Participant Information Sheet - Online Focus Group
Study Title: What are the return propensities of Nigerian medical doctors in the UK?
Investigator: Mohammed Abdullahi
Introduction
You are invited to take part in an online focus group as part of a research study investigating the return propensities of Nigerian doctors in the UK. The online focus group will operate by submitting written answers only. Before you decide whether to take part, you need to understand why the research is being done and what it would involve for you. Please take the time to read the following information carefully. Talk to others about the study if you wish. Please ask me (using the contact information given below) if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information.
Why have I been approached?
You have been approached because the study requires information from Nigerian doctors working in the UK, and you have indicated in the survey that you are willing to participate in an online focus group.
Do I have to take part?
It is entirely up to you to decide. You do not have to take part if you don’t want to. If you agree to take part and then change your mind, you are free to withdraw from the research. It will be possible to withdraw your data up to 3 weeks after the data have been collected. Should you withdraw within 3 weeks your data collection, your data will then be securely destroyed.
What would taking part involve?
If you are happy to take part after reading this Information Sheet, please fill in the
Consent Form, and then indicate your availability for a Focus Group. Your email address will be held for the purposes of communication before and during the Focus Group but will not be passed on to any third parties: it will be encrypted and kept securely in a password-protected folder at the University of Warwick for the purposes of the research.
The Researcher will then contact you to let you know the date and time of the online focus group and the sign-in information you will need to join the group. You will be provided with a pseudonym which you will be asked to use during the online focus group. The online focus group will have up to 10 participants and will last around 45 minutes. The transcript of the online focus group discussion will be saved electronically.
Once you have agreed to take part, I will send you full details of how the online focus group works (the online focus group involves typing your answers on your computer or other device and will not be audio or video recorded). If you have any concerns about what to do, please just ask. Your email address will be entered into VisionsLive which is the software that will be used for the Focus Group (at this point your name and email address will be encypted) and you will be assigned to a specific online focus group through VisionsLive.
What are the possible benefits of taking part in this study?
Your views will contribute to the knowledge of Nigerian doctors’ experiences of working in the UK, and knowledge of return migration to Nigeria. It is intended that the knowledge gained will help to inform policy making on return migration to Nigeria.
What are the possible disadvantages, side effects, risks, and/or discomforts of taking part in this study?
There are no anticipated disadvantages, side effects, risks, and/or discomforts of taking part in this study.
Expenses and payments
There will be no expenses or payments available for participating in the online focus group
Will my taking part be kept confidential?
Yes. We will follow strict ethical and legal practice and all information about you will be handled in confidence. The online focus group will be conducted using VisionsLive Focus Group software. All response data are stored in an EU data centre and encrypted using the industry standard.
All data will be anonymised and will be stored securely in a password-protected folder at the University of Warwick. In reporting of the findings, any identifying information will be removed to ensure confidentiality. All contact details will be safely stored separately from the online focus group data. No data will be transferred outside of the University. Direct quotes may also be taken from the online focus group data, but these will be anonymised. Only the research team (Research Supervisors, PhD Director, Administrator and the Researcher) will have access to the pseudonymised data.
Research data will be pseudonymised (personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific person) as quickly as possible after data collection. This means all direct and indirect identifiers will be removed from the research data and will be replaced with a participant number. The key to identification will be stored securely and separately from the research data to safeguard your identity.
I will destroy telephone contact details immediately after the end of the project. Consent information will be kept securely for 10 years after the study has finished. If during the course of the online focus group you should disclose anything which may highlight harm to you or to others, the Researcher has a duty of care to report this to the relevant authorities, but otherwise, your confidentiality will be maintained throughout.
What will happen when the study ends?
A PhD thesis will be published; peer-reviewed articles and conference proceedings may also be prepared for publication using the data collected. The pseudonymised data (data that doesn’t contain identifiable information of participants) will be stored securely at the University of Warwick and then destroyed after 10 years. Your contact details will be destroyed securely after the end of the project. For further details, see: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/idc/dataprotection/datasubjectrights.
What will happen to the results of the study?
The results of the study will be published in a thesis and peer-reviewed articles may be prepared for publication in academic journals. Please inform the Researcher if you wish to be notified of the findings of this study.
Who has reviewed the study?
This study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Warwick’s Humanities and Social Science Research Ethics Committee (HSSREC).
Who should I contact if I wish to make a complaint?
If you wish to make a complaint or raise concerns about any aspect of this study and do not want to speak to the Researcher, you can contact:
Research & Impact Services
University House
University of Warwick
Coventry
CV4 8UW
Email: researchgovernance@warwick.ac.uk
Tel: 024 76 522746
What if I want more information about the study?
If you have any questions about any aspect of the study, or your participation in it, not answered by this Participant Information Sheet, please contact me via the email address: mohammed-awwal.abdullahi@warwick.ac.uk
What do I do now?
Think about the information on this sheet and ask me if you are not sure about anything. If you agree to take part, please complete the Consent Form. The Consent Form will not be used to identify you. It will be filed separately from all other information.