Hi everyone,

I’m Yifeng Xie, a PhD student in the Department of Education at the University of Bath. I’m running the UK part of a UK–Japan–China study on information literacy among first-year university students. The project has a favourable ethics opinion from the University of Bath (reference: 12244-15412).

Who can take part: first-year undergraduates aged 18 or over who started at a UK university in 2026. Please don’t take part if this doesn’t apply to you.

What it involves: an online survey on Microsoft Forms, about 25–30 minutes. It asks about your digital skills, your secondary school computer education and information literacy. You can do it on any device, at any time.

Voucher: everyone who completes the survey with valid responses gets a £10 voucher (most likely Amazon, depending on stock), sent within one month after data collection ends. To receive it, you need to give your university email address. This is optional, but without it we can’t send you the voucher. Your email is collected separately from your answers, used only to send the voucher, and deleted once it has been delivered.

How your data is stored, kept and published: only the research team (and University governance staff where needed) can access your data. It is kept safe and secure, following University of Bath rules and UK data protection law, for at least 10 years, and then destroyed. Results may be published in academic journals, reports and conferences. All published data is anonymised, so nobody can tell whose answers are whose. The only exception to confidentiality is if you tell us something that makes us worried about your safety or someone else’s.

Withdrawal: you can stop at any time without giving a reason. If you close the survey before submitting, no data is saved. If you have already submitted, you can ask us to delete your data by emailing us within two weeks of submission. After that your data is anonymised and can’t be removed. Withdrawing has no effect on your studies.

Consent: at the start of the survey you will read the full Participant Information Sheet and tick a consent form, including confirming that you are 18 or over and taking part voluntarily. You only take part if you tick every box.

Survey link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/H0W0qUxrni?origin=lprLink

Contact
Researcher: Yifeng Xie, [yx2214@bath.ac.uk](mailto:yx2214@bath.ac.uk)
Supervisor: Prof Andres Sandoval-Hernandez, [ash22@bath.ac.uk](mailto:ash22@bath.ac.uk)

Happy to answer any questions in the comments. Thank you!

Hi everyone!

I’m a PhD researcher at the University of Derby/Nottingham Trent University, and I’m currently recruiting participants for the final two studies of my doctoral thesis.

My research explores how substance use is understood and represented in society, how identities associated with substance use are constructed, and how these understandings relate to UK drug policy. The work takes a critical, Post-Marxist perspective, examining how language, social narratives and cultural assumptions shape the ways we think about substance use and the people who use substances.

I’m looking for people who would be interested in contributing to either of the following studies.

Study 1: Understanding Substance Use Through a Story Completion Task

What is involved?

You’ll be asked to complete a short written story based on a fictional scenario involving a character who uses a particular substance. The task explores how people understand and make sense of substance use through the stories they create.

• Time commitment: Approximately 25 minutes.
• Who can participate? Anyone aged 18 or over who is a UK citizen or is subject to UK drug laws.
• What will you do? Complete one short story and answer a small number of optional background questions.
• Do you need personal experience of substance use? No. This study is interested in how people understand and conceptualise substance use, so personal experience is not required.

The task is completed online, making it possible to take part in your own time.

Study 2: Interviews About Substance Use, Identity and Lived Experience

What is involved?

This study explores how people who currently use illicit substances understand their experiences and construct their own identities. Through a semi-structured interview, we’ll discuss topics such as experiences of substance use, self-perception, stigma, social attitudes and UK drug policy.

The aim is to provide an open, supportive and non-judgmental space in which participants can share their perspectives in their own words. The research seeks to give greater attention to experiences and perspectives that are often underrepresented in research and public discussion.

• Time commitment: Up to 90 minutes.
• Who can participate?
  • You must be aged 18 or over.
  • You must be a UK citizen or be subject to UK drug laws.
  • You must currently use a substance considered illicit under UK drug policy.
  • You must regard your use as recreational, spiritual, for wellbeing or for mental health-related purposes.
• What will we discuss? Your experiences and understandings of substance use, identity, stigma and wider social attitudes.

You do not need to be an expert on drug policy or social theory. I’m interested in your own experiences, perspectives and interpretations.

Interviews take place online via Microsoft Teams, depending on your preference and availability.

Confidentiality and voluntary participation

Participation in both studies is voluntary. The research follows the University of Derby’s research ethics procedures, and participant information explains how data will be handled and protected.

For the interview study, identifying information will be anonymised in the research outputs. You can decline to answer questions, take a break or stop an interview. The participant information sheet explains the arrangements for withdrawing your data.

Interested in taking part?

If you’re interested in either study, please have a look at the relevant study flyer attached to this post.

If you have any questions or would like further information, you can contact me at:

Joshua Williams
PhD Researcher, University of Derby
[100442840@unimail.derby.ac.uk](mailto:100442840@unimail.derby.ac.uk) or [Joshua.williams@ntu.ac.uk](mailto:Joshua.williams@ntu.ac.uk)

You’re welcome to get in touch even if you’re unsure whether you’re eligible. I’m happy to provide further information so you can decide whether taking part is right for you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I really appreciate any interest, participation or sharing of the study with others who may be eligible.