Middle East Focus Groups, Cognitive Interviews, Survey

Consent Protocol

Hello, my name is [INTERVIEWER NAME] and I work for Interaction in Development based in Sana’a. We conduct a variety of public opinion research projects with people across the Middle East and North Africa.

As you know, a number of countries and organizations have been interested in our country. Some of these include the United States, UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank and many NGOs. Because so many countries and international organizations are interested in our population, it is important to understand how young people like yourself are involved in politics and your opinions of various kinds of political activities and strategies. It is also important to know your views on political and economic conditions in Yemen. For this reason, Interaction in Development is conducting this study in order to gain a better understanding of your opinions on these issues as well as how you feel about your future.

The (focus group/interview/survey) will take about (90/60) minutes. The (focus group/interview/survey) includes questions on your political views and participation, the current economic conditions, and some background information on your employment and social ties. We selected you because we are interested in hearing perspectives of younger people in Yemen.

FOR SURVEY: We have employed random selection methods and are conducting this study in Sana’a [ADD OTHER AREAS].

FOR SURVEY: Are any members of the household between the age of 18 and 35? IF YES, IDENTIFY THESE MEMBERS, RANDOMLY SELECT ONE.

FOR SURVEY: Is [SELECTED INDIVIDUAL] present? IF YES: Would you like to participate in this survey? IF YES, CONTINUE WITH PROTOCOL.

The information provided from your comments will be used by the research team to help inform and make recommendations to address youth concerns. The findings will be summarized in a research report. Since this is a survey, to honor your privacy, your full name will not used in any form and therefore will not be associated with any answers.

Taking part is voluntary. Please feel free to raise any questions or concerns at any point in time. Please don't feel that you need to share information that is extremely personal or private. You are free to skip any questions that you prefer not to answer, and at any time during the discussion, should decide to no longer participate, please indicate that you no longer wish to continue, and you will be free to leave.

FOR FOCUS GROUPS: We also ask that each of you respect the privacy of everyone here and not share or repeat what is said here in any way that could identify anyone here. However, since someone in the group may not obey instructions to keep all comments confidential, we recommend that you avoid saying anything that you don’t want to be repeated outside the group.

All information used to select you or that you provide will be kept in locked file cabinets on office premises–electronic records will be protected by password and/or encryption–and will not be shared with anyone outside of this project. After the (interview/focus group/survey) is complete, we will destroy all address material used to initially identify you by [DATE]. After completion of the study, all surveys will be destroyed by [DATE].

Your assistance and participation in this study is essential to the success of our research, so your time and cooperation is most appreciated.

If you have any questions about this study, you are welcome to contact the research coordinator for this project, [AGENCY CONTACT]. Thank you.

Consent Protocol 9/1/14