Information sheet for the participants
Title of the study: Beekeepers’ attitudes, management decisions, production efficiency and determinants
Dear participant,
You are invited to participate in a study. Before you decide to participate in this study, take sufficient time to read this information sheet carefully and discuss this with the investigator or other people. Please take time to ask questions if there are any uncertainties or if you require additional information. This process is called “informed consent”. Once you have decided to participate in the study, you will be asked to sign the consent form at the end of this information sheet.
1 DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The Department of Agricultural Economics of Ghent University (Belgium) conducts an investigation to study the socio-economics of beekeeping in the EU. This study is part of the project B-GOOD that aims to pave the way towards healthy and sustainable beekeeping in the EU.
We kindly ask you if you would like to take the time to complete a questionnaire for us. This will take approximately 25 minutes of your time.
You will receive the informed consent form, information sheet, and questionnaire electronically. In return, researchers will receive a signed copy of the informed consent form electronically.
This study was evaluated by the Ethics Committee of University Hospital Ghent and University Ghent. The study is conducted in accordance with the guidelines of good clinical practice (ICH/GCP) and the Helsinki Declaration, written to protect those involved in clinical studies.
This collection of data is carried out under the supervision of Prof. Wim Verbeke, Ghent University, Belgium). If you have questions related to the study, please direct them to Prof. Wim Verbeke, wim.verbeke@ugent.be.
2 CONSENT AND REFUSAL
Your participation in this study is entirely free and voluntary. You can refuse to complete the questionnaires and you are free to withdraw from this study at any time, without having to justify your decision.
3 ADVANTAGES
Participation in this study will probably not bring you any benefits. However, the insights and results obtained can lead to the development of improved practices, guidelines, policies and business models that foster healthy and sustainable beekeeping in the EU.
4 COSTS
Your participation in this study does not entail any additional costs for you, but it also offers no financial benefits.
5 CONFIDENTIALITY
In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (or GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of personal data (GDPR of April 27, 2016), your privacy will be respected.
If you consent to participate in this study, we will process your data in accordance with the purpose of the study. This processing of data is provided by law on the basis of Article 6, § 1, (b), (e) or (f) and Article 9, § 2 (j) of the General Data Protection Regulation.
All information collected during this study will be anonymized. In this study, data are collected via a survey.
Only anonymized data will be used for analysis and in any type of documentation, reports or publications concerning this study. Both personal data and data concerning your views and opinions relating to beekeeping in the EU will be processed and stored for at least 20 years. The controller of the data is Ghent University as the host institution of the principal investigator of the study.
In the context of data protection, your anonymized data may become publicly available after the study, therefore any interested parties can have access to, process, and/or further analyse your anonymized data.
If you wish, the Data Protection Officer of Ghent University (Dr. Hanne Elsen) can provide you with more information about the protection of your personal data. In this case, please contact privacy@ugent.be.
Representatives of the promoter, auditors, the Ethics Committee and the competent authorities, all bound by professional secrecy, can have direct access to your data under the responsibility of the investigator (or one of his/her collaborators) in order to check the study procedures and/or the data, without violating its confidentiality. This is only possible within the limits of the relevant laws. By signing this consent form and having received the preliminary explanations, you consent to this access.
You have the right to submit a complaint about how your data is processed to the Data Protection Authority:
Data Protection Authority (DPA)
Rue de la Presse 35 – 1000 Brussels
Tel: +32 2 274 48 00
E-mail: contact@apd-gba.be
Website: www.dataprotectionauthority.be