gengenbach-forensic-workflows-2012

Research Design: Methodology
Initial contact with participants was established via email. 81 This email
solicitation provided a brief summary of my research topic, and was individualized from
a template to provide context relevant to the participant and her/his scholarly activities.
The initial email also included a copy of the statement of informed consent. 82 This
document outlined the expectations for participation, and the ways in which the data
generated through interviews would be used and protected. Participants were not
obligated to sign the statement of informed consent; language included in the email
solicitation stated that continuing participation indicated agreement with the statement
and its terms. As previously noted, of the seventeen total solicitation emails sent, there
were nine respondents who agreed to be interviewed. After the initial email and response,
follow-up emails established a suitable date and time for the interview to be conducted,
and provided answers to any questions that the participants had. Follow-up emails were
also used to provide participants with the interview protocol, containing the questions
that would be asked in the interview. 83
Because of the exploratory nature of the study, I chose to conduct semi-structured
interviews. Each interview lasted approximately 40-60 minutes. The first question, which
was fairly consistent across all interviews, was for the participant to identify her/his
position and the institution in which she/he is employed, in order to provide context for
the participant's role in the management of born-digital content. The order and precise
wording of subsequent questions varied, in order to accommodate the flow of discussion
and nature of participant answers. The majority of each interview comprised a detailed
81 The initial solicitation can be found in Appendix A: Participant Solicitation Email.
82 The statement of informed consent can be found in Appendix B: Statement of Informed Consent.
83 The interview protocol can be found in Appendix C: Interview Protocol.
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