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Re: Human Subjects



On Wed, 10 Apr 2002, Marcus Robyns wrote:

> release form to include language that specifies the interviewee's consent
> to submit as a human subject in research.  Moreover, they want the form
> re-titled, "Consent to Act as a Human Subject."
>
> Has anyone else out there had to contend with such a demand?  I do not

Yes... A project I'm working on "for kicks" with someone outside of my
department in my spare time.  The Human Subjects folks didn't even accept
the University's own oral history center consent forms. I had to rewrite
the thing 5 times and it's now four pages and the subject has to sign or
initial it in ca. 9 places.  I was not allowed to use the phrase "I
understand my name may appear in finding aids and other guides to the
collection" and had to use "catalog."

> believe that oral history interviewees fit the definition of human subjects
> in research, a definition that invokes images of needles and psycho

That's the problem. Your university's lawyers are worried about losing the
funding they get for actual research on human subjects.  Abuse of subjects
and failin to inform them fully of possible ill-effects of research are
very real concerns. They don't see the difference between talking openly
about working as a lumberjack or copper miner ( or tubist) or being part
of an experimental drug trial--it's a problem to be dealt with as though
all hazards were the same.

It was very difficult to get across the point that there's no reason to
perform anonymous oral history!  "Of course their names would be used!
What would be the point otherwise?"

There was a tiny bit of funding attached to putting up with this,
otherwise it would have not been worth the hassle.  "But our oral history
center doesn't do this...." didn't work as an argument.  At least it pays
for some outgoing postage.

Fight the good fight.  Look for consent forms from other oral history
projects at universities for examples.  Emphasize that there are no
needles involved!



Carole Nowicke
cnowicke@indiana.edu

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