Dissertation Research

You are being asked to take part in a research study on transphobia and transphobic hate crime reporting which is led by Dawn Glover and supervised by Dr Silvia Fraga Dominguez in the College of Psychology at Birmingham City University. The project has been approved by the Psychology Research Ethics Committee.

In this study, you will be asked to complete demographic questions including optional questions pertaining to gender identity and sexuality. You will then be asked to complete several questionnaires about your views on the police and gender diversity. Following this, you will be asked to read a short vignette about a non-violent incident which may constitute a hate crime from the perspective of a bystander. You will then be asked to complete a questionnaire about how you might respond to this incident. This should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.

For the intent to help questionnaire items, you will be asked to indicate how likely it is that you would engage in each behaviour on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 represents “not at all likely” and 5 represents “extremely likely”. Example questions include “Go up to the victim and start a conversation with her” and “Offer to call some of the victim’s friends and get them to help”.

For the perceptions of police questionnaire items, you will be asked to indicate the extent to which you agree with a statement on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 indicates that “I strongly agree” and 5 indicates that “I strongly disagree”. Example questions include “Police officers are friendly” and “Police officers protect me”.

For the perceived police perceptions questionnaire items, you will be asked to indicate the extent to which you agree with a statement on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 indicates that “I strongly agree” and 5 indicates that “I strongly disagree”. Example questions include “Police officers are unbiased towards transgender communities” and “Police officers care about transgender communities”.

For the gender diversity questionnaire items, you will be asked to indicate the extent to which you agree with a statement on a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 indicates that you “strongly disagree” and 7 indicates that you “strongly agree”. Example questions include “I would be comfortable being in a group of trans individuals” and “If I knew someone was trans, I would tend to avoid that person”.

Adults aged 18+ who are fluent in English can participate in the study. Please consider whether you find the topic of transphobia and hate crime distressing or upsetting. If so, you are encouraged not to take part. If you have been a victim of hate crime, we encourage you to consider whether participating is the right decision for you.

On average, this study takes 15-20 minutes.

There are no known physical risks to participants due to the study taking place online. There are potential psychological risks due to the sensitive subject material. We ask that you consider whether you might find the subjects outlined above distressing before deciding whether to take part. The vignette included in the study has been designed in a way that avoids unnecessary detail, and depicts a non-violent incident, to minimise risk of participant distress. In the event that you are affected by the content of this study, several sources of support are outlined below, which you are encouraged to access. If you would like to exit the study, you can close the browser at any time.

Switchboard is the national LGBTQIA+ support line, open 10am-10pm. Switchboard creates a space for anyone to be heard and explore anything related to being LGBTQIA+.

Website: https://switchboard.lgbt/

Helpline: 0800 011 9100

Email: hello@switchboard.lgbt
 

For BCU Students, you can access support from the BCU Mental Health and Wellbeing Team at any time

Website: https://icity.bcu.ac.uk/student-affairs/health-and-wellbeing/mental-health-and-wellbeing

Helpline: 0121 331 5188

Email sa.wellbeing@bcu.ac.uk    

                                                                                                                

Contact a Samaritan if you need someone to talk to. Whatever you're going through, you can call the helpline at any time, from any phone for free.

Website: https://www.samaritans.org/

Helpline: 116123

Email: jo@samaritans.org

Although there are no direct benefits from taking part, it is hoped that participants will gain insight into the experiences of gender diverse people and the research process. BCU students participating through the RPS will receive 2 credits upon completion of the study.

In line with the regulations outlined by the British Psychological Society, you can stop being a part of the research study at any time without explanation. You can also have your data withdrawn until 31^st May, when your data will have been analysed and written up. Please see contact details below if you wish to withdraw.
 

During the study, you also have the right to omit or refuse to answer or respond to any question that is asked of you. You can also withdraw from the study while you are completing it by closing the browser. If you have already completed the study, you can contact the researcher using the email address below, requesting your data to be withdrawn.

The study will not involve the collection of any personal information about you except age and gender. You will be given the option to answer questions about your gender identity and sexuality, however, these questions are optional.

No other identifiable information will be stored. Your data will be stored using an anonymous ID code. You will be given instructions on how to create this at the beginning of the study.

All data will be stored in accordance with the University’s Data Protection Policy. Data will be anonymised and will be shared between the primary researcher and the supervisor, but it will not be possible to identify your data at any point. Participant data will be stored in an encrypted folder in the researcher’s BCU OneDrive. The data will be kept until the degree classification has been awarded, after which point it will be destroyed. If you decide you would like to withdraw your data before 31^st May, you will need to provide the anonymous ID code you created at the start of the study and contact me by email at dawn.glover@mail.bcu.ac.uk. The results of this study will be disseminated through the submission of the researcher’s dissertation.

Participants are able to contact me by email at dawn.glover@mail.bcu.ac.uk or my supervisor, Dr Silvia Fraga Dominguez by email at Silvia.FragaDominguez@bcu.ac.uk if you require further information or wish to exercise your right to withdraw.

If you are unhappy at any point in the study, or if there is a problem, please contact the Psychology Department Research ethics committee directly at psychethics@bcu.ac.uk.
 

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about how we use or handle your information please contact the Data Protection Officer at: Data Protection Officer, Information Management Team, Birmingham City University, University House, 15 Bartholomew Row, Birmingham B5 5JU, email informationmanagement@bcu.ac.uk or call +44 (0) 121 331 5288.