Guidance on managing communication from members of the public in relation to research

On occasion, communications from the public may prove challenging, potentially involving hostile or threatening messages, harassment, or targeted attacks based on a researcher's or subject's actual or perceived protected characteristics - a risk that can be heightened by the current political climate. This guidance has been put together to support researchers in navigating any difficult public encounters should they arise.

This guidance was originally developed by the Department of Psychology, University of York, and has been revised for sharing more widely with researchers in the University of York.

1. If members of the public contact you with complaints or concerns about your research

• Where possible, and if you choose to respond, the recommendation is to include your Head of Department HoD and the Chair of your Departmental/School Ethics Committee in any response. You do not need to respond and you might choose to take advice from your HoD and Departmental/School Ethics Committee before responding. If anything concerns ethical issues/ethics review, then it may be more appropriate for you to ask the Chair of your Ethics Committee to respond on your behalf.
• If anything in their complaint could be considered a freedom of information request, contact foi@york.ac.uk or dataprotection@york.ac.uk (if it concerns a more general data protection question) or ask the person who contacted you to do so. Note that active research that is to be published in the future can be an exemption to a FoI request. These requests are dealt with 20 days after the initial communication. There is information on what comprises Freedom of Information (FOI) but foi@york.ac.uk can provide advice.
• If the negative interaction is a consequence of research with an involvement/coproduction/working with the public, then it may be appropriate to contact Involvement@York (involvement@york.ac.uk) before deciding whether or not to respond.

2. If any communications with a member of the public in relation to your research are unpleasant

• Contact the Chair of your Department/School Ethics Committee, who will raise this with the AECC (academic ethics and compliance committee) and relevant policy officer from PIP (Policy, Integrity, and Performance team).
• If further action is needed, you can contact HR and they can ask for legal support, or you can go direct to the University’s legal services. Your Deputy Head of Faculty Operations can help direct you to the appropriate people to contact. In particular if there is anything in the correspondence that is threatening, related to hate, or racism, and/or the researcher's or subjects' actual or perceived protected characteristics, it is good to share the correspondence with the University legal team. 
• The University provides access to the Employee Assistance Programme provided by PAM. They can be contacted on 0800 882 4102 - which is a free, confidential helpline available to provide 24 hour support.
• If an individual approaches you on campus, call +44 (0)1904 323333 for campus security if it is urgent but not dangerous. Call 999 for emergencies.
• It is also good practice to let the UoY press team (pressoffice@york.ac.uk) know, in case the individual writes about it on social media or approaches other press.

3. If you fear that your research may lead to unpleasant interactions with some members of the public

• Do not feel pressure to engage with social media or the press, choose a communications strategy that is right for you. You do not need to engage with all members of the public that make contact, you may wish to respond only to responsible stakeholder groups. The Press Office can provide advice on managing your social media accounts (eg blocking or muting accounts).
• If you do want to engage with the press and social media, consider taking a media training course. The Press Office runs excellent training sessions focused on how to engage with the media and protect yourself from negative interactions online. 
• Think about what information is publicly available about you online. Before undertaking a research project in a potentially sensitive area, consider increasing the privacy settings on your social media so that members of the public cannot access personal information about you or infer where you live from your online presence. 
• The University offers training on cyber security which can help protect you from trolls and cyber criminals.