Perceptions of Electoral Integrity:

Participant Information Statement

(1) What is this study about?

 You are invited to take part in a research study about your views on the last national election held in your country. We want to know how when elections meet international standards and principles—and when they fail.

Some elections around the world meet high standards of integrity whereas some problems are experienced in other contests. This project seeks to examine the quality of elections on a systematic basis to be able to compare standards around the world.

You have been invited to participate in this study because you are an expert in the elections of this country. This Participant Information Statement tells you about the research study. Knowing what is involved will help you decide if you want to take part in the research. Please read this sheet carefully and ask questions about anything that you don’t understand or want to know more about.

Participation in this research study is voluntary. So it’s up to you whether you wish to take part or not. By giving your consent to take part in this study you are telling us that you:

  • Understand what you have read

  • Agree to take part in the research study as outlined below

  • Agree to the use of your personal information as described. 

You will be given a copy of this Participant Information Statement to keep.

(2) Who is running the study?

 The study is being carried out by the following researchers:

  • Dr. Holly Ann Garnett (Royal Military College of Canada/Queen's University)

  • Dr. Toby S. James (University of East Anglia)

(3) What will the study involve for me?

As an expert you are asked to give your views about how the last national election was held in your country. It involves different questions covering eleven stages of the election cycle.

The survey (an online questionnaire) takes approximately 12 minutes to complete, and it is about the different aspects involved in the last national election in the country. There are three types of questions: those related to the election, the country, and information about you.

With all the responses obtained, a yearly report on the quality of the elections will be created. A database with the anonymous responses to be made public and available to the research community will also be created. You will have the opportunity to go back to review your responses before submitting your questionnaire. Your responses will be anonymous.

(4) How much of my time will the study take?

 This survey takes about 12 minutes to complete.

(5) Who can take part in the study?

The survey is only sent to experts on elections. An expert is defined as a political scientist (or social scientist in a related discipline- sociology, economics, law, etc.) who has published or who has other demonstrated knowledge of the political process in a particular country. Specifically, demonstrated knowledge is defined by the following criteria: (1) membership of a relevant research group, professional network, or organized section of such a group; (2) existing publications on electoral or other country-specific topics in books, academic journals, or conference papers; (3) employment at a university or college as a teacher.

(6) Do I have to be in the study? Can I withdraw from the study once I've started?

Being in this study is completely voluntary, and you do not have to take part. Your decision whether to participate will not affect your current or future relationship with the researchers. You have the option to opt out the survey by declining the invitation email that you have received.

If you decide to take part in the study and then change your mind later, you are free to withdraw at any time. You can do this by not finishing the survey.

Submitting your completed questionnaire is an indication of your consent to participate in the study. You can withdraw your responses if you change your mind about having them included in the study, up to the point that we have analysed and published the results, by sending an email to electoralintegrity@queensu.ca.

(7) Are there any risks or costs associated with being in the study?

Aside from giving up your time completing the survey, we do not expect that there will be any risks or costs associated with taking part in this study.

(8) Are there any benefits associated with being in the study?

We cannot guarantee or promise that you will receive any direct benefits from being in the study.

(9) What will happen to information about me that is collected during the study?

By providing your consent, you are agreeing to us collecting personal information about you for the purposes of this research study. Your information will only be used for the purposes outlined in this Participant Information Statement, unless you consent otherwise.

Your information will be stored securely and your identity/information will be kept strictly confidential, except as required by law. Study findings may be published, but you will not be individually identifiable in these publications. Only the researchers and their research assistant will have access to non- anonymized data collected as part of this project.

We will keep the information we collect for this study, and we may use it in future projects. By providing your consent you are allowing us to use your information in future projects. We don’t know at this stage what these other projects will involve. We will seek ethical approval before using the information in these future projects. 

We intend to submit the information from this project to a public database (Dataverse) for research information, so that other researchers can access it and use it in their projects. Before we do so, we will take out all the identifying information so that the people we give it to won’t know whose information it is. They won’t know that you participated in the project, and they won’t be able to link you to any of the information you provided. The only personal information that will be included in the data will be your gender, the decade of your birth, your education level, whether you were born in the country with the election being studied, the professional sectors you have worked in, and your self-placement on a ten-point ideological scale.

(10) Can I tell other people about the study?

Yes, you are welcome to tell other people about the study.

(11) What if I would like further information about the study?

When you have read this information, Dr. Holly Ann Garnett and Dr. Toby S. James will be available to discuss it with you further and answer any questions you may have. If you would like to know more at any stage during the study, please feel free to contact:

(12) Will I be told the results of the study? 

You have a right to receive feedback about the overall results of this study. You can tell us that you wish to receive feedback by answering the relevant question in the online questionnaire.

This feedback will be in the form of an annual report. You will receive this feedback after the study is finished.

(13) What if I have a complaint or any concerns about the study?

This project has obtained the approval of the Research Ethics Board (REB) of Royal Military College (REB2019-003 Pol). Any questions concerning the ethical conduct of this research may be communicated to the Chair of the REB, Dr. Nicole Bérubé (nicole.berube@rmc.ca).

 

This information sheet is for you to keep