Women in agriculture - implementing equality commitments: research report

Appendix 2: Participant Information Sheet and Consent Form

Participant Information Sheet

What is the purpose of this research?

The Scottish Government has commissioned this research to explore effective ways of bringing about greater gender equality within male-dominated sectors. There is a lack of robust evidence about the long-term impact of specific interventions, how their effectiveness has been monitored and evaluated, and whether these have been successful, or not. The research aims to learn from gender equality actions and commitments that have been implemented in SMEs operating in male-dominated sectors. The final report will inform the development of a new gender equality initiative for Scottish agriculture.

Why have I been asked to participate?

As a manager or employee, your participation is important as it will help us to better understand the effectiveness of gender equality commitments and initiatives within your business.

What will I have to do?

You will be asked to participate in an interview which will be conducted online via a digital platform, for example MS Teams, or on the telephone. With your permission the interview will be recorded. It should last approximately 45 minutes.

Do I have to take part?

Your participation is entirely voluntary and you are free to withdraw at any time without giving a reason. You will be asked to sign a consent form if you are happy to participate in this research.

What will you do with the information I provide?

The information you provide will be kept confidential and anonymous and you will not be identified in any of the research outputs. Your data will be held securely on the University of Strathclyde’s server and only accessed by the Innovating Works research team. Any use of the data will be governed by the ethical guidelines of the University of Strathclyde. Please also read our Privacy Notice for Research Participants v0.8.^[11]

What if I have any questions?

If you have any questions about the research, or the information in this form, then please contact Dr Eli Dutton at eli.dutton@strath.ac.uk

Consent Form

• I confirm that I have read and understood the Participant Information Sheet for the above project and a researcher has answered any queries to my satisfaction.
• I confirm that I have read and understood the Privacy Notice for Participants in Research Projects.
• I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw from the project at any time, up to the point of completion, without having to give a reason and without any consequences.
• I understand that I can request the withdrawal from the study of some personal information and that whenever possible researchers will comply with my request. This includes the following personal data:
• Video recording that identifies me;
• Audio recording of interview that identifies me;
• My personal information from transcripts.
• I understand that anonymised data (i.e. data that do not identify me personally) cannot be withdrawn once they have been included in the study.
• I understand that any information recorded in the research will remain confidential and no information that identifies me will be made publicly available.
• I consent to being a participant in the project.
• I consent to being audio and/or video recorded as part of the project (if I exercise my right to withdraw and I don’t want my data to be used, any data which has been collected from me will be destroyed).

Name:

Job role:

Signature of Participant:

Date:

Please tick this box if you would like to opt-in to receive a one-page summary of the results after the report is published.