Dear all,

I need your advice.

I'm planning to conduct interviews with professionals from various organisations. How do I obtain employer consent without making it too difficult for my interviewees.

Do I just ask the employee in the consent form to tick if his employer is happy with his participation? Do I need a separate consent form? If, so who would sign it? I don't want to make it too buerocratic...

Many thanks,
Ann

Bump - can anyone help Ann?

Bump

Hi Ann,
Are your interviews going to cause difficulties to employers in any way? I only ask because it seems like there's tension in your post. If the interviews are not going to cause difficulty I should go to the chief exec., principal or head of the organisation & just ask if it's OK - they can always put something in writing.
I hope that's not too simplistic an answer, I feel maybe I'm missing something in your question!
Mog :)

Hi AnnJolie,

depends on the type of the research you are doing. If you are collecting sensitive data you will need ethics approval.
Check with the ethics committee in your university or ask your supervisor. Some senior academics with lots of experience can guide you too.

Keep in mind that if you need approval, you can only apply when your methodology and questionnaire is finalised. They go through EVERY detail.