You have been invited to take part in a research study for my doctoral dissertation. Whether you take part is up to you. The purpose of this research is to understand how political decision-making impacts military operations. You have experience as a Federal employee at important decision points in political-military relations. I requested an interview to ask you about the normal workday of employees at such decision points, and your perspective will be very helpful to clarifying a larger picture of communication between stakeholders.
Many interviews are completed in 30 minutes, but some may take up to an hour of your time. Interviews will be either in-person or virtual using Teams or Zoom in a location of your choosing. The only record of our interview will be the notes I take for my use in writing a dissertation. The dissertation will only reference job titles, but I will still ask at the end of the interview if there is anything we discussed about your official duties that you do not want to be attributable. The University of Central Florida requires me to keep those notes and your contact information for five years after study closure and they will not be made available to anyone else or used for any other purpose. All records will be stored in a secure file and only I will have access. Your name and contact information will be stored separately from my notes from our interview.
You must be 18 and older and a current or former Federal employee to participate in this study.
Study contact for questions about the study or to report a problem: If you have questions, concerns, or complaints, please contact:
Barry Smith
PhD Student
School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs
University of Central Florida
(202) 427-6278
Dr. Thomas Dolan
Faculty Supervisor
School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs
University of Central Florida
(407) 823-2608
IRB contact about your rights in this study or to report a complaint: If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, or have concerns about the conduct of this study, please contact Institutional Review Board (IRB), University of Central Florida, Office of Research, 12201 Research Parkway, Suite 501, Orlando, FL 32826-3246 or by telephone at (407) 823-2901, or email irb@ucf.edu.