Interview Participants Needed for Universal Credit Research

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Hello everyone,

My name is Ellena, I'm a PhD researcher at the University of Southampton, and I'm researching how the digitisation of benefits in the UK with respect to Universal Credit has affected people.

As a lot of you will know, before UC many aspects of the benefits system were not digitised, as people still used paper job journals, paper or telephone benefit applications and so on. With UC, all claims are now "digital by default", meaning new claims are made and administered online, except in extreme circumstances where a telephone application can be made. Job searches online are now a default expectation from DWP, as is checking and receiving messages with online journals. With such expectations come obvious challenges and issues for claimants, such as lack of access to Internet-enabled devices, costs of keeping Internet connected, and lack of digital skills. However, there may also be aspects of the digitisation which have worked well for people, such as the online aspect making claims more convenient.

I'm looking for people who are either currently or have in the past claimed Universal Credit who would be willing to participate in an interview to talk about their experiences of the digital aspect of UC in particular. I'd be incredibly grateful to anyone who would be willing to take part, as COVID19 has made recruiting people for interviews (and doing the interviews) extremely difficult.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them. : )

Kind regards,

Ellena



Below are some FAQs that might be helpful:

What is this research for?
This research is part of my PhD qualification at the University of Southampton

What will happen if I take part?
We'll have an interview about your experiences of claiming Universal Credit. This would be more more of a conversation than a traditional interview as I am interested in your personal experiences rather than specific questions. I can conduct the interviews either via video/audio call (Skype, Zoom, etc), telephone, instant messenger, text or email. Please note that audio or video interviews will be recorded. Audio or video interviews would be preferred, as conversations tend to flow much better with these, but as I'm quite limited with how and who I can interview, any form would be appreciated. As a thank you and reimbursement for your time, you will be given a £10 Amazon voucher (I'm aware this isn't the most appropriate voucher given the context of the research, but unfortunately I'm not able to offer anything that needs to be sent via post at the moment). In order for you to receive this I'd need an email or mobile number (text) to send it to.

Before taking part there are a few documents I would send you, which include a consent form and a participant information sheet. It's important that you read these carefully so that you understand fully what the research is about and how your data is being handled. Please PM me or email me on the address listed below if you'd like a copy of these in advance. You would need to sign the consent form before the interview can take place, and you would need to sign to say you've received your voucher. Digital signatures are fine, or your consent can be audio recorded along with an audio/video interview.

Can I be identified from this research? What happens to my data?
No, you'll be completely anonymous, and will be given a pseudonym (or you can choose your own) to be referred to in the research write up. Any data about you is accessible only by myself, and you are able to withdraw from the research (without giving a reason) and have all of your information removed up to 3 weeks after taking part in the interview.

Why are you recruiting and interviewing online when you're researching digital issues?
I started this research pre-COVID19 where I had planned to interview people in person and find people to interview by visiting charities, food banks, and other organisations. Unfortunately due to the ongoing quarantine and safety measures that's no longer possible. Finding participants is now very difficult as many of these charities have closed due to lockdown, and also it's virtually impossible for me to find people who struggle digitally while lockdown is in place. I'm hoping some participants I find online may be able to help me by recommending friends they may know who have no digital access or skills. I also would like to have offered another form of reimbursement such as in store vouchers for high street shops or food vouchers, but at the moment I'm only able to offer vouchers which can be delivered via email, hence using Amazon vouchers.

What do you do with my interview data? Can I have a copy of it?
Yes! The interview will be transcribed into text, and any themes which arise will be analysed and used to write the dissertation. I can send you either a copy of the original recording and/or the transcribed text file. Interview data will be stored on a password protected computer owned by me, and accessible only by me.

Why did you choose this research?
I claimed Universal Credit myself in 2017, and I had a terrible experience with it. Due to "system error", my birth date was recorded incorrectly, and due to the digitisation of the benefits system I was not able to simply go to my local Jobcentre or call a helpline to change this. It took over 3 months for such a simple change to be made, meaning my first payment took over 3 months to arrive. I was fortunate that I was living with a family member at the time, otherwise I can't say what would have happened to me. I've claimed JSA twice before claiming UC, and the two experiences could not have been more different. My hope is that my research might have a positive effect on UC policy and help to change things for the better with respect to the digital side of UC.

Can I contact you to ask further questions?
Yes absolutely, please either PM me here or email me at ep1g17@soton.ac.uk

I'm hoping I might be able to contribute to this forum by posting any interesting or useful information I find while researching, such as academic journals or books. I'm reading a lot of government documents also, so of course can share these if they're helpful, too. It's been a while since I claimed UC myself, but I'll try to help how I can with any other issues people have.

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