1. Invitation to research

I would like to invite you to take part in research related to beliefs and skills around detecting deception, in particular in cross-cultural settings by security professionals. My name is David Stephens and I am completing my major research project as part of a Master of Science in Communication, Behavioural and Credibility Analysis through the Emotional Intelligence Academy (EIA), which is part of the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. My research project will measure perceptions of different cultural cues to deceit and Australian security officials’ ability to detect cross-cultural deceit, culminating in a 15,000 word research paper on the topic completed by mid-2021.

 

2. Why have I been invited?

Your background and experience will provide valuable insights into beliefs and skills around detecting deception by security-related professionals. You will be one of a number of different people of different genders, ages, experiences and backgrounds across your organisation to take part in the research.

 

3. Do I have to take part?

It is up to you to decide. I will describe the study and go through the information sheet, which I will give to you. I will then ask you to sign a consent form to show you agreed to take part. You are free to withdraw at any time, without giving a reason.

 

4. What will I be asked to do? 

You will be asked to provide some basic personal information and then fill in a survey, which examines some of the different beliefs around detecting deception. You will then be asked to view several different videos and make a determination if the story you are viewing is either the truth or a lie and outline the basis for which you made your determinations. The survey section will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and the video section will take approximately 30-40 minutes to compete.

 

5. Are there any risks if I participate?

There are no physical risks to your participation in this process and all data collected will be kept in strict confidence, with no personal details shared with any other person other person or organisation. Once all data has been correlated, all personally identifying details (name and rank) will be deleted from all system and no individuals will be identifiable from the final research data or paper.

 

6. Are there any advantages if I participate?

Your participation in this research will enable ground-breaking research in this area and the final paper will be presented to the Insert participating agency, along with a presentation of the overall findings. Ultimately, lessons learnt will be able to be included in future training, to increase professional standards in the area of deception detection, especially in cross-cultural settings.

 

7. What will happen with the data I provide?

When you agree to participate in this research, I will collect from you personally-identifiable information, such as your name, title and age. As soon as practical, and before the research paper is finalised, all participant’s information will be anonymised, removing individual identifying data such as names and titles. EIA is the Data Controller in respect of this research and any personal data that you provide as a research participant.

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EIA is registered with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and manages personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and EIA’s Data Protection Policy.

Data will also be managed in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act (1988), which promotes and protects the privacy of individuals and regulates how Australian Government agencies and other organisations handle personal information.

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We collect personal data as part of this research (such as language skills or age). As a public authority acting in the public interest we rely upon the ‘public task’ lawful basis. When we collect special category data (such as medical information or ethnicity) we rely upon the research and archiving purposes in the public interest lawful basis. 

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Following anonymising your information, your rights to access, change or move your information are limited, as we need to manage your information in specific ways in order for the research to be reliable and accurate. If you seek to withdraw from the study following the anonymising process, we will keep the information about you that we have already obtained, as it will no longer be individually identifiable.

 

We will not share your personal data collected in this form with any third parties. If your data is shared this will be under the terms of a Research Collaboration Agreement which defines use, and agrees confidentiality and information security provisions. It is EIA’s policy to only publish anonymised data unless you have given your explicit written consent to be identified in the research. EIA never sells personal data to third parties.

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We will only retain your personal data for as long as is necessary to achieve the research purpose.

Any names collected during the survey process will be removed before the data results are finalised and the data anonymised so that individuals are not identifiable following the completion of the paper. Up until the point the surveys are anonymised, survey participants will be given the option of withdrawing their individual results from participation in the survey.

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David Stephens will not pass any information that may identify individuals collected in surveys to any third party, including EIA or any other part of the Manchester Metropolitan University.

 

8. What will happen to the results of the research study?

The final graded research paper and its contents relating to participating agency research results will not be made publicly available by David Stephens, EIA or any other part of the Manchester Metropolitan University unless express, written permission has been provided by the participating agency.

 

9. Who has reviewed this research project?

This research has been reviewed by the Emotional Intelligence Academy, Manchester Metropolitan University Unit Leaders, Dawn Archer and Aaron Garner, and full ethical approval has been granted.

 

10. Who do I contact if I have concerns about this study or I wish to complain?

If you have any questions about the research please contact me directly using the following details: David Stephens (david@criticalinsights.com.au)

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If you have any concerns about any aspect of this research, you may contact my Unit Leader who has oversight of this research: Prof Dawn Archer, by e-mail (dawn@eiagroup.co.uk).

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If you have any concerns regarding the personal data collected from you, our Data Protection Officer can be contacted using the support@eiagroup.co.uk e-mail address, marking the email subject “Data Protection”. You also have a right to lodge a complaint in respect of the processing of your personal data with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office as the supervisory authority (https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/) or with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints/).

 

THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROJECT!

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