Talk:Learning patterns/Conducting a semi-structured interview

This is a very nice learning pattern—thank you.

A query: "Note: If you are enrolled in any kind of institution and intend to publish any of your findings, you will need to apply for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval as soon as possible. You cannot approach participants until you have approval. It's also highly recommended that you seek support and feedback from the Wikimedia Research Committee (RCom)." Does this really apply to most instances of interviewing? I'd imagined that unless you're conducting formal research for an academic institution, merely interviewing someone was not bound by such a mandate. It's expressed in very black-and-white terms. Tony (talk) 04:43, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Hi Tony! Great question. This applies only if "you are enrolled in any kind of institution and intend to publish any of your findings." If you are doing an interview and will not share the findings outside of, say, a classroom setting, then you don't need IRB approval. If you're a student at a college or university, it's best to check with them first. Sometimes, students skip the IRB process and decide later that they want to use the data/findings/quotes for publications. This is highly problematic. Granted, publishing informally--such as on a blog or wiki--may be an exception. For me, I'd rather be "safe than sorry." Hope that makes sense!--Mssemantics (talk) 22:45, 15 October 2014 (UTC)