The purpose of this Study is to help researchers look at how our daily routines influence our health, work, and relationships.
You may have have recently received a letter from us, asking you to take part in a new study which involves wearing a smartwatch device to gather information on your sleep, physical activity levels and location.
What is this study about?
This study aims to enhance the data from the annual Understanding Society interviews by passively collecting physical activity and sleep data using the Garmin Vivoactive 5 device, and by passively collecting geolocation data using the Understanding Activity smartphone app.
What do you want me to do?
Firstly, we would like you to download the Understanding Activity app, which will allow us to track your location via your smartphone for the duration of the study (4 weeks). In order for us to do this effectively, we would like you to keep your smartphone with you at all times.
Secondly, we would like you to wear the Garmin Vivoactive 5 smartwatch for a minimum of 22 hours a day (excluding showering, bathing, and other activities during which wearing the smartwatch might not be feasible).
Thirdly, we would like you to answer a short (about 2-minute) daily questionnaire for 10 consecutive days at the beginning of the study. After the initial 10 days, you will stop receiving invitations to complete the daily questionnaire; however, we would still like you to continue wearing the Garmin Vivoactive 5 device and to continue enabling GPS data collection via the Understanding Activity app for the remaining 18 days of the study.
How long will it take?
The study takes 4 weeks (28 days).
What’s in it for me?
As a thank you, you will be able to keep the Garmin Vivoactive 5 smartwatch (RRP £229).
Do I really get to keep the smartwatch?
Yes, you will be able to keep the Garmin Vivoactive 5 smartwatch. After completion of the study, the smartwatch is yours, and you can decide what you want to do with it.
What happens to the smartwatch after the study?
After the completion of the study, the smartwatch becomes your property. You can decide what you want to do with it. You can reset it to factory settings and continue using it as you would normally use any smartwatch, or you can decide to do something else with it. After 28 days, there will be no more data collected by us from the smartwatch or the Understanding Activity app.
You can get the Understanding Activity app in the App Store if you are an iPhone user, or in the Play Store if you are an Android user.
iOS/iPhone users: Please do not close/swipe away Understanding Activity app during the study. Closing/swiping away the app will result in data collection being terminated!
All users: Please make sure the battery optimisation option is turned off or the Understanding Activity app is exempt. You can turn it back on after completing the study.
What if I cannot remember my login details/password for the Avicenna app and it logs me out?
If you forget your login details/password, please call the Participant Communications Team on 0800 252 853 or email contact@understandingsociety.ac.uk.
You can’t use your own smartwatch to participate in the study, as we would not be able to retrieve the data. To take part in the study, you need to use the Garmin device provided by Understanding Society. If you want to use both your own smartwatch and the device provided by Understanding Society at the same time, you are welcome to do so. Please remember that we strongly encourage all participants to wear the Garmin device provided by us on their non-dominant wrist.
When should I take the smartwatch off?
You can take the smartwatch off when you take a shower/bath or when you are doing other activities during which wearing a smartwatch might not be feasible. However, you should aim to wear the smartwatch for a minimum of 22 hours a day.
Does it matter what arm I wear the watch on?
Yes, we ask all participants to wear the watch on their non-dominant hand. To determine this, which hand do you primarily use for tasks such as writing, eating, or throwing? Put the watch on the hand that you don’t use for these activities.
How often do I need to charge the watch?
You will need to charge the watch approximately every 5–7 days. Please charge the watch when the battery level is 10% or less. The watch should be charged during the day so that we can record your sleep at night.
What happens if I forget to put the smartwatch back on again after taking it off?
If you forget to put the smartwatch back on after taking it off, please put it back on as soon as you remember.
What if I go abroad during the study?
That is fine. You can go abroad during the study, but in order to participate, you will need to have access to the internet and enable location access on your phone.
What happens if I’m away from my phone while wearing the smartwatch?
Ideally, we would like you to keep both the smartwatch and your phone with you at all times. If you are away from your phone and doing some form of exercise (including walking), you can turn on an ‘activity’ on your Garmin watch to collect GPS data via the smartwatch instead. However, you are not obliged to do that. You can simply continue wearing the watch even if you are away from your phone.
What will the daily questionnaire ask me about?
The 2-minute daily questionnaire will ask you about your mood, physical activity, sleep, and social interactions.
What happens if I forget to answer the daily questionnaire?
Ideally, we would like you to answer the daily questionnaire every day for the first 10 days; however, if you forget to answer the questionnaire one day, just answer it the next day.
Why are you tracking my location?
We would like to track your location for 4 weeks to understand your daily exposure to different environmental factors, such as exposure to green spaces, time spent indoors/outdoors, etc.
What should I do if I want to opt out of the study?
If you want to opt out of the study, please uninstall the Understanding Activity app on your smartphone and contact the Participant Communications Team on 0800 252 853 or email contact@understandingsociety.ac.uk to arrange a return of the smartwatch.
Does this study have ethical approval?
Yes. The University of Essex Ethics Committee has approved all data collection in this study.
The GDPR is the General Data Protection Regulation. It was approved by the European Parliament on 14th April 2016 and came into enforcement on 25th May 2018. The GDPR is enshrined in British law through the Data Protection Act 2018.
How does Understanding Society keep data safe?
We are already governed by the current Data Protection Act and all of our procedures have data protection at the centre. In addition to the Data Protection Act, the Institute for Social and Economic Research, which hosts Understanding Society, has ISO-27001 certification. This is the international standard that describes best practice for an Information Security Management System. This requires the study to have a wide set of rules and regulations about how we manage data.
As well as having our information security management procedures documented, we are also independently audited annually and have to undergo re-certification every three years to make sure that we are following the requirements of the standard.
What happens to my personal data?
Your personal details (name, address, telephone numbers, email addresses) are only used so that we can contact you during the year to send you information on how the survey is being used by researchers, and so that we can send an interviewer to you each year. These details are never made available to researchers or to any other companies who might use them for marketing purposes.
To preserve your anonymity, personal details (your name, date of birth, address, detailed geolocation data) are removed from the survey data and held securely in an encrypted database to which only a small number of people have access.
What happens if I withdraw from the Study?
You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide us with your personal data. You have the right at any time to withdraw from the Study. If you do this, you will no longer be contacted by us. Any survey responses you have given us in the past, and which have already been made available from the UK Data Service will remain, but no additional information about you will be deposited. Your contact details will no longer be used, but will be kept archived to ensure that we do not contact you again on the occasion that there is an additional sample added to the study, or we start a new study.
Is my information secure when I answer the survey online?
Yes, your survey answers are completely secure. You are issued with a unique, personal log-in for the survey and the information you enter in the interview is stored on secure servers
What if I have comments or concerns?
If you have any questions or comments for us, please contact the Participant Communications Team by emailing contact@understandingsociety.ac.uk or by calling Freephone 0800 252 853.
Completing the daily survey may have caused you to think about issues in your life. If you would like to talk to someone, these free helplines may be useful:
The Economic and Social Research Council is the primary funder of the study
The Study is led by a team at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex.
