Confidentiality

Participation is entirely voluntary and you can decide to withdraw from the project at any time, and without reason. If you decide to withdraw, there will be no negative consequences, and your data will not be used.

Anonymity 

Unless you request to be identified, conversation will be de-identified. Unattributed quotes and descriptions based on our interview may be used in project outcomes. Reference made to any off-record topics of conversation in the project outcomes will be generalised to ensure that you will not be personally identifiable. 

Permissions

Even with de-identification, there is still a small risk that you might be identified by what you tell us. In order to manage those risks the following safeguards have been put in place: 

  • If you mention something identifiable which cannot be de-identified or generalised, we will either seek further permission from you to use it or we will not use it at all. 

  • You also have the option to review, edit and veto the use of your transcript or parts of the transcript. 

Use of data

Only Associate Professor David Bissell will have access to the transcripts and the sound recordings which will be typed-up and safely stored in password-protected, encrypted files at the University of Melbourne and kept for five years. After this time, the data will be securely erased. The third-party used to type up the interview will only have temporary access to the sound recording and will sign a confidentiality agreement to protect the confidentiality of the information. 

Ethics approval

This research project has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of The University of Melbourne (protocol 1852647.3). If you have any concerns or complaints about the conduct of this research project, which you do not wish to discuss with the research team, you should contact the Manager, Human Research Ethics, Research Ethics and Integrity, University of Melbourne, VIC 3010. Tel: +61 3 8344 2073 or Email: HumanEthics-complaints@unimelb.edu.au. All complaints will be treated confidentially.