Your group may choose to included the voices of others. Some possibilities:

• You interview people and keep their identities confidential.
• You tape record your conversations and include their voices in your story.
• You video record your conversations and include them on screen.

Lara Sloboda, the manager of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Tufts, thinks these options should be fine, and won’t require your project to go through a formal review process (which is the norm for research involving human subjects). The IRB allows exemptions for work completed for classes. However, given the possible sensitive nature of projects, Lara has recommended that she speak to groups on a case-by-case basis. If you’re interested in including the voices of others, whether Tufts-affiliated people or not, then you should plan to speak with Lara in person by around the time the Research Assignment is due (October 20). At a minimum, using this kind of data may require signed consent forms, though Lara will let you know for sure.

If you choose to use this kind of original data, it’s probably best that you limit your interviews to a few people. Freeden will work with you to make it effective and manageable. Depending on your needs, you may find it necessary to borrow equipment (e.g. digital audio recorders, video cameras) from Tisch Library.

Some interview tips.