Purpose of the study

The study is designed to understand the work experiences associated with precarious employment in UK research universities through interviews. It seeks to elucidate the implications of the widespread presence of precarious staff in UK research universities within the context of current higher education.

What would this mean for you

I am conducting this research in hopes of drawing more attention to the precarious academic positions within research universities in the UK and expanding the knowledge about precarious members through your professional histories. To achieve this, I will administer a brief survey about your professional experiences and conduct semi-structured, in-depth interviews to understand your motivations for choosing this fixed-term position, the challenges you face in the workplace, and your future career plans. The survey will be sent to you in advance via email and should take approximately 5 minutes to complete. The interview will last around 1 hour and can be conducted remotely (via Zoom) or in person. I am contacting you because of your relevant career experience in this area, and you were identified as a potential participant via email, personal connections, or snowball sampling method.

Participation is voluntary

Participation is optional. If you do decide to take part, you will be given a copy of this information sheet for your records and will be asked to complete a consent form. If you change your mind at any point during the study, you will be able to withdraw your participation without having to provide a reason.

Anonymity and confidentiality

The data that you provide, including video recording of the interview and  the background information survey conducted before the interview, will be stored by code number. Any information that identifies you will be stored separately from the data. You are free to withdraw from the study at any time during data collection and up to 4 weeks afterwards.

Storing and using your data

Data will be stored on a password protected computer and retained for 10 years. Data will be fully anonymised after transcription and analysis. Data will not be kept indefinitely.

The data that I collect videos, audio recordings, transcripts, surveys may be used in anonymous format in different ways, e.g. publications, presentations and online.  Please indicate on the consent form attached with a tick ✅ if you are happy for this anonymised data to be used in the ways listed.

You will have the opportunity to review and comment on your interview transcript within 4 weeks. Please send your feedback to me by then.

Please note: If we gather information that raises concerns about your safety or the safety of others, or about other concerns as perceived by the researcher, the researcher may pass on this information to another person. 

Questions or concerns

If you have any questions about this participant information sheet or concerns about how your data is being processed, please feel free to contact me by email (kcm531@york.ac.uk), Prof. Paul Wakeling (paul.wakeling@york.ac.uk)or Dr. Sally Hancock (sally.hancock@york.ac.uk), or the Chair of Ethics Committee via email (education-research-admin@york.ac.uk). If you are still dissatisfied, please contact the University’s Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@york.ac.uk

I hope that you will agree to take part.  If you are happy to participate, please complete the consent form below.

Thank you for taking the time to read this research information page.