I would like to invite you to take part in my Ph.D. thesis research project. Before deciding to participate, please read this information sheet, to understand the purpose of this research and what is involved with participation. After you have had 48 hours to read this information sheet, I will send you the consent form. Please feel comfortable asking any questions if you would like more information or are unclear about aspects of the process.
I am a human geography student from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, currently working on my Ph.D. thesis.
This research project aims to explore the challenges and opportunities of being labelled as gifted in your educational experiences. I am interested in learning about the negative circumstances and feelings that have affected you in your past experiences. I believe that understanding these circumstances can lead to a better educational outcome, with the necessary support and regulations.
I am reaching out to you because your views will help us understand how being labelled as gifted has affected your educational journey and your feelings.
Participation is voluntary, and you are free to withdraw at any time without providing a reason and any material will immediately be deleted/destroyed.
The format of the research is an interview. This involves open-ended questions designed to lead to conversation. I am looking for insight of your experience, rather than directing you to a specific response. I am trying to gain insight into your experiences rather than directing you to a specific answer. Interviews will be conducted through Microsoft Teams.
I will record our meeting for the purpose of writing a transcript of the interview. As soon as the recordings are converted to written transcripts the records will be deleted. Quotes from the interview will be analysed in my project to provide perspectives on how it feels to be labelled as gifted and how disadvantaged circumstances affect the educational process.
On request I will email you a copy of the transcript within 1 week of completing the interview. You will have the opportunity to check for any factual or transcription errors should you wish. If you wish to make a modification to the quote, a record of this will be made in the appendix of the dissertation. You may also request a summary of project results. If you would like to do so, the consent form requests permission to keep your contact details for longer, until after the analysis is complete. When the summary has been sent to you, your contact details will be deleted.
Names will be anonymized and any details that might identify participants, such as job titles will not be included in the project, to avoid identifying details of participants. The transcripts will refer to participants using an anonymised code. The key for this code will be secured as a hard copy in a separate location from the data to enhance security.
The data from the anonymised transcripts will be deleted once the project is complete.
You will be able to contribute knowledge on the educational experiences of gifted people in England and the experience of being called gifted by taking part in the research. Your participation will help achieve the objective of better assisting gifted students with disadvantage circumstances in the future by offering an insightful viewpoint from academic research. Additionally, you will have the chance to share and individually reflect on your own educational experiences, which can raise awareness both within the community and among yourself.
Even though there are many advantages to taking part in this research, it’s essential to be informed of any possible risks. These may include discomfort or emotional stress from recalling past educational experiences or discussing personal feelings about being labelled as gifted. In this regard, I would like to assure you that I will continue the interview with understanding and in line with your wishes in order to make you feel comfortable with any difficult situation you may experience during the interview. Although participant information will be protected by strong safeguards, you may also be concerned about breaches of confidentiality. Nonetheless, all information will be stored on the safe university server. I encourage participants to consider these factors before deciding to take part and assure you that your welfare and privacy are of utmost importance throughout the research process.
If you wish to make a complaint or raise any concern about the ethics of this research project, please contact me or the School of Geographical Sciences Ethics Committee (geog-ethics@bristol.ac.uk:).