IRB+Proposal,+with+Informed+Consent+Form

Kim M. Cardillo //Executive Assistant// Office of the Vice President for Research Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute CII 7015, 110 8th Street Troy, NY 12180

Ms. Cardillo,

I am applying for consent from the Institutional Review Board for my dissertation on data modeling and visualization technologies. Please see my attached application which includes a project description, an IRB form, an informed consent form, and preliminary interview questions.

Sincerely,

Erik Bigras MS/PhD Student **PROJECT DESCRIPTION:**

__**Title:**__ **Modeling Practice: Data Models and Subject Formation**

=__**Summary**__ =

Scientific and political processes have seen a recent increase in the incorporation of data modeling and visualization technologies into their respective practices. However, the impact of the incorporation of such technologies on subject formation and technoscientific practice still is poorly understood. As such, this project aims to provide a better understanding of the political economy of technoscientific subject formation through  a study of data modeling and visualization technologies. By focusing on technoscientific practice in three distributed sites coalescing around particular technologies – Plone, CMAQ, and AutoCAD – the project will create new insights about the ways in which technology, practice, and identity interact. Through participant observation and ethnographic interviews, the project will study how scientific collaboration, education, and information circulation are impacted by the increased reliance on data modeling and visualization technologies. As such, the results of this study will be useful to educators in scientific and technological disciplines who wish to increase the role of technology in educational processes, communities utilizing technological interfaces in collaborative ways as well as designers of informational systems who wish to better understand the sociotechnical possibilities enacted by their designs.

__**RESPONSE TO IRB QUESTIONS**__

1. Title of Proposal: “Modeling Practice: Data Models and Subject Formation.”

2. Principal Investigator: Erik Bigras

3. Address: Sage 5705

4. Phone: N/A

5. N/A

6. Department: Science and Technology Studies

7. Objective: This ethnographic study attempts to better understand the ways in which the use of data modeling and visualization technologies impact scientific practices and subjects.

8. Methods: Participant observation will be conducted with users of the three data modeling and visualization technologies under study. In addition, approximately 60 in-depth interviews (approximately two hours in length) will be conducted for this study across users of all three technologies. A preliminary interview guide is included, please see below.

9. Effects on the subjects: There will be minimal physical effects on the subjects because they will be interviewed.

10. Measures to minimize risk: All interviews will be voluntary. Interviewees will be given the opportunity to be anonymous, to stop the interview at any point, or to retract the interview or parts of it before publication.

The tape of the interview will be stored on the computers of Erik Bigras and will not be shared with anyone except for the person hired to transcribe the interview. The transcriber has been instructed to consider all transcripts strictly confidential, and to destroy all copies of the interview once the transcription has been transmitted to Erik Bigras. Once a digital text file, the transcript will be password protected and stored on the computers of Erik Bigras. All hard copies of the transcript will be stored in the offices of Erik Bigras, which are locked when he is not present. Only Erik Bigras will have access to both electronic and hard copies of transcribed interviews. All copies of the interview (recorded and transcribed) will be destroyed at any time on the request of the interviewee.

This procedure is detailed in the attached informed consent form for interviews.

11. Likelihood of harm: Minimal.

12. Documentation of risks: None.

13. Benefits to participants: Participants in this research projects will not benefit monetarily from their participation but the project itself represents an opportunity for scientific collaboration.

14. Alternative Method not Using Human Subjects: None possible.

15. Qualifications of Researchers: Erik Bigras has a B.A.(Hons) in anthropology, and will successfully complete 57 credits towards an MS/PhD in STS by the end of Fall 2011. He also has extensive experience as an interviewer through his participation as a research assistant on multiple academic research projects.

16. Recruiting of subjects: Interview subjects will be contacted directly, informed of the purposes of the interview, and given the opportunity to refuse the interview.

17. Confidentiality: The participants will be given the opportunity to define the extent to which their names will be associated with any (or all) statement(s) during the interview, and will be given the right to retract any statement at any time prior to publication of research results. Any statements that participants designate as “off the record” will not be attributed to the participant, nor used in a way that would link their statement to said participant. As is codified in the Informed Consent Form, I will use any such comments only as background information, and will not quote them in either an attributed or unattributed fashion in any of my future work.

18. Specimen of Consent Form: Please see attached “Informed Consent Form.”

19. Preliminary Interview Guide is also attached below. __**INFORMED CONSENT FORM**__  **ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF DATA MODELING AND VISUALIZATION PRACTICES**

 **Erik Bigras, Department of Science and Technology Studies**  **Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, bigrae@rpi.edu**

 Contact information for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Review Board:  Chair, Institutional Review Board, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, CII 7015, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY 12180

 This interview with __________________________________ is being conducted as part of an anthropological study of the data modeling and visualization research community. The research will result in public talks, articles, and a book. The interview will be recorded on tape, with the following conditions:


 * 1)  Your participation in this interview is voluntary. You may terminate the interview at any time during our conversation. The interview will last approximately two hours.
 * 2)  You may ask that the tape be turned off at any time during this interview, and I will turn the tape off.
 * 3)  You may designate any comments you make on the tape as “off the record.” You may also designate comments as “off the record” retrospectively, either at a later point in the interview or in the process of approving the transcript. I promise to use such comments only as background information, and will not quote them in either an attributed or unattributed fashion in any of my future work.
 * 4)  I will transcribe the tape in part or in full. I will submit any such full or partial transcript to you for your approval. You will be free to edit, clarify, amend, or delete any part of the transcript before returning it to me, having made a copy of the transcript and any changes you make to it for your own files.
 * 5)  I will be free to quote from this approved transcript, and only this approved transcript, in my future work. The tape itself will not be made public in any fashion, and can also be destroyed if you so request. The transcript of the interview will not be made public unless you explicitly approve a request to do so.
 * 6)  The tape of the interview will be stored on the computers of Logan Williams, and will not be shared with anyone except for the person hired to transcribe the interview. The transcriber has been instructed to consider all transcripts strictly confidential, and to destroy all copies of the interview once the transcription has been transmitted to Erik Bigras. Once as a digital text file, the transcript will still be stored on the computers of Erik Bigras. All hard copies of the transcript will be stored in the offices of Erik Bigras, which are locked when she is not present. Only Erik Bigras will have access to both electronic and hard copies of transcribed interviews. All copies of the interview (recorded and transcribed) will be destroyed at any time on the request of the interviewee.
 * 7)  You have the right to remain anonymous, and can do so by initializing here: _______. If you do not choose to remain anonymous, in quoting from the approved transcript in my future work, I may attribute remarks directly to you, but will not necessarily do so.
 * 8) <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> If you have any additional conditions that you would like to add, write them here and they will be considered part of this agreement:

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> Additional Conditions:

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> Finally, if for any reason you change your mind about this interview or any of these conditions in the future, I promise to respect any request that you make to me. I will not be able to retract anything that is already in print or in press based on the approved transcript, but I will honor any future request to change any of the terms of this agreement, up to and including complete retraction of the interview and permission to quote from it.


 * <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> INTERVIEWER:_______________________________ || <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> INTERVIEWEE:______________________________  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> DATE:_______________________________________ || <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> ADDRESS:__________________________________  ||
 * || <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> ___________________________________________ ||
 * || <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> PHONE:____________________________________ ||
 * || <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> EMAIL:_____________________________________ ||

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">__**PRELIMINARY INTERVIEW GUIDE**__

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">The questions are meant to be starting points for participants to speak of their experience within the community as it relates to rules and roles, and are examples of the kinds of questions that will be asked. As such, these questions could lead to further questions that are relevant to the research objective, such as: ‘Could you elaborate on point X?’, ‘Could you clarify what you mean by item Y?’ As these questions cannot be determined in advance, I will remind participants that they are free to refuse to answer any question.

__**Plone**__
 * What new skills were you required to learn in order to effectively work with Plone?
 * Have you found that Plone has been particularly good at certain tasks? Which ones?
 * Is there anything that you are unable to do with Plone? How are you negotiating this situation?
 * In what ways has your understanding of collaborative work changed since you've begun using Plone?
 * How has your involvement with Plone been received by your collegues?
 * Has Plone's incorporation into your project resulted in any alliances and/or resistances? From which quarters?
 * What was your original vision of your project when you began using Plone? In what ways has this been transformed?
 * Since you've begun using Plone, how have your own practices been transformed?
 * Why have you chosen to work with Plone as opposed to another platform? What does Plone permit you to do that other platforms cannot?
 * What types of data or material have you found to be easily displayed within Plone? What types resist appropriation?
 * What kinds of questions have you found Plone to be helpful in answering?

__**CMAQ**__
 * Why have you chosen to work with CMAQ as opposed to another platform? What does CMAQ permit you to do that other platforms cannot?
 * Since you've begun using CMAQ, how have your own practices been transformed?
 * What was your original vision of your project when you began using CMAQ? In what ways has this been transformed?
 * Has CMAQ's incorporation into your project resulted in any alliances and/or resistances? From which quarters?
 * How has your involvement with CMAQ been received by your collegues?
 * In what ways has your understanding of collaborative work changed since you've begun using CMAQ?
 * Have you found that CMAQ has been particularly good at certain tasks? Which ones?
 * What new skills were you required to learn in order to effectively work with CMAQ?
 * What types of data or material have you found to be easily analyzed by CMAQ? What types resist appropriation?
 * What kinds of questions have you found to be particularly well suited to a project using CMAQ?

__**AutoCAD**__
 * Why have you chosen to work with AutoCAD as opposed to another platform? What does AutoCAD permit you to do that other platforms cannot?
 * Since you've begun using AutoCAD, how have your own practices been transformed?
 * What was your original vision of your project when you began using AutoCAD? In what ways has this been transformed?
 * Has AutoCAD's incorporation into your project resulted in any alliances and/or resistances? From which quarters?
 * How has your involvement with AutoCAD been received by your collegues?
 * In what ways has your understanding of collaborative work changed since you've begun using AutoCAD?
 * Have you found that AutoCAD has been particularly good at certain tasks? Which ones?
 * What new skills were you required to learn in order to effectively work with AutoCAD?
 * What types of data or material have you found to be easily modeled and visualize with AutoCAD? What types resist appropriation?
 * <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">What kinds of questions have you found to be particularly well suited to a project using AutoCAD?