2 Interviews and Human Subjects Research
There are many different kinds of interviews that you might consider including in a dissertation project.
- A structured interview
- A semi-structured interview
- An unstructured or in-depth interview
Additionally, interviews can occur in different arrangements for the participants.
- Face-to-face
- Phone or video call
- In a group setting
Plan EARLY for the inclusion of interviews in a dissertation project, because not only do they require a significant amount of preparation, but any interviews conducted as part of a research or writing project as part of University of Iowa activities must be cleared with the Institutional Review Board/Human Subjects Office, or IRB. This process, depending on the type of project, can take as little as a week or as long at 6-8 weeks to complete.
Most importantly, IRB review and approval or exemption must be obtained BEFORE the any interviews take place.
If your plan is to do an unstructured or semi-structured interview, such as an oral history, then it’s recommended that you fill out a Human Subjects Research Determination form. This will initiate a process where the IRB will determine whether or not the project requires a full IRB application or whether it can be exempted from that process. This application asks for:
- Title of the project
- A brief description of the study purpose, the research question to be answered, or the aims of the study using lay terminology
- A description of the procedures that will be conducted for the study (the more specific, the better)
- The option to attach any consent forms, interview questions, or other tools being used in the study.
If your plan is to do a structured interview or set of interviews that will gather data to be analyzed, then you should file a New Project and going through the full IRB application process.
