A research project about how Tasmanians experience roadkill

Invitation
You are invited to participate in a research project about how Tasmanians experience roadkill.
This study is being conducted in partial fulfilment of a Doctorate thesis under the supervision of Professor Douglas Ezzy and Dr. Louise Richardson-Self. The research is being conducted by Ariel Remund who is a Sociology PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania. The interview will take approximately 30 minutes to one hour.

What is the purpose of this study?
The purpose of this study is to understand how Tasmanians are responding to roadkill.

Why have I been invited to participate?
You have been sent this invitation because you or your organisation responds to roadkill.

Your involvement in this research is voluntary. There are no consequences if you decide not to participate and this will not affect, for example, your relationship with the University.

What will I be asked to do?
You are invited to participate in an interview that will last up to one hour. We are interested in any experiences you have relating to wildlife-vehicle collisions.
We would like to record the interview. This is to assist the researcher in the process of transcribing the interview. If you wish, we will provide you with an opportunity to review the transcript of the interview. You can request to either be anonymous or to be identifiable in the final report.

Are there any possible benefits from participation in this study?
Participating in this study will offer you an opportunity to share your experiences with roadkill. Your knowledge will contribute to developing a greater understanding of a topic which is hugely under researched.

Are there any possible risks from participation in this study?
Sometimes people experience discomfort when recalling experiences of animal collisions on the road. If you do feel uncomfortable, please let the researcher know. You are not required to answer any questions and can withdraw or stop the interview at any time.

What if I change my mind during or after the study?
As a participant in this research project, you are free to withdraw from this research at any time without providing any explanation. If you choose to withdraw during the interview, the audio recorder will be stopped and your interview will be deleted. You can also ask to withdraw your interview data up until 31/7/2021. If you wish to withdraw please contact: Ariel Remund by email: ariel.remund@utas.edu.au.

What will happen to the information when this study is over?
The interview recordings and transcripts will be used by the researcher until the research project is complete. Following this, the interview recordings and transcripts will be kept and stored in a secure location at the University of Tasmania in the School of Social Sciences for a period of 5 years from the date of research publication.

The people with access to this data are the researcher involved in this project and her supervisors, Professor Douglas Ezzy and Dr. Louise Richardson-Self. You may choose to have your name used and to be identified in publications from the study, or to be anonymous. If you request anonymity, your information will be handled confidentially and anonymously, with code-names used and you will not be identified in any publications. If you request anonymity, the only people with access to your identifying information will be Ariel Remund and Professor Douglas Ezzy.

How will the results of the study be published?
The findings of the research will be used in the production of a thesis on the research topic. Additionally, the findings may be used in a future research publication such as a journal article or book chapters. You may request a copy of the thesis and any other publications by contacting Ariel Remund.

What if I have questions about this study?
If you have any questions about the research please contact Ariel Remund by email: ariel.remund@utas.edu.au or Professor Douglas Ezzy: School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania, PO BOX 22, Hobart, Tasmania, 2001 Email: Douglas.Ezzy@utas.edu.au.

This study has been approved by the Tasmania Social Sciences Human Research Ethics Committee. If you have concerns or complaints about the conduct of this study, you can contact the Executive Officer of the HREC (Tasmania) Network on (03) 6226 2975 or email ss.ethics@utas.edu.au The Executive Officer is the person nominated to receive complaints from research participants. You will need to quote S0020289.