As part of our process to recruit volunteers to be interviewed we developed a series of FAQ and our response to them. They are set out here for your information.
Your experiences are precisely those we want to record. Without the memories of the nurses who actually carried out the day to day work on the wards, we won't be able to build a complete picture of what it was like to be a nurse at St George's. Only you had your particular experience, and everyone's personal experience is important.
The recordings and their transcripts will be held in the archives at St George's University of London. Access will be only through the archive manager at Nurses Voices and would normally be open only to people carrying out bona fide historical research.
In our files, yes it will. But this information will only be made available to the public if you want it to be.
We want people to feel as relaxed as possible during the interviews and able to speak freely. If after listening to the interview we, or you, decide there is any upsetting material in it we can deal with this in several ways. The usual way is to agree to withhold access to the interview material until after the death of the person concerned. Or you can decide the material should not released until after your own death.
Yes, we will send you copy on CD as soon as possible after the interview has been conducted.
We have recruited your colleagues to carry out interviews. However, there is a group of independent interviewers associated with the project. If you prefer to be interviewed by an independent interviewer just let us know.
That is up to you. Normally the interview would take place in your home, where you feel comfortable. But if that is not convenient for you alternative venues can be found.
Essentially you own the copyright to your recorded words. However, at the interview we will ask you to sign a form transferring copyright to Nurses Voices, permitting the use of the recordings and the transcripts made from them.
It will be used as an historical account, by people researching the history of various aspects of nursing and healthcare in the second half of the 20th century. Extracts from your recording could be used by project members in publications, public talks, lectures, broadcasts and on the Internet. Other people, with a legitimate interest, may also want to use extracts in a similar way. If significant extracts are to be used your permission would be sought beforehand, and you will be asked to decide whether or not you wish your name to be associated with any use of your recording.
In that case, unfortunately, we will not be able to include you in the project, as the purpose is to collect memories which can be used by historians in the future to better understand nursing and midwifery in the 20th century. If you are not prepared to let anyone hear the recordings under any circumstances, then no one will hear the story and your experiences will make no contribution to that better understanding.
No, but reasonable travel expense may be reimbursed.
No, absolutely not. If as a result of hearing your interview a researcher would like to contact you, we would ALWAYS contact you first to determine whether you wished to be contacted or not. All details you provide to us are provided under the auspices of the Data Protection Act, and we are duty bound not to release them to ANY third party (ie to anyone not DIRECTLY connected with the project), without your prior permission.
That's up to you, but you need to set aside about 1½ to 2 hours in total. It's important not to feel pressured by other appointments, to avoid being hurried. The interviewer may feel after 2 hours that there is more to talk about, and rather than carry on, may suggest returning for a second visit. Again, this is entirely up to you.
Yes. Please get in touch with us via our details on the Contact Us or the Enquiries pages.