Mapping LGBTQ+ Portland is a research project designed to document LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, etc.) places in the greater Portland area in Maine and their development over time. As Portland’s keystone queer nightclubs and bars face closure, we aim to explore how people still use place to engage with the Portland LGBTQ+ community. Our hope is to compile community members’ experiences with LGBTQ+ places in Portland, creating a virtual walking tour, accessible to the public, that demonstrates the richness and complexity of LGBTQ+ Portland.
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If you would like to participate in our survey, please read and fill out this informed consent form before continuing:
We are asking you to participate in a research study titled “Mapping LGBTQ+ Portland”. We will describe this study to you. This form has important information about the reason for the study, what you will do, and the way we would like to use information about you if you choose to be in the study. This study is being led by Theodore (Theo) Greene (principal investigator) and Salina Chin (co-investigator), Department of Sociology at Bowdoin College.
WHAT THE STUDY IS ABOUT
The purpose of this research is to document LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, etc.) places in the greater Portland area in Maine and their development over time. You are being asked to participate in this study because you identify yourself as someone involved in one or several of the communities from which the research study is seeking information, or because you can provide information concerning the LGBTQ+ places the research study seeks information on.
WHAT WE WILL ASK YOU TO DO
Your initial participation in this study will be to answer survey questions for about fifteen minutes, identifying LGBTQ+ places and their significance to you. The survey includes questions about your experiences with LGBTQ+ places in Portland. If you include your email address at the end of the survey, you may be contacted for a follow-up interview. This is entirely optional.
If you wish to participate in the study but cannot submit the survey satisfactorily for any reason, you may contact the investigators to schedule an interview. During the interview, we will help you complete and submit the survey. We will also interview you using the follow-up interview questions we designed.
RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
Your participation in this study does not involve any physical or emotional risk to you beyond that of everyday life. You might be asked a question that you find uncomfortable, but we expect that this would not be different from the kinds of things you discuss with family or friends. You are welcome to skip any questions you may find uncomfortable. You can share as much or as little as you want, and you may withdraw from the study at any time. Additionally, there are some risks of data breaches when sending information over the Internet that are beyond the control of the investigator(s).
BENEFITS
You are not likely to have any direct benefit from being in this research study. Taking part in this study may help scientists to better understand how LGBTQ+ people move through the world and create community.
ALTERNATIVES
You may choose to not participate in this research study.
COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
Participation in this study will involve no cost to you. You will not be paid for participating in this study.
YOUR RIGHTS AS A RESEARCH PARTICIPANT
If you choose to be in this study, you have the right to be treated with respect, including respect for your decision whether or not you wish to continue or stop being in the study. You are free to stop being in the study at any time. Choosing not to be in this study or to stop being in this study will not result in any penalty to you or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.
PRIVACY/CONFIDENTIALITY/DATA SECURITY
You will be asked to provide your email address at the end of the survey. This information will only be used to contact you if the researchers determine that a follow-up interview might be necessary. Only the Principal Investigator and other researchers will be able to see your contact information. When the survey is completed and the data have been analyzed, your contact information will be destroyed. Additionally, personal data will be destroyed (i.e. your IP address and the browser you used to access the survey), whereas spatial data will be kept indefinitely.
Participation in this research study may result in a loss of privacy, since persons other than the investigator(s) might view your study records. Unless required by law, only the principal investigator and Bowdoin College’s Institutional Review Board have the authority to review your study records. They are required to maintain confidentiality regarding your identity. Your confidentiality will be kept to the degree permitted by the technology being used. Your data and contact information will be stored online using a platform called Map-Me. We cannot guarantee against interception of data sent via the internet by third parties.
Study findings will be presented as direct quotes accessible by clicking on an interactive map the public can view online. Results of this study may be used for teaching, research, publications, and presentations at professional meetings. If your individual results are discussed, your identity will be protected by using a code number or pseudonym rather than your name or other identifying information. Other appropriate measures will be taken to conceal individual identities.
Identifiers might be removed from identifiable private information. After such removal, the information could be used for future research studies or distributed to another investigator for future research studies without your additional informed consent.
CENTRALIZED DATA COLLECTION OR REGISTRIES
The results of your survey data will be stored on Map-Me, downloaded to the principal investigator(s)'s personal computers, and, after editing, published online in a Virtual Reality (VR) Walking Tour of LGBTQ+ Portland. Your contact information will be destroyed after the data have been analyzed and the survey is completed.
TAKING PART IS VOLUNTARY
Your involvement is voluntary. You may refuse to participate before the study begins, discontinue at any time, or skip any questions/procedures that may make you feel uncomfortable with no penalty to you and no effect on your relationship with Bowdoin College. If your survey has already been submitted, or if you are chosen for a follow-up interview, you may indicate your wish to withdraw by contacting the investigators associated with this study. If you withdraw, no more information will be collected from you. When you indicate your wish to withdraw, the investigator will ask if the information/specimens/materials already collected from you can be used.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS
The main researcher(s) conducting this study are Theo Greene, an assistant professor of Sociology at Bowdoin College, and Salina Chin, an undergraduate student at Bowdoin College. If at any time you have questions regarding the research or your participation, you may contact Theo Greene at tgreene@bowdoin.edu or at (207) 721-5038, and Salina Chin at schin2@bowdoin.edu or at (949) 690-3659. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your rights as a subject in this study, you may contact the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Chair, Matthew Klingle at (207) 798-7141 or at mklingle@bowdoin.edu or at irb@bowdoin.edu.