My Human Subjects Review was officially approved this week…with one change. The review board decided that they could not let it move forward with the inclusion of my proposal to give garden produce as a gift in exchange for interviewee’s time.
In hindsight, I wasn’t surprised that they asked me to make this change. Their reasoning was that it would be unsafe to give produce because of food-borne illness. I was told that if I wanted to include an incentive for interviewee participation, I could include a “small tangible item” such as a gift card, and if I wanted to offer food, it would need to come from a commercial source.
This was in no way a critical hit for my project, but it is certainly a good learning opportunity for the next individual who tries to use principles of a gift-giving economy.
On this same topic… I would like to make a note on the generosity of gardeners, something I was aware of before starting these interviews, but not something I was expecting to experience, at the magnitude that I’ve been experiencing it, throughout my time seeking out interviews. At each interview I have had, I have left with offers of floral bouquets, celery crowns, and cuke pickling supplies. Strangers have offered support as draft editors, labor to hang flyers, and references to an even wider range of individuals who have been just as lovely and kindhearted as the last…
I guess what I’m trying to say here, in the same vein as the HSR hiccup, is that rules are meant to be broken it’s unfortunate that my first draft wasn’t accepted in its original form.
Originally, my goal for next week (week four) was to have my methodology section draft complete. As of right now, that is unlikely to happen, so I am pushing to have it done by Week 6.