Informed Consent Form

Title of the Study: Research Data Management in the Social Sciences

Researcher Name(s): Celia Emmelhainz, Social Science Data Librarian, Colby College [contact info
redacted]
The purpose of this research is to assess current management of research data in the social sciences at Colby
College. Participants will be asked to discuss their research habits and needs in an informal interview. Informed
consent is required by Colby College for any person participating in a College-sponsored research study. This
study was approved by the College's Institutional Review Board for Research with Human Subjects in 12/2014.
I hereby give my consent to be the subject of this research study. I acknowledge that the researcher has provided
me with:
A. An explanation of the studys general purpose and procedure.
B. Answers to any questions I have asked about the study procedure.
I understand that:
A. My participation in this study will take approximately 30 to 60 minutes.
B. No unusual risks are anticipated as a result of participating in this research.
C. The potential benefits of this study include the chance to reflect on my data habits, a better
understanding of research data practices, and input into the development of data support systems at
Colby and in other colleges.
D. I will not be compensated for participating in this study.
E. My participation is voluntary, and I may withdraw my consent and discontinue participation at any time.
There is no penalty for withdrawing consent.
F. All data will be kept confidential. Audio recording may optionally be used as a back up to handwritten
notes. All audio will be secured in password-protected folder and deleted immediately after
transcription.
_____ I consent to being audio-recorded for purposes of transcription only.
_____ I do not consent to being audio-recorded.
G. Interview data will be stored in a secure location and password-protected. Resulting presentations will
use quotes that do not identify an individual person.
H. Data may be archived for future re-use in a secured data archive. This means that personal
identifiers would be removed, while the transcript itself would be placed in embargo for future
researchers to re-use. Because full transcripts can identify people, this would be considered
restricted data and accessible only with IRB approval.
_____ I consent to having my interview archived in a restricted-use data archive.
_____ I do not understand, am not sure, or do not consent to being archived.
I. After the studys purpose and procedure have been fully explained to me, I may, for any reason, choose
to withhold use of any data provided by my participation.

Signature

Date