication. 

Individuals at Newcastle University may look at your research data to check the accuracy of the research study. The only individuals at Newcastle University who will have access to information that identifies you will be individuals who need to contact you to arrange and conduct the interview. Your name and contact details will only be used for the purpose of research, or to contact you about future opportunities to participate in this research. It will not be used to make decisions about future services available to you.

Regarding the information we store  

Information you provided that could identify you will be held securely with strict arrangements about who can access the information. More specifically, your photographs will be anonymized and stored on encrypted, password-protected Newcastle University software and will be used for purposes of this research only. Your contact details will be stored on encrypted, password-protected Newcastle University software and will be destroyed at the end of this study. Your recordings (phase 2 and 3) will be anonymized and stored on encrypted, password-protected Newcastle University software and will be used for the purposes of this study only. All transcriptions will be anonymized. The original (non-anonymized) recordings will be stored on encrypted, password-protected Newcastle University software and destroyed at the end of this study.

According to the conditions specific to all social science focused grants funded by the UKRI/AHRC Covid-19 rapid response call this study’s data (interview transcriptions, photographs) will be processed, de-identified and made available as “open data” through a research data repository [UK DATA Service’s ReShare as well as Newcastle University's and Dundee University's open data repository data.ncl and Discovery. This means the de-identified study data will be publicly available and may be used for purposes not related to this study. It will not be possible to identify you from the “open data”. Your information will only be used by organisations and researchers to conduct research.