Research instruments
Consent form
CONSENT FORM
[REB #2021-5630 v1.0. Approved June 23, 2021]
Who is conducting this study? This research study is being conducted by Manjulika E. Robertson (MES Candidate) and Dr. Alana Westwood (Assistant Professor) at the School of Resource and Environment Studies at Dalhousie University. The research is primarily funded by Dalhousie University through the Dean’s Collaborative Research Grant.
What is the study about? The purpose of this study is to document the ability of researchers in environmental studies and sciences to conduct and communicate their scientific research. The study is funded by Dalhousie University.
What do we have to do? If you choose to participate, you will be asked to anonymously answer questions to inform the research team about your perspectives on interference with research in environmental sciences or studies. We will also ask for your demographic information.
All responses are anonymous.
Is our participation voluntary? Your participation in this research is entirely your choice. There are no right or wrong answers; our aim is to understand your perspective on the issue of interference. Excerpts from responses to long-form survey questions may be used in the report, but only if the information could not possibly reveal the identity of the response author. You may choose “prefer not to answer” where applicable, and may stop the survey at any time by closing the browser window. Recorded responses cannot be deleted after submitting the survey as they are anonymous. If you do not submit your responses by clicking “Submit” at the end of the survey, your responses will be deleted from the data set.
The survey should take approximately 25–30 min to complete.
What will happen to our responses? The findings of the research will be shared anonymously and in aggregate via theses, peer-reviewed papers, summary graphics for social media, news releases, and presentations. Your demographic data may also be shared with the scientific societies that you indicate membership in if they disseminated the survey to you and requested the data in exchange. Aggregate findings for particular identity groups will only be shared if there are a minimum of 10 respondents in that category. All data will be kept indefinitely in secure storage (locked hard drives) for the possibility of being re-analyzed in the future as part of longitudinal research.
Are there any risks? The risks associated with this study include potential emotional distress in recalling and recounting experiences with interference to your scientific work that may have been negative or traumatizing. If you experience this, we recommend reaching out to your organization’s Employee Assistance Program if applicable, or using the following services to seek counselling and support.
Canadian Mental Health Association (613)-549-7027
Crises Help Line (CAN) 1-800-233-4357
What are the benefits? There will be no direct benefit to you from participating in this research. The research, however, might contribute to new knowledge on the prevalence and impacts of interference in science in Canada. Participating in the research study ensures that your perspective is included in the case that the research is successfully mobilized to impact the training, programs, and policy of science advocacy groups and governments. If you are interested in receiving direct communication about the results of the research or being involved in future research, you will have the option to confidentially provide your email address to the research team via an external form, which will be in no way connected to your survey responses.
What about compensation? To thank you for your time, you may choose to enter a draw for a chance to win one of three $50 gift cards to an online store of your choice or donate to the organization/charity of your choice upon completing and submitting the survey. Your contact information for the draw will not be linked in any way to your survey responses.
If you consent to participate, please click “I consent” below.
Consent to participate
○ I consent. (continue to initial survey)
○ I do not consent. (exit study)
Survey
1.
○ Yes
2.
○ Yes
3.
○ British Columbia
○ Alberta
○ Saskatchewan
○ Manitoba
○ Ontario
○ Quebec
○ New Brunswick
○ Nova Scotia
○ Prince Edward Island
○ Newfoundland and Labrador s
○ Northwest Territories
○ Nunavut
○ Yukon
4.
Please indicate your primary areas of research or your discipline(s).
⃞ Civil, Industrial, and Systems Engineering
⃞ Chemical, Biomedical, and Materials Science Engineering
⃞ Mechanical Engineering
⃞ Electrical Engineering
⃞ Computing Sciences
⃞ Mathematical Sciences
⃞ Physics and Astronomy
⃞ Chemistry
⃞ Geosciences
⃞ Evolution and Ecology
⃞ Cellular and Molecular Biology
⃞ Plant and Animal Biology
⃞ Psychology
⃞ Other
5.
Please indicate the full names of all the scientific societies where you hold membership. If there is more than one, separate the names using semi-colons.
*Open Text Response*
6.
○ Early-career researcher: first employed as a researcher (inclusive of postdocs) after 2015
○ Established researcher: first employed as a researcher before 2015
○ Retired
Page 4: Interference in Science Part 1: Political Interference in Conducting Research
7.
I am aware of cases where the health and safety of Canadians (or environmental sustainability) have been compromised because of political interference with scientific work at our organization.
8.
I am aware of cases where our organization has suppressed or declined to release information and where this has led to incomplete, inaccurate, or misleading impressions by the public, regulated industry, the media, and/or government officials.
9.
I am aware of cases where the exchange or transfer of knowledge based on scientific evidence for the purpose of developing policy, law, and/or programs at our organization has been compromised by political interference.
10.
○ Yes
○ Unsure
11.
If yes, who asked you to make the modifications and for what reason?
*Open Text Response*
Page 5: Interference in Science, Part 2: Muzzling and communicating research
12.
I am allowed by our organization to speak freely and without constraints to the media about our research in environmental studies or sciences.
13.
I have received a question from the public or media that we have the expertise to answer but have been prevented from doing so by our organization.
14.
Please indicate which topic areas you have experienced constraints on communication, in mainstream or social media, from your organization/present workplace. (check only those options that are applicable).
⃞ 1 = Biosecurity
⃞ 2 = Climate change
⃞ 3 = Native species that some consider pests
⃞ 4 = Extinctions
⃞ 5 = Feral animals
⃞ 6 = Invasive/exotic plants
⃞ 7 = Firewood collection
⃞ 8 = Fishing, commercial
⃞ 9 = Fishing, recreational
⃞ 10 = Hunting
⃞ 11 = Impacts of agriculture
⃞ 12 = Impacts of mining
⃞ 13 = Impacts of urban development
⃞ 14 = Indigenous land management
⃞ 15 = Land use planning
⃞ 16 = Logging
⃞ 17 = Native vegetation clearing
⃞ 18 = Pets
⃞ 19 = Pollution
⃞ 20 = Sustainable use of native species
⃞ 21 = Threatened species
⃞ 22 = Changes to legislation or policy
⃞ 23 = Other (please list)
⃞ 24 = We have not experienced any constraints
15.
Please explain the nature of these constraints (optional).
*Open Text Response*
16.
Please indicate your agreement with the following statements on a scale of 1–5 (1: Strongly disagree, 2: Somewhat disagree, 3: Neither agree nor disagree, 4: Somewhat agree, 5: Strongly agree, 6: Not applicable).
Our public commentary in areas where I am scientifically knowledgeable is constrained by.
1.
= Our belief that scientists have no role in making public commentary beyond information provision
2.
= Our concern about how we may be represented by the media
3.
= Our fear of being drawn to comment beyond the boundaries of our expertise
4.
= Our uncertainty about the boundaries of our expertise
5.
= Our belief that our primary obligation is to our organization, rather than to the public
6.
= Our stress around discussing contentious issues
7.
= Our fear of risking funding opportunities
8.
= Our fear of being made redundant
9.
= Our fear of reducing opportunities for advancement
10.
= Our workplace colleagues/peer pressure/work culture
11.
= Our workplace policy
12.
= Our middle management
13.
= Our senior management
14.
= The Minister’s office
17.
○ Yes
○ Unsure
18.
If yes, please briefly explain how your job satisfaction was affected.
*Open Text Response*
19.
How would you define the term “interference in science”?
*Open Text Response*
20.
○ Yes
21.
If yes, do you feel that the implementation of these policies has had an impact on the ability of researchers in the environmental sciences and studies in Canada to conduct and communicate research? Please explain.
*Open Text Response*
22.
○ Woman
○ Man
○ Non-binary
○ Prefer not to say
○ *Text Fill*
23.
○ Yes
○ Prefer not to say
24.
○ Yes
○ Prefer not to say
25.
⃞ Black, African-Canadian, person of African descent
⃞ Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, Metis)
⃞ East Asian (including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.)
⃞ South Asian (including East Indian, Indian from India, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladesh, East Indian from Guyana, East Africa, Trinidad, etc.)
⃞ South East Asian (including Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.)
⃞ Non-White West Asian
⃞ North African or Arab (including Afghan, Armenian, Algerian, Egyptian, Iranian, Israeli, Lebanese, Libyan, Palestinian, Syrian, etc.)
⃞ Non-White Latin American (including indigenous persons from Central and South America, etc.)
⃞ Pacific Islander
⃞ White Canadian or of White European descent
⃞ Prefer not to disclose
26.
⃞ Black, African-Canadian, person of African descent
⃞ Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, Metis)
⃞ East Asian (including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.)
⃞ South Asian (including East Indian, Indian from India, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladesh, East Indian from Guyana, East Africa, Trinidad, etc.)
⃞ South East Asian (including Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.)
⃞ Non-White West Asian
⃞ North African or Arab (including Afghan, Armenian, Algerian, Egyptian, Iranian, Israeli, Lebanese, Libyan, Palestinian, Syrian, etc.)
⃞ Non-White Latin American (including indigenous persons from Central and South America, etc.)
⃞ Pacific Islander
⃞ White Canadian or of White European descent
⃞ Prefer not to disclose
27.
⃞ Yes, visible
⃞ Yes, invisible
⃞ Prefer not to say
28.
c.
Prefer not to answer
29.
○ Yes
○ Unsure
30.
Please explain why or why not (optional).
*Open Text Response*
31.
Is there anything not covered in the survey questions that you would like us to know?
*Open Text Response*
*Submit*
Page 8: Survey Debrief
Thank you for completing the survey.
If you are interested in entering a draw to win one of three $50 gift cards or to indicate interest in being informed of the research results, follow the link below to our follow-up survey.
[INSERT LINK TO FOLLOW-UP SURVEY]
If you found any of the survey content to be emotionally distressing, please consider contacting the Employee Assistance Program designated to you by your workplace or reaching out to either of the resources listed below.
Canadian Mental Health Association (613) 549-7027
Sincerely,
Manjulika E. Robertson on behalf of the Westwood Lab
School for Resource and Environment Studies
Dalhousie University, Halifax (K’jipuktuk), Nova Scotia
Alternative survey ending
Thank you for your interest in the study. Unfortunately, your responses do not qualify you to further participate in the survey.
Sincerely,
Manjulika E. Robertson on behalf of the Westwood Lab
School for Resource and Environment Studies
Dalhousie University, Halifax (K’jipuktuk), Nova Scotia