FAQs for Potential Interviewees

Hello! Thank you for interest in possibly interviewing with the Young Elected Leaders Project. If you’ve clicked on this link, you are likely a Young Elected Leader yourself and are interested in learning more about the details of how your participation can assist our research. Here are some common questions you may have:

What kind of participation would I be involved in?

Our typical interview lasts about one to one and a half hours, as works with your schedule. It is preferably done in person, however, video chats are an excellent way for you to participate if you are unavailable to schedule an in-person interview. Video chats are typically recorded for transcription purposes. 

What is the confidentiality of this participation?

Before your interview, you will sign a consent form that details exactly your protection. In short, participation is 100% voluntary and at any time, you can ask to have something be taken off the record either before or after it has been shared. You do not have to answer all questions.

What will you do with my interview?

Your answers will be used primarily for research purposes such as quantitative data analysis by Rutgers students. For more details, you can see how interview answers were used in the original YELP study. The most recent student-led Aresty research, in which interviews were conducted and analyzed, can be found here.

Is there any foreseeable harm to me if I participate?

As per our consent form which has been approved by the Institutional Review Board, we do not see any foreseeable harm to any of our participants. Again, if you ever want any answers redacted/made confidential, you have every right to do so.

 What kind of questions will you ask?

As our research is centered around the unique experiences of Young Elected Leaders, questions will focus on your background/driving forces to run, your experiences campaigning and serving as a young person, and how you feel about youth in general in elected offices. If there is something in particular that you want to avoid answering, again, all questions are voluntary.

Who will be conducting the interviews?

Generally our interviews involve our head of the program, Dr. Elizabeth Matto, and at least one or two students – either graduate or undergraduate. Most, if not all, questions will be pre-approved by Dr. Matto. 

Do you have additional questions? Please contact us at yelp@eagleton.rutgers.edu and we will get back to you as soon as possible.