UCD Research Culture Study 2025 Interviews & Focus Sessions

Participant Information Leaflet

Introduction

The UCD Research Culture Team would like to invite you to take part in a research study. This Participant Information Leaflet tells you about the study. It explains what is involved if you agree to take part. Knowing what is involved will help you decide if you want to take part in the research. Please read this information carefully. You can ask the Team questions about anything that you don’t understand or want to know more about.

Participation in this research is voluntary. If you don’t wish to take part, you do not have to.

If you decide you want to take part in the research project, you will be asked to confirm your consent before you begin the Research Culture interviews and/or focus sessions. By confirming your consent, you are telling the UCD Research Culture Team that you:

• understand what you have read;
• consent (agree) to take part in the research project;
• consent to participate in the research processes that are described;
• understand how your personal data will be used.

The UCD Research Culture study is conducted by the Research Culture team:

• Prof Grace Mulcahy, School of Veterinary Medicine
• Dr Sonya Deschenes, Assistant Professor, School of Psychology
• Dr Hugh Fulham McQuillan, Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Psychology
• Prof Ivar McGrath, School of History
• Dr Maura Hiney, Adjunct Professor, UCD Institute for Discovery
• Prof Hugh Campbell, School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy
• Prof Emeritus Adrian Ottewill, School of Mathematics and Statistics
• Ms Jill Boyle, Senior Research Policy and Governance Specialist, UCD Research
• Dr Colleen Thomas, UCD Research Culture & Engagement Manager, HR

Contact details for further information

If you have any question about the study, or would like support for any of the issues raised in the in the interviews and/or focus sessions please contact us at (opens in a new window)research.culture@ucd.ie.

What is this study about?

This study is intended to assess attitudes, opinions, experiences and perspectives relevant to research culture from the different roles within our research community.

Why are we conducting this study?

The UCD Research Culture survey was run in 2021 and 2023 and rerun in 2025 to measure progress. These interviews and focus sessions are being conducted to better understand the perspectives and experiences relevant to research culture in University College Dublin from representative members of the different research roles within the UCD research community.

Why have you been invited to take part?

The study is intended for all those involved in research including faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate research students, research-funded staff including research scientists/engineers and research fellows, technical officers, and research managers and administrators.

Do I have to take part?

No, you do not have to take part in this study. It is your choice. Participation is voluntary so if you choose not to take part in this study, it will not affect your current or future status at University College Dublin. You do not have to give a reason for not taking part in this study.

What will happen if you decide to take part in this research study?

Participation in this study will involve:

• An invitation to take part in a voluntary one-on-one interview with a member of the research team about your experiences of research culture at University College Dublin.
• An invitation to take part in a voluntary focus session facilitated by a member of the research team to explore academic mentoring, esteem-recognition, emotional labour, and research assessment.

Can you change your mind at any stage and withdraw from the survey?

Participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You may opt out of these interviews or the focus sessions at any stage. You are free to withdraw at any time, without giving a reason. If you choose not to take part, it will not affect you in any way. Consent can also be withdrawn up to two weeks after the completion of both the interview and the focus session (prior to data anonymisation) once the team is contacted within 2 weeks of your participation. After this time your data will be anonymised and we will no longer be able to identify your data.

As a result, your rights under the GDPR regulations in relation to: Right of access (article 15), Right to data portability (article 20), Right to rectification and erasure (articles 16, 17 and 19) and Right to object and restriction of processing (articles 18,19 and 21) cannot be exercised.

What are the benefits of taking part in this research study?

The Research Culture interviews and focus sessions will inform the future development of UCD’s Research Culture. By participating in either of these parts of the study your views can be included.

What are the risks of taking part in this research study?

Participation in this study poses minimal risks to information security which are mitigated by anonymising the data set, maintaining approved controls over access to the data set, and publishing findings only in the aggregate. It is possible that participating in this study may result in your recalling stressful or distressing experiences. To ensure that all participants feel comfortable openly expressing themselves in the focus sessions, participants will be asked to be considerate and respectful of opposing viewpoints when taking part. If you decide to participate in either the interview or focus sessions, you are free to withdraw at any time, without giving a reason. Likewise, you can pause the interview or focus session at any time or refuse to answer any questions.

In the event that participation raises psychological or emotional responses for you, the Resources page on the UCD Research Culture website offers links to a wide range of support services available to UCD staff and students (https://www.ucd.ie/researchculture/toolkit/resources/).

UCD staff can access counselling and other wellbeing services through Employee Assistance Services (https://www.ucd.ie/engage/employeerelations/employeeassistanceservice/).

Health and wellbeing supports for UCD students are given on the Graduate Studies website (https://www.ucd.ie/graduatestudies/researchstudenthub/servicesandsupportsforresearchstudents/stayingwell/).

Support services are also available from external sources including Aware ((opens in a new window)https://www.aware.ie/) and the Samaritans ((opens in a new window)https://www.samaritans.org/ireland/samaritans-ireland/)

If any disclosures are made that would suggest misconduct, malpractice, or indicate that any individual is in danger of harm or psychological distress, the researcher will be obligated to report this to the appropriate personnel in UCD.

How will you find out what happens with this project?

Findings from this study will be documented in a report that will be published on the UCD Research Culture website (https://www.ucd.ie/researchculture/survey/).

 

Data Protection

What information about me will be used in this research study?

The UCD Research Culture Team will use the following information about you (personal data) for this research study. Relevant personal data questions include the following: Note, there are other interview and focus session questions, but here are only included the ones that relate to personal data. The full list of questions will be available in a separate document for information as part of the normal reporting on the survey.

• Your role in UCD
• Your School / Unit in UCD
• Your Research Institute in UCD, if applicable
• Your gender
• Length of time working at UCD

How will your data be used?

Anonymous data collected from this study will be used to assess attitudes, opinions, perspectives and experiences relevant to research culture across our community. Findings will serve to evaluate progress in developing community awareness of characteristics of healthy research cultures and the success of UCD Research Culture actions. The results of the interviews and focus sessions will be made available on our Research Culture Website (https://www.ucd.ie/researchculture/). In addition, highlights of the study results may be widely communicated via social media. The anonymised data will be fully analysed and reported. Due to the qualitative and potentially sensitive nature of the data, it will not be archived in any publicly available archive. It is also hoped to use the study outcomes in connection with research publication/dissemination on research culture.

Who will have access to my personal data? What will happen to my personal data?

All interview and focus session data will be anonymized and kept strictly confidential.

Your consent form will be retained in a folder on a password protected, secure folder on a UCD Google drive and destroyed three years after the completion of the study. The audio of your interview data will be recorded with your consent. This will be stored separately in a password protected, secure folder on a UCD Google drive. After each interview is transcribed by professional, GDPR-compliant transcribers at TranscriptionShop, the audio recordings will be destroyed. The transcribed data will be anonymised and stored on a secure research drive.

Regarding the focus sessions, data will be collected in the form of notes written by participants and facilitators. The notes will be stored in a password protected, secure folder on a UCD Google drive (or equivalent when UCD transitions to the Microsoft platform), reviewed for potentially identifying information and anonymised. Socio-demographic data will be collected using the Zoom survey function, cleaned and analysed using descriptive statistics.  Thematic analysis will be used to analyse the qualitative data.

Only the principal researchers from the UCD Research Culture Team, Dr Colleen Thomas and Dr Hugh Fulham McQuillan will access study data. To avoid the data being potentially identifiable, findings from these data will be published only in aggregate meaning analysis involving less than five individuals matching a potential role/unit/gender combination will be combined and analysed only at a higher organisational level (e.g. College, Unit). Once the data has been anonymised, it will not be possible to link it back to you.

How will your privacy be protected?

All data collected will be anonymised and kept confidential. Your name or any other potentially identifying information will not appear in presentations, publications or reports using findings from the study. Interviews will be transcribed, anonymised and stored in a password protected, secure folder on a UCD Google drive (or equivalent when UCD transitions to the Microsoft platform). Notes from the focus sessions will also be anonymised and be stored in a password-protected, secure folder on a UCD Google drive (or equivalent when UCD transitions to the Microsoft platform). You will be able to withdraw your data for up to two weeks after the completion of both the interview and the focus session, after which your data will be anonymised. held securely, with only aggregate results being retained for long-term tracking of progress. All data will be analysed and reported in the aggregate at College or Unit level. Certain demographic combinations (e.g. role/unit/gender) can be rare.  To avoid these being reported or identifiable, findings from these data will be published only in aggregate meaning analysis involving less than five individuals matching a potential role/unit/gender combination will be combined and analysed only at a higher organisational level (e.g. College, Unit). You will not be will not be able to identify individual participants.

How long will my data be retained by this project?

Your personal data will be retained in aggregate for an indefinite period to facilitate long-term tracking of progress by comparison with previous and future studies on research culture. It is also hoped to use the study findings in connection with research publication/dissemination on research culture.

Legal Basis

The legal basis under which we are processing your information is based on your consent and that it is in the public interest. 

What are my rights?

You are entitled to:

• object to the UCD Research Culture Team’s use of your personal data or any further use;
• request access to your personal data and to receive a copy of it (up to the point of anonymisation);
• request inaccurate personal data be corrected or deleted;
• request restriction of the UCD Research Culture Team’s use of your personal data (if it is inaccurate);
• request deletion of your data, if no longer needed.

By law you can exercise the above rights in relation to your personal data, unless certain limitations apply, for example if the request would make it impossible or very difficult to conduct the research or put the quality of the research findings at risk. For example, if the study results / information has already been published then the UCD Research Culture Team will not be able to delete it.

Thank you for taking the time to read the information written on this page.

Who do I contact if I have further questions? 

If you have any further questions now or at any time please contact:

Dr Colleen Thomas

Email: (opens in a new window)colleen.thomas@ucd.ie

Telephone:01 7164062

UCD Research Culture

University College Dublin 

Belfield, Dublin 4. 

Alternatively, you can contact the UCD Data Protection officer:

Data Protection Officer’s Identity: Ulrike Kolch 

Data Protection Officer’s Contact Details: (opens in a new window)gdpr@ucd.ie

If none of the UCD contacts have given a satisfactory response, details on the Data Protection Commission are provided: Data Protection Commission: (opens in a new window)https://forms.dataprotection.ie/contact