Participant Information
Frequently Asked Questions
Participant Information
Frequently Asked Questions
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. Thank you for reading this.
This research seeks to investigate how citizens with visual disability and/or migrant background perceive EU publications in terms of accessibility and inclusivity.
The aim is to identify if these groups of citizens:
face barriers to access communication materials aimed at the wider public;
find those materials relevant;
feel well represented in those materials.
As these two groups of citizens have historically faced barriers to full participation in society, it is important to monitor if efforts to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of public-facing communication materials sufficiently meet the needs of these groups of citizens.
The project has been reviewed and passed by Dr Philip Whiteman, Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham; guidelines followed are subject to the University of Birmingham’s Code of Practice for Research: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/university/legal/research.pdf
We would like you to participate in this study because your insights would help us understand better if standard communication materials produced by the authorities are accessible and relevant for people with visual disability and/or migrant background and if there is scope for improvement.
If you agree to take part in the research, you will be invited for an interview and asked to:
open the online versions of three different EU publications and read parts of them;
answer a series of questions about those publications.
No, participation is your choice.
As a participant, you are under no obligation whatsoever to take part in this research. You can request to withdraw from the study at any time. Any request to withdraw from the research should be put in writing or email to Jovana Stojkovska via the contact details below. Following your withdrawal from the study, any information you have already provided will not be used in the analysis or final report if you withdraw before 30 July 2024 and any record of the data you have provided will subsequently be destroyed.
Results will be presented in my University dissertation and findings from this dissertation will be presented to interested audiences (academics, practitioners, participants in the study).
In keeping with University Code of Practice for Research 2020, the research carried out will ensure ‘the highest standards of scholarly and scientific integrity in its research’ (p3). This means that any data remains confidential and will only be used for the purposes of this research (including all data and documentation that is not in the public domain, and any informal discussions that take place). To maintain anonymity, individual respondents’ names or any identifying details will not be made available in any publication or to any other organisation or individual, and any reference made to individual participants will be via numeric reference to the interview number and broadly by job role. Please also note that all those involved in the study have the right to request that anything they regard as sensitive or confidential (verbal or written) be excluded from the study. Collected data will be the property of the University of Birmingham.
If you have any queries or concerns regarding the project, or would like to discuss your participation in more detail, please contact:
Jovana Stojkovska Birtanovska
Mobile: +32489008935
Email: jxs1583@student.bham.ac.uk
Supervsior’s name, details and email address:
Max Lemprière
Institute for Local Government Studies
Department of Public Administration and Policy
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
Mobile: +44 (0) 7414 605 771
Email: m.w.lempriere@bham.ac.uk
Director, INLOGOV: Jason Lowther
Institute of Local Government Studies
School of Government and Society
Muirhead Tower
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham,
B15 2TT, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)121 414 7787
Email: J.Lowther@bham.ac.uk