Useful Forms for Informed Consent, Interview Release, and Metadata Collection
Proper documentation is essential in oral history and qualitative research to ensure ethical practices, participant understanding, and long-term usability of materials. Below are key forms and their purposes, along with guidance on how to access or create them.
1. Informed Consent Forms
- Purpose: Ensure participants understand the scope, purpose, and implications of their involvement in the project.
- Key Elements to Include:
- Project title and purpose.
- Description of what participation involves.
- Information about privacy and confidentiality.
- Participants’ rights, including the right to withdraw at any time.
- Consent to record and archive interviews.
- Best Practices:
- Use plain language.
- Provide copies to participants for their records.
- Adapt forms for cultural or linguistic appropriateness when necessary.
- Resources:
2. Interview Release Forms
- Purpose: Secure permission to preserve, share, and use interview content for research, publication, and public access.
- Key Elements to Include:
- Acknowledgment of the participant’s ownership of their intellectual property.
- Transfer of rights to the repository or institution (if applicable).
- Any restrictions or conditions requested by the participant.
- Why This Matters: Ensures clarity about how the materials can be used and protects both the participant and the researcher.
- Resources: Sample Release Form
3. Metadata Collection Forms
- Purpose: Gather consistent information about each interview to improve organization, discoverability, and long-term usability in archives.
- Key Elements to Include:
- Interview details: date, location, and duration.
- Participant information: name, age, gender, and other relevant demographics (with consent).
- Technical details: recording device, file format, and settings.
- Project information: project title, interviewer(s), and institutional affiliation.
- Best Practices:
- Use a standardized metadata spreadsheet or template.
- Align with metadata standards like Dublin Core or PBCore for audiovisual materials.
- Resources:
- OHA and institutional guidelines for archival metadata.
- Metadata templates provided by digital repositories such as CONTENTdm or Preservica.
4. Accessing and Customizing Forms
- For USU Special Collections and Archives Projects:
Contact the Community and Oral History Archivist for templates and guidance tailored to Utah State University’s Fife Folklore Archives. They can provide examples of informed consent, release, and metadata forms suited for your project.
