SECTION 1: THE PURPOSE OF LSBU’s BOARDING SCHOOL RESEARCH HUB (BSR HUB)

LSBU’s Boarding School Research Hub (BSR Hub) is a voluntary community of research practice, operating under the auspices of LSBU’s Building Future Communities Research Centre. Its aim is to advance inter-disciplinary research into the role of boarding school as a surrogate for home and the long-term outcomes for individuals, institutions, and society. 

We will achieve this through convening a community of academic researchers, public health specialists, psychologists, service providers, and educators and facilitate engagement in research-related activities and foster inter-disciplinary research with the aim of closing gaps in the existing evidence-base. 

SECTION 2: ENSURING A SAFE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

2.1 MEMBER PARTICIPATION CRITERIA

To ensure a safe community, membership of the BSR Hub is by application only. Applicants will be asked to demonstrate they are engaging in this group in a professional capacity and operating to the standards set by their governing institution, organisation or professional body. 

All members will have a personal responsibility to maintain a good level of self-awareness and emotional intelligence, as it is of paramount importance that the BSR Hub fosters a safe and open environment where individual challenges and diverse perspectives can be voiced and addressed safely. 

2.2 MEMBER ETHICS AND CARE RESPONSIBILITIES

The BSR Hub holds a unique position in which former boarders, alongside non-boarders, are advancing inter-disciplinary research into the role of boarding school as a surrogate for home and the long-term outcomes for individuals, institutions, and society. This position allows for a rich and deep understanding drawn from lived experience, however it is paramount to continually consider self care and ethics to ensure we all operate within a safe, healthy and supportive environment. 

Personal experiences can trigger emotions, so it is important that all community members check-in, step back and process - without shame. Members - whether former boarders or not - are advised to keep a personal research log to reflect upon moments that evoke strong emotions. Members are also asked to contribute to shaping an open and safe environment that prioritises self-care, encourages the sharing of best practice and acknowledges the importance of healthy boundaries to ensure the wellbeing of all BSR Hub members.

2.3 FRAMING OUR POSITION

As a community of researchers, some of whom are ex-boarders, our positionality within the Boarding School Research Hub is, first and foremost, as researchers. We ask all former boarders to take the position that they are researchers with experience of boarding - not ex-boarders doing research. This is important as: 

Assumptions can skew data: Familiarity can raise a range of knowledge based on firsthand experience - but this can cause researchers to overlook topics or take for granted the mundane. A continual examining of the research process and data in the context of researcher positionality (also known as ‘reflexivity’) will be necessary to add additional measures to review potential consequences

An unclear role can generate unrealistic expectations: The BSR Hub’s position is not to bring comfort or fix issues but to listen in context, amplify voices and have empathy - but with firm boundaries. We actively discourage detailed first-person personal testimonies within the research setting, preferring members to pivot to third-person observations. Should someone display distress or make a request outside of the research remit, the role of the BSR Hub is to signpost to relevant, reliable and qualified services that hold no affiliation with the BSR Hub or its members.

2.4 CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Members must avoid any situation which may lead to a potential conflict of interest. Where conflicts cannot be avoided, they must be declared and managed in accordance with this policy. This includes avoiding the perception of a conflict of interest as well as actual conflicts of interest. Conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to financial interest, non-financial personal interest, professional conflict or loyalty interest. An outside member will be appointed to oversee Conflict of Interest within the BSR Hub.

SECTION 3: PARTICIPANT CARE AND SAFETY

3.1 INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE

The BSR Hub is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research governance. Any indirect or direct research emanating from this Community of Practice must adhere to LSBU’s ethical and professional code of conduct which values: 

Autonomy – every individual has the right to think independently and act freely to decide to participate, continue or withdraw from a research study without hindrance. This includes researchers ensuring that participants are fully informed prior to their giving consent to participate, maintaining confidentiality and respecting their decisions

Beneficence – research must have value to individuals, groups, communities or to add to the knowledge base. It is unethical to conduct research that cannot be demonstrated to be of benefit or have a purpose

Non-Maleficence – participants and researchers should be protected at all times. Associated risks and how these will be minimised must be considered and articulated

Justice – all research is conducted fairly and with respect for the human rights of all involved

3.2 SAFEGUARDING

All research, activity and communications  undertaken by the BSR Hub will comply with LSBU’s Safeguarding Policy to ensure that everyone, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation has the right to protection from harm or abuse.

We will endeavour to safeguard children and Adults at Risk by ensuring that:

Individuals of all ages are valued, listened to, and respected

Members, stakeholders and gatekeepers are carefully selected and made aware of our commitment to safeguarding and their responsibilities within it

Risk assessments are undertaken in relation to any situation where children or Adults at Risk will come into contact with BSR Hub members 

All suspicions, allegations and incidents of harm, abuse or mistreatment are taken seriously, dealt with swiftly and appropriately in accordance with LSBU’s safeguarding policy, and referred to external agencies where appropriate

In an emergency (for example, where there is an immediate and significant danger or a criminal act has been witnessed), the individual raising the concern should call the police directly on 999. Where this is necessary, the Safeguarding Officer should be informed as soon as possible via helpsafeguard@lsbu.ac.uk.

3.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND ETHICS 

Where human participation is involved in research, all members of the BSR Hub have an obligation to protect participants from any possible harm and preserve their rights. 

3.4 GDPR AND DATA PROTECTION

The BSR Hub is committed to protecting all personal information related to living individuals that it may hold, and adheres to LSBU’s Data Protection Policy to meet its obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). This means that all personal information that the BSR Hub is responsible for is:

• processed fairly, lawfully and in a transparent manner

• used only for limited, specified stated purposes and not used or disclosed in any way incompatible with those purposes

• adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary

• accurate and, where necessary, up to date

• not kept for longer than necessary

• kept safe and secure

Where specific research projects involve data gathering via human participants, either qualitative or quantitative, the BSR Hub will retain anonymised data and contact information (when consent is given) for a maximum 3 years, or for 12 months after the project close, whichever is the shorter. Consent forms will be stored securely for 10 years.

3.5 ONLINE PERSONAL DATA AND SOCIAL MEDIA/INTERNET RESEARCH 

Identifiable and potentially identifiable social media personal data, whether held on computer or in hard copy, closed-circuit television (CCTV), audio or video recordings, or email, are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as set out in the Data Protection Act (DPA), 2018.

The temptation with information obtained on social media may be to say “but the data is public”, but this overlooks “fair processing” which is the principle that those providing data must know what is happening to it, as a key principle of personal data processing. As a ground rule within any research project, special consideration is required to personal information that is “likely to cause substantial damage or substantial distress to a data subject” (DPA 2018, c.12, PART 2, CHAPTER 2, Section 19). It is therefore necessary to obtain consent from individual users when processing identifiable personal information.

Personal data should be recognised here as different from expert information from journalists, politicians, academics, and other public figures, who are named in their social media accounts. When acting as experts in their field, their work (whether tweets or full blogs), should be given full recognition, and cited as any other publication. However, when the data is unrelated to the subject expertise, personal data (such as images of their private life, or personally sensitive information), these should be anonymised.

3.6 USE OF SECONDARY DATA 

Secondary data includes: archival data; publicly available and secure datasets which exist already; and potentially also material available from media and other sources (e.g. newspaper articles, blogs etc.). 

Anonymised records and data sets that exist in the public domain do not require ethical review. Specific examples include Office for National Statistics or the UK Data Archive data. These sources contain data where appropriate permissions have already been obtained and where it is not possible to identify individuals from the information provided.

Published biographies, newspaper accounts of an individual’s activities and published minutes of a meeting would not be considered ‘personal data’ or sensitive personal data requiring ethics review, nor would interviews broadcast on radio, television or online, and diaries or letters in the public domain.

3.7  PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND REWARDS 

Research involving human participants should include full details of the recruitment and selection of participants and any questionnaires to be used in the selection process.

Coercion (perceived or actual) should not be used to persuade people to participate in a research study. Careful study advertising, separation of information about participation and gatekeepers or those with power or influence over participants should be considered as ways of mitigating coercion.

Any payment made to participants should be proportionate to the study and the risk of undue influence on participation decisions should be considered. Such payment can be in the form of cash or vouchers and the researcher must be able to explain the payment choice. Participants should not need to spend/engage in activity to redeem an incentive (i.e. buy X to get 10% off) and commercially funded research should not reward participants with vouchers solely redeemable with the funder.

3.8 CONSENT 

Potential participants must be provided with appropriate information and researchers must ensure that all consent is fully informed. Consent can be obtained in writing or via audio recording, and must be given freely and without cohesion. Participants must be allowed to withdraw without reprocession and confidentiality must be ensured. LSBU’s full Ethics Code of Practice for Research Involving Human Participants can be viewed here. 

Prior to participation in any research, the prospective participant should be informed of the details of the project in which they are considering participating. This should give an overview of aspects of the research and how it is being conducted which could reasonably impact their decision to participate or not. This may include, but not be limited to:

• The purpose of the research: background/aims, how long it will run for

• The data collection, usage and storage methods

• What the individual will be asked to do and the time involved

• Any potential risks or benefits that may arise from participation

• How as a participant they will be safeguarded

• Why they have been asked to participate and the overall number of people that are planned to be recruited

• How, and to who, to complain or raise concerns/dissatisfaction regarding the research

• Arrangements for participants who are content to be contacted in the future (these should be well-specified and explicit consent for this should be sought)

• Whether, how and when participants can withdraw their participation (during and after taking part in the research)

3.9 RIGHT TO WITHDRAW 

Voluntary consent must be obtained from participants before the research begins. During the research, a participant has the right to withdraw up to the point agreed in the information sheet, without having to give a reason. This period should be as long as practicably possible. Participants should be made aware that in circumstances where the findings have already been published the right to withdraw cannot realistically be exercised – nor where withdrawal will impact aggregate, anonymised data sets. If, at any point, the researcher believes that a participant has doubts that they still consent to participation s/he should explicitly clarify this with participant.

Any participant that wants to withdraw should always have the opportunity, if they wish, to have a private discussion as to their reasons why.

3.10 STORING CONSENT FORMS 

Consent forms include personal data and as such must be stored securely in a double-lock system so as to guarantee confidentiality of participation. They should be kept for at least 5 years following data collection. Storage lengths, disposal arrangements etc should be made clear in the participant information sheets.

SECTION 4: BREACHES OF THIS POLICY 

Any situation or member of the BSR Hub that breaches ethical conducts or fails to comply with safeguarding and data protection procedures will be investigated accordingly