The Gay Divorcee         

Research methodology and confidentiality issues

I am promising all my subjects a certain amount of privacy and confidentiality, at the same time that I am quite open about the fact that I will be using your information in a book. Let me explain here just what I mean by "confidentiality" and just what you can expect if you participate in this study.

An important part of data collection for the project comes from the survey here on this web site. I ask that you provide your name and contact information so that I'm able to follow up on your submission if I need to and if you consent. No one but me sees this identifying information. Your name and contact information will not be shared with anyone.

If I use your material in the book, I will change your name, your partner's name, and your children's names. I will also try to suppress your identity by relocating you or by changing the nature of your employment, unless doing so interferes with my ability to discuss applicable law. I cannot guarantee that no one reading the book will recognize you, but these procedures make it less likely that any reader will be able to associate a particular breakup story with a real, identifiable person.

If you would like to participate in this study, but have reservations about completing the on-line survey, you may contact me to arrange a taped personal interview, either face-to-face or over the telephone. The first thing I do upon completion of an interview is to make a copy of the tape that does not include the subject's last name. The copy is identified by number and is sent out to be transcribed. I assign the numerical code and no one but me has access to the key. No one but me has access to the original tape that might include the subject's last name. I ask subjects to use only first names in referring to people who play a part in the breakup story. I try to avoid having the transcript made by someone in the subject's home town.

I am collecting information from you solely for a book about how lesbians and gay men break up. Who you are and what you tell me will be used for no other purpose.

This study protocol has been reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee at the Centers for Women at Wellesley College.

If you have further questions, please contact me by email at jacitron@comcast.net, or by snail mail at:

Women's Studies Department
Wellesley College
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481-8203