Cyberbullying

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1. Study Information
Page 1 of 2

 
St. George's Building
5th Floor
141 High Street
Portsmouth
PO1 2HY
 
 
 
Researcher: Kirsty Edwards                               UP757608@myport.ac.uk
Supervisor:  Dr Victoria Wang                            Victoria.Wang@port.ac.uk
Head of Department: Dr Phil Clements            Phil.Clements@port.ac.uk
 
 
Study Title: Crime Online: Is there a need for reform in the law on Cyberbullying?
                                                           
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for accepting my invitation to participate in my research study by completing a survey questionnaire.

Your participation is purely voluntary and anonymous, and you are free to withdraw without providing reasons at any time up until the point that you have submitted the completed survey questionnaire. However, your participation will be helpful in understanding the actual experiences of cyberbullying victims online and the effects of it.

The study forms part of my Masters Degree with the University of Portsmouth, and looks at the current law under which cyberbullying may be prosecuted, and whether it is sufficient to protect victims. This area of study was chosen in light of its presence in the media.

Research in the University of Portsmouth is looked at by an independent group of people called an Ethics Committee, to protect your interests. This study has been reviewed and given a favourable opinion by the university’s Institute of Criminal Justice Ethics Committee.

The results of the study will assist in completing a dissertation, which will evaluate the current legislation covering cyberbullying and whether it requires updating or whether alternative methods should be adopted to tackle cyberbullying.
 
No expenses or payment will be payable to you for participation in this research. However, participation in this research will assist the researcher’s understanding and contribute to an important area of research. Research on cyberbullying is important in order to determine whether there is a need for tougher action.
 
You may find participation in this survey distressing as you recall difficult events. In these circumstances please seek support from www.victimsupport.org.uk or by contacting the Samaritans on 116 123 or visiting them at http://www.samaritans.org/
 
There will be no requirement for your name or other identifiable details; the questionnaire will be completed anonymously and all reasonable steps will be taken to ensure confidentiality of all the information collated. In the event your responses include data from which you could be identified, such data will be anonymised for the purpose of inclusion in the final dissertation.
 
You are required to answer 14 questions and may provide additional comments if you wish, however, if there is a particular question you do not understand or simply prefer not to answer, then you may skip it altogether.

Responses from completed questionnaires will be collated for analysis as part of this research project, and will be stored in a secure environment only accessible by me as researcher. Some of the data may have to be accessed by authorised staff from the University of Portsmouth, such as my supervisor and examiner(s), who will be bound by a duty of confidentiality.  Once the research has been completed, the results analysed and my dissertation is awarded a mark that is ratified by the University’s Board of Examiners, the researcher will request removal of the responses from SmartSurvey’s servers and all retained copies of the responses will be destroyed. SmartSurvey do not own or sell the responses to the surveys.
 
If you have a concern about any aspect of this study, you should ask to speak to the researcher or their supervisor who will aim to answer your questions promptly and to your satisfaction. Contact details can be found at the top of this page. If you remain unhappy and wish to complain formally, you can do this by contacting the research supervisor at Victoria.Wang@port.ac.uk.
 
Thank you for taking the time to read this Information Sheet, irrespective of whether you decide to participate in the survey or not. If you have any questions about the study, wish to learn more about the results of the research (this would take the form of feedback to you by way of summarised results) or would like any further clarification, you may contact me at the following email address: up757608@myport.ac.uk.

PARTICIPANT CONSENT
By proceeding to the survey questionnaire below, you confirm that you are in agreement with the following:

I confirm that I have read and understood the Information Sheet for this study and have had an opportunity to consider the information provided. 

I understand that my participation is voluntary and none of my responses will identify me by name. I also understand that I am free to withdraw from this research up until the point that I have submitted the completed survey questionnaire, without the need to provide a reason for this. 

I understand that data collected during the study may be looked at by
Individuals from the University of Portsmouth. I give permission to these individuals to have access to my data.
 
Yours Sincerely

Kirsty Edwards

 
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