Participant Information Sheet (General)

Research title: Aerambulation: Sensing the Invisible

Researcher: Alan Abdul-Mayid Conteh, part-time PhD student, Institute of Photography, Falmouth University

Email: ac252889@falmouth.ac.uk

Version: 2, October 2026

Invitation

I would like to invite you to take part in my research on the air in London. This sheet explains what the research is and what taking part would involve. Please read it and ask me anything before you decide. You can keep this copy.

What is the research about?

The research asks how we come to know the air we breathe in London. Air is measured by monitoring stations and reported through the UK's Daily Air Quality Index, which bands pollution as 'low', 'moderate', 'high' or 'very high'. It is also sensed by people, through smell, sight, sound and the body. These accounts do not always agree. I am interested in the gap between them.

I call my practice Aerambulation. I compare different ways of sensing the same air, in the same place and at the same time: instruments, my own body, photographs, sound, and what other people tell me. For each one I note the circumstances it was made in, such as the weather that day. Much of this I do on foot, along a route through London that passes air quality monitoring stations, carrying an air quality monitor and a weather meter. Walking is one way of doing it, not the only one. I am now inviting other people into the research, because my own senses and instruments only tell part of the story.

The research is for a PhD at Falmouth University. It is supervised by a team led by Dr Huw Lewis-Jones. It is self-funded.

Why have I been invited?

You have been invited because you live, work or spend time in London, or because of what you know about its air. You do not need any special knowledge. You must be aged 18 or over.

Do I have to take part?

No. Taking part is your choice. If you say no, nothing follows from it. If you say yes, you can still change your mind (see 'What if I change my mind?' below).

What does taking part involve?

There are four ways to take part. You can agree to one and not the others.

You can skip any question. You can stop at any point, including part-way through a walk.

If you take part in an interview, a walk or noticing from one place, I will ask you to sign a consent form first. For noticing from one place, one form covers all the occasions, and you can stop before any of them. A short conversation is different, because it has already happened by the time I ask. I will tell you who I am and ask you out loud whether I may use what you said. You do not sign anything and I do not take your name. If you say yes, I note the date, the place and that you agreed, and I give you a printed slip with my contact details, the date and place we spoke, and a link to this sheet. If you say no, I keep nothing of what you said and nothing that describes you, and I delete any sound recording that caught your voice. I do keep one bare line in my log: the date, the place, how the conversation started and that you declined.

What will be recorded?

• Sound. I will make an audio recording of an interview, a walk or a session of noticing from one place, if you agree. I use it to write an accurate transcript. A short conversation is usually not recorded, and I write notes afterwards. Sometimes I would like a recording so that my transcript is accurate. I will ask you first. Occasionally my recorder is already running when we start talking, because I record street sound as part of my work. If that happens I will tell you, and if you do not agree I delete the part with your voice on it.
• Location. On a walk, my air quality monitor logs where we are throughout. This creates a map of the route we took. For noticing from one place, I record the place only as a street or neighbourhood, never a house or flat number.
• Air and weather readings. These describe the place, not you.

My notes on a short conversation cover more than what you said. I also note the words I used, which of us spoke first, whether you brought up the air before I did, and whether you mentioned my equipment. I do this because the way a question is asked shapes the answer, and I need to be able to show that.

I will not photograph or film you. If I take photographs or video during a walk, I will keep you out of the frame.

A route can reveal where someone lives or works. If you would like, we can start and end the walk away from your home or workplace, or I can remove part of the route from my records.

Are there any risks?

All ways of taking part. The risks of talking with me are small. Talking about air pollution can raise worries about health. You do not have to share anything about your health, and I will not ask you to. If you mention how the air feels in your body, I note it as part of what you said. You can ask me to leave it out.

Walks. A walk takes place on ordinary London streets, some of them busy. You will breathe the same air you would on any city walk, including near main roads. If you have asthma, a heart or lung condition, or are pregnant, please think about whether a walk is right for you. You do not need to tell me why if you decide against it. We can choose a quieter route, shorten the walk or stop at any time. Please wear comfortable shoes and bring anything you normally carry, such as an inhaler.

Are there any benefits?

There is no payment and no direct benefit to you. Your contribution will help show how London's air is experienced by the people who breathe it.

Will what I say be kept confidential?

Yes. Here is what that means in practice.

• Your name. I replace it with a made-up name in transcripts, notes and anything I publish. If you are speaking in a professional role and would prefer to be named, you can say so on the consent form.
• Your words. I may quote you. My work sets what people say beside the nearest air quality monitoring station, so the name of that station or road may appear with your words. I remove anything narrower that could identify you, such as a house number or an employer. If you would rather not be quoted, tell me or say so on the consent form. I will then describe what you said in my own words and count your answers, without using your exact words.
• Recordings. Only I and my supervisors can access them. I will not publish or play any recording of your voice.
• Storage. Files are kept on Falmouth University's OneDrive, on my password-protected computer and on an encrypted hard drive.
• How long. Audio recordings are deleted once I have checked the transcript against them. Transcripts, notes and routes with names removed are kept for 10 years after the PhD is awarded and then destroyed. Signed consent forms are stored separately from everything else, kept for the same 10 years and destroyed at the same time. The finished thesis is different: it is kept permanently in the University's research repository, so any quotation I use under a made-up name will stay publicly available.

There is one limit. If you tell me something that suggests you or someone else is at risk of serious harm, I may need to tell my supervisor. I would talk to you first where I can.

Your information is handled under UK data protection law. Falmouth University is the data controller, which means it is responsible for how your information is used. You have rights over your information, which the University explains at www.falmouth.ac.uk/data-privacy. If you have a question or concern about how your information is handled, you can contact the University using the details under 'Who can I contact?'. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at www.ico.org.uk.

What if I change my mind?

You can stop an interview, walk or conversation at any moment without giving a reason.

Afterwards, you can withdraw at any time. If you email me within four weeks of taking part, or of the last time we met if we met more than once, I will delete your recording, transcript and route, and use none of it. After four weeks your words may already be part of my analysis under a made-up name, and I may not be able to take them out. I will still delete the recording and transcript, and use nothing further. If we only had a short conversation, I did not take your name, so tell me the date and place we spoke. Both are written on the printed slip I gave you.

What happens to the results?

The results will form part of my PhD thesis, which is made up of a creative work and a written text. They may also appear in exhibitions, academic journals and books, conference papers, talks and the University's online repository.

Before I use a quotation from anything you said, you can ask to see it and tell me if it is wrong or you are uncomfortable with it. You can also ask for a summary of the findings when the research is finished.

Who can I contact?

This research has been reviewed and approved by Falmouth University's Research Integrity and Ethics Committee.

Thank you for reading this sheet.