Participant Information
Coping Strategies Used by Students and their Perceived Support by Universities During COVID-19
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Department of Psychology, Health and Professional Development Oxford Brookes University, Headington, OXFORD OX3 0BP.
Researcher: Katie MacKay, Undergraduate, Email: 19009588@brookes.ac.uk
Supervisor: David Foxcroft, Email: david.foxcroft@brookes.ac.uk, Tel: 01865 485283
Please take time to read the following information carefully.
What is the purpose of the study?
To find out how different coping strategies which are employed by students during COVID-19 affect their perceived support by universities
Why have I been invited to participate?
This study is on students in the UK aged between 18 and 70, who were students during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020-Present). A total of between 150 and 200 people will be asked to participate via invitations posted on social media
Do I have to take part?
No. It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do decide to take part you are still free to withdraw unprocessed data at any time by closing the browser before pressing the 'submit' button or by contacting the researcher anonymously via a Withdraw Consent button that will be displayed on screen after you submit.
What will happen to me if I take part?
If you choose to take part in the study, you will be presented with an online questionnaire, which should take no longer than 15-20 minutes to complete. The questionnaire will ask about how you cope during stressful situations such as COVID-19, and how you feel your university has supported you throughout this time.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
There are no direct benefits of taking part in this study. However, we hope that you will find the questions interesting and that outcomes of this study will help to further develop research on this topic area.
What are the possible disadvantages of taking part?
Other than the time you spend answering the questionnaire, there are no disadvantages of taking part in this study.
COVID-19 has been a stressful time for everyone and for some the loss of loved ones and taking part may induce a sad mood if you feel you have been very strongly affected by the pandemic
Will what I say in this study be kept confidential?
Yes. You will not be asked to give any information that could be used to identify you personally (e.g., your name, date of birth, IP address). Confidentiality, privacy and anonymity will be ensured in the collection, storage and publication of research material (subject to legal limitations). Research data will be stored in Qualtrics and Google Drive, for which the University has security agreements (for which the privacy policies can be found here: https://pavlovia.org/docs/home/ethics), or uploaded to a repository so that it can be shared for teaching and research purposes.
There is always a certain element of risk of data loss when data is collected and processed in an internet environment. This risk cannot be eliminated entirely and participants consenting to take part in the survey need to be aware of this risk. However, personal data will be minimised to the extent possible for the survey and the University believes that Qualtrics and Google offer sufficient guarantees to keep the data secure while it is being processed.
What should I do if I want to take part?
If you would like to take part, please click on the Continue to Questionnaire button at the bottom of this page before proceeding.
What will happen to the results of the research study?
The results of this study will be written up and submitted as a piece of work to fulfil the requirements of a module at Oxford Brookes University. Data will be kept in Qualtrics and Google drive, for which the University has security agreements. The results of the research will be used in an undergraduate psychology dissertation. If a publication is planned, the data generated by the study will be retained by the supervisor in accordance with the University's policy on Academic Integrity and may be kept securely for a period of ten years after the completion of the research project.
Who has reviewed the study?
This research is being conducted by a Psychology student at Oxford Brookes University as part of the requirement for their course. The study procedures have been reviewed and approved by the Psychology Research Ethics Committee, Oxford Brookes University. If you have any concerns about how the study has been conducted, please contact the Psychology Research Ethics Officer, Dr Emma Davies, on edavies@brookes.ac.uk
Contact for Further Information
Please contact the researcher or their supervisor (contact details above) if you would like any further information about this study.
If you wish to obtain a summary of the findings when they have been written up please e-mail Katie MacKay at 19009588@brookes.ac.uk after 16/06/2022.
Further information about Qualtrics can be found on the following website: https://qualtrics.com/
Thank you for taking the time to read the information sheet.
22/10/2021
