Participant Information Sheet: Questionnaire
You are being invited to take part in An Oral History of British Nuclear Test Veterans, an Office for Veterans’ Affairs-funded project at the University of South Wales, the University of Liverpool and the British Library. The project will create a permanent, free-to-access record of veterans’ experiences from the British nuclear atmospheric test programme between 1952 and 1967. In order to do this, the project team will conduct forty ‘life histories’ with British nuclear test veterans. Once recorded, these will be reviewed and uploaded to British Library Sounds website by National Life Stories (NLS) of the British Library.
Before undertaking the life histories, the project team needs to determine which veterans to invite to interview. This requires gathering data from the nuclear test veteran community through questionnaires and focus groups. As a veteran or descendant of a veteran, your participation in the questionnaire will help the project team to form an appropriate research sample from which the life history candidates can then be selected. It will also inform the development of project outputs such as educational materials and a short film.
An overview of your journey through the project could be illustrated as follows:
Questionnaires (open invitation, July to September 2023)
Focus Groups (open invitation, in person and online, September 2023)
Life Histories (selected participants, September 2023-September 2024)
Film Interviews (selected participants, September 2023)
Once the interviews have been conducted, the final stage of the project between September 2024 and April 2025 will involve integrating this data into educational resources, online essays hosted by the British Library, and the project film. Alongside the 40 life histories to be hosted on British Library Sounds, these outputs will be demonstrated at a series of touring engagement events to which you will be invited. These events will take place around the UK, culminating in a final event at the British Library, scheduled for May 2025.
To help you make an informed choice on whether or not to participate in the questionnaire, this Participant Information Sheet explains why the project is being undertaken and what your participation will entail. Please read this information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Do ask if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Thank you for reading this, and for considering whether or not you wish to take part.
If you require assistance filling in the questionnaire, then members of the project team will be available to support you on Thursday 21st September at the All-Tests Reunion.
Who will conduct the research?
The questionnaires will be circulated and analysed by Dr Chris Hill, the Principal Investigator at University of South Wales, Dr Fiona Bowler, the project researcher at South Wales, and Dr Jon Hogg, the Co-Investigator at the University of Liverpool. The project is funded by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs.
What is the purpose of the research?
The project has three research aims: to assess the significance of nuclear weapons test participation for veterans’ lives; to generate wider public recognition for nuclear veterans’ service; and to understand what might be learnt from nuclear veterans for the benefit of other servicemen.
The questionnaires are designed to inform a research sample from which life history interviewees can be selected according to criteria relating to social background, test experiences and participation, and subsequent career. The selection criteria for the life history interviews will be made available and discussed during the next stage of the project: a series of online focus groups.
Why have I been chosen?
You have been chosen because of your status as a nuclear test veteran or descendant of a veteran.
What happens to the data collected?
Once you submit your questionnaire, the completed copy will be transferred to the University of South Wales’ secure server, where it will be accessible only to the project team. The questionnaires will be permanently deleted from the university server at the end of the project in April 2025. The project team will draw on information from the questionnaires for research sampling. The team may also use anonymised data from the questionnaires in project outputs.
Your personal data
We are collecting and storing this personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 which legislate to protect your personal information. For information about how the University of South Wales will use your personal data, you can review its Information Governance policy here.
What happens if I do not want to take part or if I change my mind?
It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do decide to take part, you should proceed with the questionnaire. The first page of the questionnaire serves as a Participation Agreement. You will be free to withdraw from the research, without giving a reason and without detriment to yourself, at any point until the project questionnaires are permanently deleted in April 2025. Please note that we will begin to draw on the questionnaires for life history selection and project outputs from September 2023.
If you wish to withdraw after this date, we can make no guarantee that your anonymised data will not have been used to inform interviewee selection or project outputs/publications.
Will I be paid for participating in the research?
There will be no payment for participating in the research.
What is the duration of the research?
The questionnaire will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Will the outcomes of the research be published?
Anonymised data from the questionnaires may be used in events, research, publications, education, lectures, broadcasting and on the internet.
Who can I contact if I have any concerns?
It is highly unlikely that anything should go wrong during your involvement in this research. If, however, you have any questions or concerns in the first instance you should contact the Project Principal Investigator, Chris Hill: christopher.hill@southwales.ac.uk. If you wish to contact someone other than Chris, please contact the data protection officer at the University of South Wales: eloise.rosser@southwales.ac.uk
Key contacts:
Principal Investigator, University of South Wales
Dr Chris Hill
Email: christopher.hill@southwales.ac.uk
Co-Investigator, University of Liverpool
Dr Jon Hogg
Email: j.g.hogg@liverpool.ac.uk
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of South Wales
Dr Fiona Bowler
Email: fiona.bowler@southwales.ac.uk
