Participant Information Sheet (dated: 16.04.20)
Title: Workplace Communication
Date of ethical approval: 22/04/2020
Ethics number: ETH1920-1279.
Invitation to our study
We would like to invite you to participate in this research project. You should only participate if you want to; choosing not to take part will not disadvantage you in any way. Before you decide whether you want to take part, it is important for you 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 you would like more information.
What is the purpose of the study?
This project will describe vocal workplace communication. The project aims to outline how tone of voice is used in the workplace and what kind of effects it has on listeners.
Why have I been invited to participate?
We try to cover a broad sample of volunteers. You will have seen one of our adverts and we followed up with your interest. We are looking to recruit up to 250 participants to provide voice samples and up to 1000 participants to fill out our online surveys.
Do I have to take part?
Taking part in the research is entirely voluntary. You have the right to withdraw at any time for whatever reason and without explanation or penalty. Your decision to participate or not will have no impact on your current or future employment.
Should you wish to withdraw, please contact Prof. Silke Paulmann (paulmann@essex.ac.uk) or simply stop the procedure. As we collect your data using participant codes, it may not be possible for us to easily identify your data to delete it.
What will happen to me if I take part?
This study will explore how tone of voice is produced in workplace contexts. As part of this, we will ask you to imagine being in a specific situation (e.g., when you talk to a colleague) and utter a number of prepared sentences or short paragraphs while your voice is recorded. Full details and instructions of the study will be provided to you before testing begins. Some of your audio data might be used in future studies that explore the effects of voice on listener’s understanding, performance, and behaviour. Please ask as many questions as you like. You can do this via email. All personal data that we collect will be anonymised (i.e. we do not store your name with your data but will only use participant numbers; however, someone who knows your voice well, might be able to identify you from our audio recordings). We will only make these recordings available to other researchers upon request. A testing session should not take longer than 45 minutes. You can withdraw from our study at any time without prejudice.
What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
There are no known risks associated with our study.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
Gathering evidence on the effects of voice use of teachers will be beneficial in identifying ideal ways for teachers to communicate with children. We cannot guarantee these direct benefits but we hope to contribute to the current debate as to whether teacher training courses should include voice training components.
What information will be collected?
- We will collect the following data from each participant: background information, audio data
- We are using your data to understand how we produce tone of voice
- We may use your audio data in future studies as stimuli
Will my information be kept confidential?
- Consent forms will be kept separately from individual experimental data and if not collected online will be kept locked in a drawer. This is the only personal data about you that we will keep.
- Audio data will be collected using a participant code, so that all personally identifying information is removed. The data will be gathered by staff and/or students at the University of Essex.
- We are using the data to understand how voices affect listeners.
- The anonymised voice data may be shared in publicly accessible archives upon request.
- We intend to keep the research data for at least ten years after completion of the project. It will be made available for access and re-use where legally, ethically and commercially appropriate. Specifically, we may be required to share the anonymised data through a research data repository after our project is completed. This is in line with research funding guidelines as it allows other researchers to re-use the data for their research purposes.
- Consent forms will be shredded ten years after completion of the project.
What is the legal basis for using the data and who is the Data Controller?
Should you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to consent before the experiment commences.
- Our legal basis for keeping your consent form is that you have consented to it.
- The data controller is the University of Essex.
- Essex University’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted on dpo@essex.ac.uk.
What should I do if I want to take part?
Should you wish to take part in this study, please let Prof. Silke Paulmann (paulmann@essex.ac.uk) know as soon as possible.
What will happen to the results of the research study?
After the end of the project, we may publish the findings of our experiments (all data published will be anonymised).
Who is funding the research?
n.a.
Who has reviewed the study?
This project has been reviewed on behalf of the University of Essex Science and Health Faculty Ethics Committee and had been given approval with the following number ETH1920-1279.
Concerns and Complaints
If you have any concerns about any aspect of the study or you have a complaint, in the first instance please contact the Principal Investigator of the project (see contact details below). If you are still concerned, please contact the University’s Research Governance and Planning Manager (Sarah Manning-Press).
Name of the Researcher/Research Team Members
Principal investigator Prof Silke Paulmann (Paulmann(at)essex.ac.uk) 01206-873422
University of Essex Research Governance and Planning Manager
Sarah Manning-Press, Research & Enterprise Office, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, CO4 3SQ, Colchester. Email: sarahm(at)essex.ac.uk. Phone: 01206-873561