Information for participants

If you would like to take part in the Girlhood and Later Life ‘Then and Now’ photo project it’s important that you understand what is involved. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Please email or phone us if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information (contact details below). Thank you for reading this.

If you prefer, you can download this information for participants as a Word document.

About the research

Who is the running the Girlhood and Later Life photo project?

The photo project is run by a team researching the relationship between girlhood and later life for women born between 1939 and 1952 who grew up in Britain. The research project is led by Professor Penny Tinkler at the University of Manchester and is funded by the ESRC – please visit our project website for more information: https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/girlhood-and-later-life/

What is the aim of the Girlhood and Later Life photo project?

We aim to encourage reflection on the relationship between girlhood and later life.

Who has reviewed the research project?

This project has been approved by the University of Manchester’s Research Ethics Committee. Ref: 2017-1558-2704

What would my involvement be?

What would I be asked to do if I took part? 

If you would like to take part, please send us copies of two personal photos: one photo taken when you were in your teens or early twenties and one current photo of yourself. 

You can also provide a few words or sentences that address the following two questions, but this is not essential to participation in the photo project:

1. Thinking about yourself as the young woman in your teenage photo, what did you think life held in store for you?
2. What advice would you give your younger self now about being young and growing older?

We will ask you to supply the following personal information when you send your photos: name; contact details; age in youth photo (this can be approximate); the year the youth photo was taken (this can be approximate); whether you resided at the time of the youth photo in a city centre, suburb, town, small town, rural location, other, and in which region of the UK; in which region of the UK you currently live.  

Photos can be submitted as scanned copies or digital images; we will not keep or use original photos in the project. If original photos are submitted, we will return these to you but we cannot take responsibility for their safe return.

Participation is entirely voluntary. You can withdraw your photos at any point from the project by emailing the team using the contact at the end of this information sheet.

Will I be compensated for taking part?

There is no payment for taking part in this research.

What happens if I do not want to take part or if I change my mind? 

It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you decide to take part you will be given this information sheet to keep and asked to tick a box on our ‘Take part’ form to give your consent. If you decide to take part you are free to withdraw at any time without giving a reason, and on request we will remove and destroy any identifiable data you have provided (photos, text, personal and contact details). This does not affect your data protection rights. If you decide not to take part you do not need to do anything further. 

Data Protection and Confidentiality

What information will you collect about me? 

In order to participate in the ‘Girlhood and Later Life Photo Project’, we collect personal identifiable information about you:

• Your contact details
• Photos of you
• Your name (or alias); the year both the youth photo and current photo were taken; the type of locality you lived in when the youth photo was taken; the age you were in the youth photo (you can opt not to have your exact age made public); the region where you currently live.

Under what legal basis are you collecting this information?

We are collecting and storing this personal identifiable information in accordance with data protection law which protect your rights.  These state that we must have a legal basis (specific reason) for collecting your data. For the ‘Girlhood and Later Life Photo Project’ the specific reason is that it is “a public interest task” and “a process necessary for research purposes”.

What are my rights in relation to the information you will collect about me?

You have a number of rights under data protection law regarding your personal information. For example you can request a copy of the information we hold about you, for example your contact details. If you would like to know more about your different rights or the way we use your personal information to ensure we follow the law, please consult our Privacy Notice for Research.https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/privacy-information/data-protection/privacy-notices/ Will my participation in the study be confidential and my personal identifiable information be protected? In accordance with data protection law, The University of Manchester is the Data Controller for this project. This means that we are responsible for making sure your personal information is kept secure, confidential and used only in the way you have been told it will be used.  For the Girlhood in Later Life Photo Project this will include publishing the identifiable photographs you share with us on our website, along with your name or alias. All researchers are trained with this in mind, and your data will be looked after in the following way:
• Your two photos, and accompanying text, will be displayed initially on our research website. We may also use them in other public engagement initiatives linked to the ESRC research project which runs into 2020 and possibly beyond, eg a gallery exhibition, a youth work project, publications. There is no cut off point after which we will not use your photos, but you can withdraw them from the photo project at any time.• If photos contain the faces of other identifiable people, we will either crop the image to include only you or fade or obscure the features of other people in the photo • When sharing the photos beyond our website, for example in an exhibition, we will display some of your personal information: your name (or alias); the year both the youth photo and current photo were taken; the type of locality you lived in when the youth photo was taken; the age you were in the youth photo (you can opt not to have your exact age made public); the region where you currently live; the text you provided about your expectations of life and the advice you would give your younger self. • Your contact details will not be shared or made public; they are for our use only and they will be stored on a secure University drive. We would like to add your contact details to our database to let you know about future projects you may be interested in. If you do not wish to be added to the database, your contact details will be kept for 5 years and then deleted.• We reserve the right to use our discretion and not use photos or written text that are indecent, incriminating, offensive or likely to cause harm to you.If you send us photos or text that suggest criminal activity, abuse or that you are at risk, the research project leader (Penny Tinkler) will, if appropriate, report the incident to relevant bodies for investigation and support purposes eg social services and the police.If you would like to talk to someone about distressing experiences current or past, please see below for a list of organisations. Your GP would also be able to give you information and details about local support services.Samaritans   http://www.samaritans.org/Victim Support   https://www.victimsupport.org.ukSupport Line   http://www.supportline.org.uk
Please also note that individuals from The University of Manchester or regulatory authorities may need to look at the data collected for this study to make sure the project is being carried out as planned. This may involve looking at identifiable data.  All individuals involved in auditing and monitoring the study will have a strict duty of confidentiality to you as a research participant.What if I have a complaint?

Contact details for complaintsIf you have a complaint that you wish to direct to members of the research team, please contact: HAZEL BURKE  Email: hazel.burke@manchester.ac.uk  Telephone: 0161 275 0265

If you wish to make a formal complaint to someone independent of the research team or if you are not satisfied with the response you have gained from the researchers in the first instance then please contact 

The Research Governance and Integrity Officer, Research Office, Christie Building, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, by emailing: research.complaints@manchester.ac.uk  or by telephoning 0161 275 2674.

If you wish to contact us about your data protection rights, please email dataprotection@manchester.ac.uk or write to The Information Governance Office, Christie Building, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL at the University and we will guide you through the process of exercising your rights.

You also have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office about complaints relating to your personal identifiable information www.ico.org.uk/concerns  Tel 0303 123 1113

Contact Details

If you have any queries about the study or if you are interested in taking part then please contact the researcher(s) HAZEL BURKE Email: hazel.burke@manchester.ac.uk  Telephone: 0161 275 0265

Version 3, 9 August 2019.