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Public History & Memory Back to Supporting Web Documents Page Proposal for the Use of Human Participants in Research I. Title
of Study: The Worcester WWII Homefront Project II.
Please give a brief description of the nature of the project. A. Acting
as public historians, the students listed above will immerse themselves
in researching Worcester's domestic history during the Second World War
in order to produce a website on the subject. The centerpiece of this
page will be the oral histories of elderly Worcesterites. Each student
will be required to conduct, transcribe and analyze 3-5 hours of oral
history interviews (from at least 3 interviewees). Primary sources, such
as newspapers, photographs, city records and personal correspondence collections,
will serve to supplement the interviews. Students will then determine
how to arrange this information in a useful and intriguing way on a web
site they will build together and share with the larger Worcester community
- giving back to the city the fruits of their efforts. Complete transcripts
of the interviews will be available on the website, and the tapes of the
interviews will be held by Professor Yuhl, who hopes to arrange for them
to be deposited with the Holy Cross Archives for use by future students
and community members. B. Give
a detailed description of the procedure to be used including the location
where they study will be conducted and how much time will be required
from each subject. Before
commencing interviews, the students will participate in a seminar led
by Professor Yuhl in which we will discuss techniques and ethics of doing
oral history. Students will also familiarize themselves with the "Oral
History Methods and Guides" made available by the History-Net/Oral
History Group (http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~oralhist/methods.html.
Students will work with each other and their instructor to compile a list
of oral history questions that will serve as a starting point for their
interviews. Sample topics include: nativity, family structure, education,
occupation, religion/faith community, city institutions, household economy,
public events, leisure activities, views of government, the presence of
the war in daily lives, etc. Given the fluid nature of oral histories,
students will be encouraged to allow their subjects to talk about their
life stories in whatever form the subject chooses. You cannot "script"
oral history. A. How
many participants will be used? How will they be recruited? B. Will
participants be paid any money? If so, how much? C. In
your judgment, are there any risks involved to the participants in your
projects? III.
What provisions are being made to obtain the informed consent of participants? A. We
will ask all participants to sign an informed consent form allowing us
to record, transcribe and place on the web all interviews and related
data the interviewees provide for this project. Students will also excise
parts of the interviews to use as evidence in appropriate sections of
the website. We will also ask participants to allow us to deposit the
taped interviews with the Worcester Historical Museum for future scholarly
use. B. What
measures are you taking to ensure the confidentiality of the data you
collect? C. What
measures are you taking to debrief your participants at the conclusion
of the experiment? V. What
are the estimated starting and completion dates of the project? I certify
that I am aware of the ethical guidelines set forth by the Department
of Health and Human Services and reaffirm my commitment to those principles
and regulations. |