Informed Consent

Military SOs Stories Project

Because these interviews are being conducted for my Old Dominion University graduate thesis, the university requires me to obtain documentation from interviewees showing that you agree to participate in the research, and you willingly permit me to use information shared during the interviews in my work.

Please read through this Informed Consent Letter (it's really dry, sorry!) and use the quick form at the bottom of the page to indicate your agreement.

Thank you!

Informed Consent 1: Text

Dear Interview Participant:

I, Emma T. Coomey, am a Graduate Student in the MFA program at Old Dominion University. I am inviting you to take part in an in-person or Zoom (online video) interview about your experiences as a military significant other.

Although you may not gain personal benefit from taking part in this research study, your story may help other military significant others, as well as the upcoming generation of individuals embarking on the military life journey.

The interview process will consist of 1-3 separate interviews across a 3 to 6 month period. Each interview will take approximately 1 to 2 hours to complete. I will ask you about your experiences as a military significant other, including questions about your relationships, career, family life, duty stations, and personal well-being.

All interviews will be recorded. As soon as the interview has been transcribed, the audio and/or video files will be destroyed. To ensure your privacy and confidentiality, identifying information, including your name, will be removed from the transcripts and notes. This research data will then be stored on my Old Dominion password protected cloud storage and my password protected computer.

The data from your interviews may be used in a creative nonfiction essay or essays in my graduate program thesis project. All attempts will be made to preserve confidentiality throughout the research study and writing. This privacy extends to any other parties discussed in the interviews.

De-identified information collected during this study may be used for future writing projects without your additional informed consent.

I will make every effort to safeguard your data, but as with anything online, we cannot guarantee the security of data obtained via the Internet. Third-party applications used in this study may have Terms of Service and Privacy policies outside of the control of Old Dominion University.

I will keep confidential all research records that identify you to the extent allowed by law. However, there are some circumstances in which I may have to show your information to other people. For example, the law may require me to show your information to a court or tell authorities if you pose a danger to yourself or someone else.

If you have questions about the study, please feel free to ask. My email address is etcoomey@gmail.com. Associate Professor Molly McCully Brown is advising me throughout this research study. You may contact her via email at mmbrown@odu.edu.

Thank you in advance for considering volunteering for this important project. By entering your information below, you indicate your consent to participate in this project.

Sincerely,

Emma T. Coomey

MFA of Creative Nonfiction, Department of English, Old Dominion University