Questions

Project participation

Q: What is the PEAR Project? 

A: PEAR stands for Physical Environment and Activity Relationships.   The aim of the project is to find out where young people go to be active, whether features of the environment affect young people’s choices and how. 

Q: Do I have to take part in the study?

A: No.  It is up to you if you want to take part in the study or not.

Q: If I take part in the PEAR Project, what will I be asked to do?

A: We will ask you to do three things:

1. We will give you two small activity monitors to wear around your waist for one week.
2. We will ask you to fill in three computerised questionnaire (one old and one new)
3. We will measure your height, weight and waist circumference.

Kit

Q: What do the accelerometer (the red box) and the GPS (the black box) actually do?

A: Have a look at the ‘Your kit’ page on this website to find out all you need to know about your monitors and to find out some amazing facts about how they work.

Q: How do I wear the belt?

A: Take a look at the ‘Your Kit’ section for all you need to know.

Q: What if my charger doesn’t work?

A: Please get in touch with us as soon as you can to let us know so that we can swap it for a working one immediately.  Either email us directly using the email address on your information sheet, or tell the teacher at your school who introduced the PEAR Project to you.

Q: I am taking part in the project at the moment and the light on my black monitor is flashing orange - is it broken?

A: No this is fine.  It means that the black GPS device is looking for satellites, probably because you are indoors and the signal is blocked by the roof.  Try moving close to a window and see if that makes it stop flashing!

Q: What happens if I lose or break one of the monitors during the study?

A: While we hope that no monitors are lost or broken during the study, we do understand that accidents can happen.  If a monitor is lost we will ask you to keep looking for it and to let your teacher or parents know so that they can help you look as well. If a monitor is broken please return it to us so that we can try and mend it. We expect you to take good care of both monitors lent to you during the project but we will not charge you for lost or damaged equipment.

Privacy and confidentiality

Q: What happens to the information I tell you?

A: Everything you tell us in the questionnaire or that we find from the activity monitors and saliva samples will be kept at Bristol University.   Your teachers, parents and friends will not see any of this information.

Q: Will you show anyone else my personal information?

A: NO! We keep all of your information confidential, and once you are in the study we give you a unique ID number so your name won’t be linked with any of your personal information later on.

Q: Will you be tracking me wherever I go using the GPS?

A: NO!  We don’t have the time, the technology or the inclination. We can’t look at where each of you go as individuals whilst you are wearing the GPS monitors.  We download the data after you’ve worn the belt and then we look at group trends.

Q: Can you see where I go in real time (live)?

A:  No, we can’t.  The monitors store that information and we look at it after we download them at the end of the week.

Q: Any other questions?

If you have any other questions about the study, please contact us