About the research

WHY THIS STUDY?

For people to work together towards a common cause, they must trust each other. Studies show that trust helps groups communicate, work together efficiently, navigate uncertainty, and take risks together. Yet, research also shows that Americans are growing less and less trusting. This makes group efforts at social change more challenging, especially for groups of people who have diverse backgrounds.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

My study is called "Building Trust for Collective Action: How Effective Trust Builders Learn Their Craft." It explores how leaders of voluntary efforts learn to build trust so that they can help groups take action together. It aims to shed light on the practices, mindsets, and learning processes behind trust-building. It also aims to explore how, from an adult education standpoint, we can help social change leaders learn to build trust. The study focuses on leaders of diverse groups that are taking risks together voluntarily to pursue shared goals. Examples include voluntary coalitions, voluntary civic engagement, community organizing, neighborhood associations and/or voluntary community development projects.

I will be profiling a small group of effective trust-builders people by creating “portrait” of their work, their trust-building practices, and how they have learned about trust. The portraits will be published in my dissertation and (hopefully, eventually) a book aimed at people who want to make change. The ultimate goal is to help other social change leaders reflect on how they learn and think about building trust.

WHO WILL BE IN THE STUDY?

You may be invited to be a Key Participant in the study if:

1. You are over 18 years of age.

2. You work with voluntary groups that:

a. Are taking action together towards shared goals.

b. Are taking risks together.

c. Are diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, age, religion, socioeconomic status and/or political views.

3. You were referred to me as someone who's as effective at building trust between people in to help them work together voluntarily. For example, you help people cooperate with each other in voluntary coalitions, voluntary civic engagement efforts, community organizing, neighborhood associations and/or voluntary community development projects.

Approximately 5-8 people will participate in this in-depth study, which will take a total of about four hours over 1-3 months, including the screening interview you already completed. You will also have the chance to debrief the experience with me (Savanna Lyons, the researcher) and to review my draft writeup of your data, if you wish. This would take up to two more hours within 9 months after the beginning of the study.

WHAT WILL I BE ASKED TO DO IF I AGREE TO TAKE PART IN THIS STUDY?

If you are selected and agree, you will be asked to participate in a series of interviews about the following topics:

- A memorable personal experience that taught you about trust and collaboration;

- Events in your life that have shaped your learning about trust and cooperation;

- Your perceptions on how trust is built and how you have learned to build it; and

- The contexts in which you currently collaborate with others.

Altogether, these topics are expected to be covered in 2-3 sittings, taking no more than 3 hours over 1-3 months. Most interviews will take place over videochat on Zoom. However, if it is practical and if we both agree, we can instead meet in person at a location near you. Interviews will be video- or audio-recorded and digitally transcribed. Once the transcriptions are edited, the recordings will be deleted. If you do not wish to be recorded, you may still participate, and the researcher will take notes by hand.

Additionally, I will invite you to share documents (such as news clippings, websites, reports, or awards) that give context on your collaborative work. You will not be asked to share anything you deem private.

I (primary researcher) will also survey people who do voluntary work with you. The purpose of the surveys is to understand how other people experience working with you. I will ask you to provide email addresses for 15 of your collaborators using a secure method. If you are comfortable with it, I will also invite you to contact them directly (using a sample email) to let them know you gave me permission to ask them about you.

I will then send them a secure online survey. Their responses will not include their names or contact information, so neither you nor the researcher you will know who has responded to the survey. If at least eight surveys are completed, you can (if you wish) receive a summary of the anonymous survey results, as a potential tool for your own reflection and professional development. You will have a chance to discuss the results with me in a debrief session, if you wish.

I may also ask your collaborators if they would like to be interviewed. If any do volunteer, I may interview up to three people. In that case I will probably know their identities, but will take measures to keep their identity confidential from you and others. The interviews with them will be about the spaces in which you work together and their experiences working with you. This will not require any additional time from you.

The information gathered from the above activities will be used to create a “portrait” of your work, your trust-building practices, and how you have learned about trust. (Portraiture is a methodology used in education research. It is similar to biography, but usually focuses on one or more themes – such as trust -- across several cases. Read more here.) In your portrait, you and any other people who are mentioned will be identified using a pseudonym. Your real names will not be given. You will have an opportunity to review the draft portrait, correct factual inaccuracies, and point out any information that you wish to have removed because of privacy concerns. Your final portrait will be presented in the research study alongside portraits of four other effective trust-builders. As much as possible, we will omit details that could identify you, your organization or other individuals or organizations.

WHAT POSSIBLE RISKS OR DISCOMFORTS CAN I EXPECT FROM TAKING PART IN THIS STUDY?

In interviews,

- You might feel embarrassed to discuss problems that you have faced.

- You might be asked to recall interpersonal situations that bring up difficult feelings.

- Your comments could be overheard by others. Therefore, we encourage you to participate from a private location, and the researcher will do the same.

In our communication with the people you work with,

- You might feel discomfort that we are requesting and receiving feedback about you from your collaborators.

- Your collaborators may be uncomfortable that you shared their email addresses with us.

- Your collaborators might feel discomfort when asked to share their perspective about working with you, even though the data they provide will be confidential.

- You might feel uncomfortable when reviewing the anonymized summary of what your collaborators said.

In general,

- Although we will use a pseudonym for you in all research notes, transcripts, and in the final portrait, we cannot provide total confidentiality. When we contact your collaborators, they will know that you are participating in this study. Also, although you volunteered for the study from a pool of over 40 nominees, the person(s) who nominated you could guess that you participated.

- The person who nominated you, and/or your collaborators who were asked to participate in the study, may be able to guess your identity if they read the final research report. In that case, they might be able to associate you with information you shared during the study.

- In the unlikely event of a data security breach, the data you provide could become known to others.

Remember that you do not have to answer any questions or share anything you do not want to share. You can stop participating in the study at any time without penalty. Even though we cannot provide confidentiality regarding your participation in the study, we will de-identify your information in all of our records and reports. All records and reports will refer to you using a pseudonym instead of your name. We will attempt to omit information from the final report that could easily identify you. You will have the chance to read the portrait writeup and request removal of information that you do not wish to have shared.

Meeting in person is possible but not required for this study. Please note that person-to-person exposure is the most frequent route of transmission for infectious viruses (e.g., flu, COVID-19). If requested, the researcher will wear an N-95 or equivalent mask during any in-person meetings. In-person meetings will be conducted in a private location where you cannot be observed or overheard by people other than the researcher.

While the risks above are real, they are regarded by the Institutional Review Board as “minimal risks,” meaning that they are no greater than what you might encounter in daily life.

WHAT POSSIBLE BENEFITS CAN I EXPECT FROM TAKING PART IN THIS STUDY?

This study may provide an opportunity to:

- Reflect on your own trust-building practices and how you learn

- Consider thought-provoking questions derived from coaching and adult learning activities

- Reflect on how your collaborators view the spaces you lead, your trust-building skills, and how you have grown as a collaborator

- Learn and ask questions about basic theories on trust and how they intersect with your work (during the study overview and/or the debrief)

- Get to know the researcher as a colleague in social change work

WILL I BE PAID FOR BEING IN THIS STUDY?

You will not be paid to participate. There are no anticipated costs to you for taking part in this study.

WHEN IS THE STUDY OVER? CAN I LEAVE THE STUDY BEFORE IT ENDS?

The data collection portion of the study will finish within 1-3 months from when you enter the study. If you decide to participate in the study debrief and/or to review the draft portrait of you, these activities will happen within 9 months of when you enter the study.

You can leave the study at any time. If you decide to leave the study, we will immediately stop collecting data from your collaborators.

PROTECTION OF YOUR CONFIDENTIALITY

As noted earlier, we cannot provide total confidentiality in this study. Your collaborators who we contact will know you are participating. However, we do everything we can to keep your data as confidential as possible:

· In all notes, transcripts, survey data and our final report, we will refer to you using a pseudonym (a fake name). Any mentions of your name or other people’s names will be replaced with pseudonyms.

· All recordings of interviews will be destroyed immediately once they have been transcribed.

· Any documents we collect such as news articles, reports or which mention your real name will be stored separately from the research notes.

· Questionnaires and interview transcripts from your collaborators will also have names removed.

· All data collected from and about you will be kept on a password-protected computer and/or on a secure server. Any physical documents will be kept in a locked filing cabinet. Physical documents that could identify you will be destroyed after 3 years.

For quality assurance, the study team, the study sponsor (grant agency), and/or members of the Teachers College Institutional Review Board (IRB) may review the data collected from you as part of this study. Otherwise, all information obtained from your participation in this study will be disclosed only with your permission or as required by U.S. or State law.

HOW WILL THE RESULTS BE USED?

This study is being conducted as part of the dissertation of the primary researcher. The results of this study will be reported in a doctoral dissertation and may additionally be presented at academic conferences, published in journals and/or in a book. Again, your identity will be removed from any data you provide before publication or use for educational purposes. Your name or any identifying information about you will not be published.

IRB INFORMATION

This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Teachers College, Columbia University. The IRB reviews and monitors research studies to ensure that they are ethical and that they don't pose unjustified or unnecessary risk to participants.

IRB Protocol Information for this study:

Protocol Number: 25-049

Protocol Title: Building Trust for Collective Action: How Effective Trust Builders Learn Their Craft

Principal Researcher: Savanna Lyons, Teachers College at Columbia University

WHO CAN ANSWER MY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS STUDY?

If you have any questions about taking part in this research study, you should contact the primary researcher, Savanna Lyons. You can also contact the faculty advisor, Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess.

If you have questions or concerns about your rights as a research subject, you should contact the Institutional Review Board (IRB) (the human research ethics committee) at 212-678-4105 or email IRB@tc.edu or you can write to the IRB at Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 W. 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, Box 151. The IRB is the committee that oversees human research protection for Teachers College, Columbia University.