TiLT GAMES EVALUATION ONLINE SURVEY INFORMATION LEAFLET

Only the senior researcher on TiLT will be able to link your email address with your identifying code. This information will be stored securely in an offline location. Your email address will be deleted once the second survey has been closed, ensuring that the survey data becomes fully anonymous.

Name of study: Transformation inLearning and Training(TiLT): Roleplay Based E-learning to Correct Systemic Bias and Unconscious Bias in Public Service Organisations.

You are being asked to be involved in this research study because we have developed training to increase awareness and understanding of individual unconscious and organisational biases among employees in participating companies. We are currently trialling this training by getting individuals such as yourself to play through the game scenarios, and by inviting players to opt into a two-stage online survey exploring what impact, if any, the training has on their behaviour when interacting with colleagues in professional settings.

Before you decide whether or not you wish to participate in the study, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what taking part involves.

Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Please ask us if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information.

Background information to the study

TILT is a project that aims to create more equitable and inclusive organisations by developing training that shows how individual and organisational/systemic biases based on gender, race and ethnicity arise and can be addressed. The initial focus was on Higher Education Institutions and Police Organisations. TILT gathered interview data with individuals in these organisations, and individuals who interact with the organisations, about their experiences around gender, race and ethnicity. The anonymised data formed the basis of content for learning (curricula) and this content was put into storylines in online gaming scenarios, which have been adapted for an office context.

By role-playing individuals who differ in some way from the players' real-world identity, there is an opportunity to experience situations from a different perspective, gaining knowledge and understanding of different identities and what happens around those identities in the organisational setting. The aim of the evaluation phase of our research, including the online survey, is to understand how individual players put the knowledge that they have gained from the training into practice in their everyday lives, and to identify areas of policy and/or training that require further attention in the organisation.

Benefits

The benefits to the player will be a greater understanding of how biases manifest in everyday situations. The benefits of the study overall will be to produce training that helps workplaces address individual and organizational biases.

Disadvantages

The training addresses incidents of racism and sexism, including sexual harassment, and possible ways of preventing and mitigating such behaviours. Some of the survey questions may prompt you to recall incidents that are distressing in some way. If you are affected by any of the issues covered by the training, and you would like to speak to a team member confidentially, please let us know by contacting Anne Holohan (aholohan@tcd.ie) or another member of the TiLT team.

Do I have to take part?

It is your choice whether you would like to take part in the study or not. If you do not wish to participate, you do not have to give a reason and you can change your mind at any time, including during the survey, or in between the surveys. You do not need to let us know if you have decided not to continue participating in the research, but you should contact the PI, Prof Anne Holohan (aholohan@tcd.ie) if you want to withdraw your data at any point before it becomes anonymised at the end of the survey period.

What happens if I take part?

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete two surveys. The first survey happens after the game and takes approximately 5 minutes. The second survey takes place in one month's time, and it should take 5-10 minutes to complete.

We ask you to provide a contact email address. This email address is not linked to any of the other data we collect and will only be used for the purposes of sending you:

• (a) a code, which is your unique identifier, and
• (b) a link to the follow-up survey in approximately one month's time.

Will my records remain confidential?

The data you generate in the surveys is pseudonymised by your unique code and will be fully anonymous once the senior research has deleted your email address at the end of the survey period. All of the information you provide in response to open-ended questions should be anonymous in nature. Please refrain from including any personal information that could directly or indirectly identify you, or any other individual. Please be aware that your answers to the survey questions will be linked to the demographic data (e.g.: gender, ethnicity) you provided at the beginning of the training. This is to help organisations monitor engagement and learning from the game. The organisation will only receive aggregate data, not individual level survey responses.

What will happen to the results of this research?

The results of the trial will contribute to training options for companies and to the development of further curricula and storylines for short games. In addition, analyses of the data may be published in scientific papers. For the curricula, game, and publications, your identity will remain confidential. Your data will be fully anonymised

What do I do if I have any further questions?

Please email the Principal Investigator for TiLT, Dr Anne Holohan: aholohan@tcd.ie