PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET

Invitation paragraph

You are being invited to take part in a research study. Before you decide whether to take part, 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.

What is the purpose of the study?

The purpose of this study is to understand more about peoples’ food practices in the home and neighbourhood.

Why have I been invited to participate?

You have been invited to participate because you are an adult resident of Brighton and Hove. We are interested in people’s understandings of food. We think you will have ideas and experiences which are important for researchers and policy makers to understand.

Do I have to take part?

No! It is up to you to decide whether to take part. If you do decide to take part, you will be given this information sheet to keep and will be asked to sign a consent form. You are however still free to withdraw at any time and without giving a reason.

What will happen to me if I take part?

You will take part in one or two of the following activities:

·         Chickpea Tasting Workshop – where you will try making and tasting some recipes using chickpeas

·         Focus group – where you will be invited to discuss chickpeas with others for part of the workshop

·         Photo Diaries – complete a food photo diary after the workshop to show us how you use chickpeas at home.  

·         A short interview/ survey-style interview – the interviews will take place in-person or online, at a time of your choosing or event. Topics may include vegetable use or chickpea use.

What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part? (where appropriate)

The primary disadvantage of participating in this study is the time taken to participate. Participating in the research is not anticipated to cause you any discomfort. The potential physical and/or psychological harm or distress that can be generated by discussing food will be kept to the minimum through the activities chosen, and the experience of the researchers. By employing exploratory research methods and an open structure to the discussions, the researcher will encourage participants to raise themes that are of importance in their own lives, making it clear that activities can stop or be redirected at any time.

What are the possible benefits of taking part?

By taking part in this study, you are helping to expand knowledge on food practices in your neighbourhood and council area which can potentially influence future food-related policies. This data will be of potential benefit in informing the agendas of organisations concerned with food distribution within the area. If you participate in the workshop you may learn some new recipes or cooking methods that you haven’t used before.

Will my information in this study be kept confidential?

All information collected about you will be kept strictly confidential. Confidentiality, privacy, and anonymity will be ensured through strict adherence to the guidelines for storing, managing and processing data set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK Data Protection Act 2018.
After the undertaking the research methods, only the researchers will have access to your data We will keep all personal information about you (e.g., your name and other information about you that can identify you) confidential, that is we will not share it with others. We will also anonymise the written transcript produced by the transcriber. This means that we will remove any personal information.
All audio-visual data collected will be downloaded and stored securely on a University of Sussex managed storing system, named OneDrive. If you would like to withdraw your responses from our study, you can do so by contacting us up to 4 weeks after the date of the research activity.

What should I do if I want to take part?

To opt in for the study, please agree to take part by signing the consent form or agreeing to the oral consent.

What will happen to the results of the research study?

The results of this research study will be used to inform several academic pieces of work. These may include: articles in published academic journals, academic book chapters, public presentations, conferences and/or events. Copies of any research output will be made freely available to all participants, although participants should note that this process is planned to take place over a 4-year period, with data retained for the length of that period. When writing up the findings from this study, we would like to reproduce some of the views and ideas you shared with us. We will only use anonymised quotes so that although we will use your exact words, we will do our best to ensure you cannot be identified in the publications, although we cannot guarantee this.

Who is organising and funding the research?

Research will be undertaken by members of the Management Department and Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex. The project is part of a part of a study funded by the government agency, UK Research and Innovation "UKRI”, entitled ‘Transforming Food Systems for Disadvantaged Communities’, which is administered at the University of Reading.

Who has approved this study?

The research has been approved by the Sciences & Technology Cross-Schools Research Ethics Committee under the application number ER/JMH52/6.

Contact for Further Information

If you require any additional information, please contact the project’s Research Fellow, Jessica Horne, by emailing jmh52@sussex.ac.uk.

If you have any questions or concerns relating to this research please contact Ruth Stirton, Chair of the Social Sciences and Arts Cross Schools Research Ethics Committee (r.stirton@sussex.ac.uk)'.

Insurance

The University of Sussex has insurance in place to cover its legal liabilities in respect of this study.

Thank you

Thank you for taking the time to read this information sheet. Any participation is greatly appreciated. 

21 April 2024

Brighton Food Systems: Exploring household and community food practices.

Version 2

18.06.2024