University of Chicago Consent for Research Participation
Study Number: IRB21-0612
Study Title: Work’s Still Open
Researcher(s): Primary contact: Mary McSharry; Primary investigator: Dr. Mary Elena Wilhoit
This is a consent form for research participation. It contains important information about this study and what to expect if you decide to participate. Your participation is voluntary.
Purpose: The purpose of the research is to understand more about grocery workers' experiences of the pandemic. I hope to explore how workers’ narratives compare to wider discourses circulating in the U.S. about essential workers and the private sector's responsibility in the Covid-19 pandemic. I also want to know how, if at all, workers imagine alternatives for how their employees could have handled the pandemic.
Procedures and Time Required: You will be asked to fill out a survey with questions about your experiences working during the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Because questions are open-ended, time may vary based on how much depth you go into in your answers.
Risks and Benefits: Your participation in this study does not involve any risk to you beyond that of everyday life. Taking part in this research study may not benefit you personally, but we may learn new things that could help others.
Confidentiality: Answers will be collected in a survey created using Google Forms, and will be attached to the Gmail account of the anonymous email address used in the research. Only the primary contact for the research study has access to this gmail account. All data gathered in the surveys will be uploaded to UChicago Box, to which only the primary contact for the study has access. UChicago Box is protected by 2-factor authentication. Other copies of responses will be destroyed as soon as copies have been uploaded to UChicago Box. All information collected as part of the research will be destroyed after the study’s completion. All participants and their employers and locations will be anonymized and no identifying information will be included in the thesis. The researcher will obtain participants’ consent for the use of their direct quotes. I will use email addresses and/or phone numbers to facilitate scheduling interviews with participants who indicate interest in that aspect of the study. Zoom screen names may also be visible in interview recordings. Participants may choose to use pseudonyms as their Zoom screen names.
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If you do not complete the survey in full, data collected up to the point of withdrawal may still be included in analysis.
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Identifiable information will never be shared with anyone other than the primary contact for the research project. The only identifiable information asked for in this survey is contact information for those interested in a longer-form interview. Inclusion of contact information is optional.
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The information collected as part of this research will not be used or shared for future research studies, even if all identifiers are removed.
Contacts & Questions:
If you have questions or concerns about the study, you can contact the researchers at
groceryworkerstudy@gmail.com.
If you have any questions about your rights as a participant in this research, feel you have been harmed, or wish to discuss other study-related concerns with someone who is not part of the research team, you can contact the University of Chicago Social & Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB): phone (773) 702-2915, email
sbs-irb@uchicago.edu.
Consent:
Participation is voluntary. Refusal to participate or withdrawing from the research will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which you might otherwise be entitled. You will be provided a copy of this form. By continuing to complete the survey, you agree to participate in the research.
