Participant information

Participant Consent Form

https://bit.ly/PihlajaConsentForm

Project Description

Metropolitan areas in the UK have experienced unprecedented demographic changes in the past twenty years. Some places such as Birmingham can be described as ‘superdiverse’, meaning that their populations have become so diverse that no one group is a clear majority. Religious differences have been seen to produce conflict in these cities, with differences in religious belief and practice being a barrier for communities working together. This project looks at relationships that exist between language use and religious identity. I will gather primary data through participation in the activities of partner associations and listening to community members’ and leaders’ experiences in interviews and focus groups, hopefully learning how language is used to describe the diverse lived experiences of people in the city. After gathering the data, I will work with members in these associations to co-produce a resource to help people talk productively about their faith.

Participation Description

To better understand these issues I would like to talk with you about their experiences of religious diversity in the city.

The conversation will last between 30 minutes and one hour. You can tell me how long you would like to speak to me.

I will ask you about how you experience religious diversity in your day-to-day life. There are not right or wrong answers and I’m very happy to hear anything you tell me.

Everything you tell me in this conversation will be recorded and transcribed.

I will keep these recordings and will use the data from some of the interviews in several different publications, including for researchers and people who work with community organisations.

You will be kept anonymous in any data that I gather and any information that might identify you will never be published.

At any time during the interview or focus group, you are free to stop the interview or leave the group.

You may also ask to have your information withdrawn from the study at any time after the interview.

You can contact me at anytime at Stephen Pihlaja <s.pihlaja@newman.ac.uk>