Welcome to the pretest for the research project PATCHWORK: A Network Science Approach to Social Cohesion in European Societies!
About PATCHWORK
The PATCHWORK research project is led by Prof. Miranda Lubbers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and funded by the European Research Council. This project aims to study personal relationships in European societies and how different groups of people relate to each other.
To better understand social cohesion in these societies, a survey will be conducted in five European countries. However, the success of the survey depends on people like you participating in the pretest.
By participating in the pretest, you'll provide valuable information about social topics, including your opinions on society and your personal relationships. Your information will be kept confidential and combined with other interview responses to help us understand social cohesion in our countries. Your contribution will help us tell the story of social cohesion in our nations.
Why participate?
We are conducting a survey in five European countries, and before we do, we need to make sure that people understand the questions and that their answers are consistent over time. To do this, we're asking 50 people with diverse backgrounds to participate in a pretest. Your participation is important and will help us better understand social cohesion in our countries and how to improve it.
Participation in the pretest is entirely voluntary, and you don't have to participate if you don't want to. If you do decide to participate, you'll need to sign a consent form. However, you're free to withdraw at any time and without giving a reason. You can also ask to have your personal data removed from the investigation. If there are any questions you don't want to answer, you can refuse to answer them and still stay in the study.
What to expect?
If you agree to participate, you'll be interviewed twice, once now and again in two weeks. The questions will be about you, your opinions on society, and the people you know both in person and on social media. If you're uncomfortable with any question, skip it and move on. The interview will last about an hour. After two weeks, the interviewer will contact you again to see if you want to participate in a follow-up interview, which will also take about an hour.
Your privacy
We promise to keep your answers confidential and anonymous. We won't include your name or address in our database; only a number will identify you. Your confidential information is separately stored, password-protected, and will be deleted within two years. Our research team has signed a confidentiality agreement to ensure your privacy. We may ask you questions about your social relationships, but we won't ask you to identify any of your contacts personally, and we won't try to contact them. The only exception to confidentiality is if we're concerned about your safety or someone else's, and we're required by law to inform the relevant authority. If this happens, we'll let you know first. Your anonymized data may be used in research articles or presentations and will be made publicly available to other researchers after two years, but it can't be used for commercial purposes.
Your compensation
You will receive a compensation of 10 Euros for your time for the first interview and 15 euros for the second.
Further information and contact
The PATCHWORK research project has been approved by the Ethics Committee (CEEAH) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, which ensures that the study is conducted ethically and in accordance with established guidelines.
If you have any questions or would like to know more about the study, you can contact the research team here.