Information and Consent Form for TEXL Platform Research Project
Invitation and brief summary:
Thank you for contributing to our efforts to improve leadership assessments and education by taking part in our research platform.
Purpose of the research:
Leadership development is a wide market but rarely are assessments provided that are based on scientifically validated measures. In contrast, our platform and the research behind it will help to improve our understanding of leadership and tools to help you develop your skills using rigorously evidence-based assessments.
Why have I been approached?
You are a leader and this platform provides you with the opportunity to assess your skills and compare yourself to others. To register on TEXL.org you are being asked to consent to our research team being able to use the anonymised aggregate dataset (which will include your anonymised survey responses and any anonymised demographic information you provide) held by the TEXL platform for our research purposes as well as the data collected from any individual survey we, as platform owners and associated research team, publish on the site for your use.
What would taking part involve?
Taking part in the research will involve being able to take various different leadership and related assessments using sets of questions that have been developed by academic researchers studying leadership and related concepts. TEXL will also ask you about various different demographic information. All questions are optional though the more you can complete the more you are able to understand about yourself, compare to others and help us develop our understanding of these measures and those who are in leadership positions.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
You will get results within the platform of the assessments you take and any feedback others have given you. You will also be able to compare your own scores to those of others within your group and the benchmark data on the platform as a whole.
What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
We do not forsee any risks of you taking part in the research.
What will happen if I don't want to carry on with the study?
You do not have to answer any questions within the platform or within any survey. You can stop completing surveys at any point. Any data you have already submitted to that point will remain anonymised within the platform aggregate dataset. Your survey responses are held anonymously by the platform in an aggregate database separate to your personal identifiable information and demographic information. Once any survey answer is submitted it will not be possible to link your answers to your profile and therefore, we cannot delete survey data submitted. In the same way, once we have downloaded any anonymised survey data matched with anonymised demographic information, we cannot identify any individual to delete responses. Please see TEXL.org privacy policy and terms and conditions for details on deleting your TEXL account information.
How will my information be kept confidential?
The University of Exeter processes personal data for the purposes of carrying out research in the public interest. The University will endeavour to be transparent about its processing of your personal data and this information sheet should provide a clear explanation of this. If you do have any queries about the University’s processing of your personal data that cannot be resolved by the research team, further information may be obtained from the University’s Data Protection Officer by emailing informationgovernance@exeter.ac.uk. or at http://www.exeter.ac.uk/ig/
The aggregate dataset and smaller datasets comprised within that for our individual surveys will be matched with demographic data you enter into the platform (this will not include your name or email address). Your data will be anonymised. Your responses will only ever be used for research purposes and if published will remain completely anonymous. We will only ever share completely anonymised aggregate datasets with others outside our research team. Within the platform results will only ever be broken down by demographics where a minimum of 3 people per group have provided data, thus making the data unidentifiable. Providing this demographic data is optional. The more people who are willing to enter their demographic data the better comparisons the platform can offer. Your demographic data will not be shared beyond the use on the platform, for anonymous comparative purposes, except where explicit additional consent has been provided, in which case your data remains anonymous. We will never provide your demographic data together with your name or email address. The demographic questions ask about: Age (year only); Geographical location for main place of work; Seniority of position in work; Industry; Part-time/full time work; Primarily home/office based; Primarily online/ hybrid/ in person working; Highest level of education; Gender; Ethnicity; Known disability; Nationality; Salary; Department/field of work; If studying then field of study; Number of direct reports if working/ number of indirect reports; Organisation size; Date started working in organisation.
Anonymised data extracted from the platform for our research purposes will be held securely on University owner servers and only downloaded for purposes of working offline where it will be held on password protected laptops.
The full details of how your data is collected, stored and where relevant transferred are in the terms and conditions of the platform and the privacy policy that you can find on the platform.
Will I receive any payment for taking part?
You will not receive any payment from TEXL or UoE for entering data into the TEXL platform and research studies.
What will happen to the results of this study?
Results of our research using the data within TEXL will be published in academic journals, on our knowledge base, used in teaching and education, used in media.
Who is organising and funding this study?
The sponsor for this study is the University of Exeter. The primary researchers are Professor Alex Gerbasi, Professor Niels Van Quakebeke and Dr Michelle Mahdon.
Who has reviewed this study?
This project has been reviewed by the University of Exeter Business School Research Ethics Committee at the University of Exeter.
Contact for any questions or requests regarding your participation in this research
In the event of queries or requests you may contact us using the following contact information.
Please email Michelle Mahdon: m.mahdon2@exeter.ac.uk
To contact the Research Ethics Committee
please email adrianbailey@exeter.ac.uk
You can also contact the University Research Ethics and Governance Team if you wish to make a complaint or comment please email cgr-reg@exeter.ac.uk
Thank you for your interest in this project and using TEXL.org
Consent - By providing consent you confirm your agreement with the following:
- I confirm that I have read and understood the above information sheet for the TEXL platform research project.
- I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw at any time
without giving any reason and without my legal rights being affected. My responses cannot be deleted once submitted as they will be anonymous.
- I understand that relevant sections of the data collected during the study may be looked at by members of the TEXL research team where it is relevant to my taking part in this research. I give permission for these individuals to have access to my records.
- I understand that taking part involves anonymised questionnaire responses to be used for the purposes of the platform research project and shared anonymously with the researcher for use in future research projects.
- I understand that anonymised results maybe published in academic publications, project knowledge base, websites and media publication
- I understand that anonymised results maybe used in teaching or training materials for use in University activities and public engagement activities.
- I understand all the above and agree to take part in the TEXL platform research project
Copy date 26th February 2023
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