If you have been invited to talk to our researchers the information below will tell you more about what taking part in the project would involve.

This research project hopes to speak with parents, relatives friends and staff who knew a student who took his/her own life while they were a student at university. We believe that this information is extremely valuable as we feel that important lessons can be learnt by listening to the voices of people were involved. We wish to gain an in-depth understanding of your views and hope that it will be possible for you to help in this way.

If you agree to participate in the research, one of our researchers will meet with you at a location and a time that is convenient to you.

If you agree, the discussion will be tape-recorded and then transcribed into written form.  However, if you prefer that the interview not be recorded, we will take notes during our meeting. Unless you wish otherwise, we will send you a copy of the transcript and we hope that you will read this and make any comments or corrections and send it back to us.

We appreciate that the decision to talk to us may be difficult, however we assure you that we will protect your privacy and all the information you give us, and that provided by others, will be treated with the utmost respect.

To protect the information you give us we will:-

·use the information we collect only in this study.

· destroy the tapes of our discussion and keep the transcripts in a secure locked cabinet at the University (we are required to do this for seven years. They will then be shredded and destroyed).

· never mention your name and will disguise features that might make it possible to identify individuals (such as the name of the HEI).

We hope that you will be willing to help us in our research. The study aims to prevent people from taking their own lives wherever possible and to find out how better to support students who are vulnerable. If you have any questions or wish to know more about the project please contact us. All members of the research team have a great deal of experience of talking to those who have lost a relative in this way and would be happy to discuss any concerns you have either by email or phone.