Part A Application Information (Only typed applications will be reviewed; submit 2, unstapled copies to ORCA in A-285 ASB)
1. Title of the Study: Good Samaritans in Our Times: How Tibetans and Indians have come together to help one another.
2. Principal Investigator: Matt Merrill 3. Contact Person:
(if different from PI):
Title: : undergraduate Dept: Media Arts Title: Dept:
4. Co-Investigator(s): Jeff Parkin (Media Arts Department)
5. Research Originated By: (Check One) Faculty X Student Staff
6. Research Purpose(Check All that Apply): X Grant Dissertation Thesis
ORCA Scholarship Honors Thesis X Course Project: Media Arts project credit
X ISP – India Field Study Program
7. Correspondence Request: Mail X Call for Pick-Up
Part B Research Study Synopsis
1. Brief Study Description (Include Purpose of the Research):
I will be creating a documentary film about the relationships between Tibetan refugees and Indians living in and around McLeod Ganj, India, focusing on what they are doing to help one another. The purpose of this project is to create a film with the theme of service and charity, that will inspire those who see it to be more charitable and service oriented.
2. Study Length
What is the duration of the study? 05/11 to 08/11 (in the field). 08/11 to 12/11 (post-field, editing).
3. Location of Research
a. Where will the research take place? Mcleod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India
b. Will the PI be conducting and/or supervising research activity off-campus?
X Yes No If Yes, please list sites: Mcleod Ganj and nearby towns, in people’s homes, at charitable organizations, and outdoors.
4. Subject Information:
a. Number of Subjects: 10 - 30 b. Gender of Subjects: Male and Female c. Ages of Subjects: 18 and older
5. Potentially Vulnerable Populations: (Check All that Apply)
Children Pregnant Women Cognitively Impaired Prisoners Institutionalized
Faculty’s Own Students Other. Please describe:
6. Non-English Speaking Subjects
a. Will subjects who do not understand English participate in the research: X Yes No
b. If yes, describe your resources to communicate with the subjects: I am learning some Tibetan and Hindi, and the majority of the population speak English, but for those who do not speak English fluently I will find a translator to help communicate with the subjects.
c. Into what language(s) will the consent form be translated: English, Tibetan, and Hindi
7. Additional Subject Concerns
a. Are there cultural attitudes/beliefs that may affect subjects in this study? X Yes No
b. If yes, please describe attitudes and how they may affect subjects. Many subjects may not be used to cameras or being filmed. Also, people may wonder what my motives are or what I will be using the film for. To minimize this I will try to get to know people before pulling my camera out so they are more comfortable. I will also try to help them understand the project so they are not confused about why I am asking certain questions.
8. Dissemination of Research Findings
a. Will the research be published? Yes X No If yes, where if known?
b. Will the research be presented? X Yes No If yes, where if known? On BYU campus or through BYU TV and in various film festivals (I do not know which ones yet).
9. External Funding
a. Are you seeking external funding X Yes No What agency? I am still waiting to hear back about several grants I have applied for. If I do not get them, or do not get enough from them, I will need to seek further funding possibly from external sources.
b. Have you received funding? Yes X No c. Dollar amount?
10. Method of Recruitment: (Check All that Apply)
Flyer Classroom Announcement X Letter to Subjects X Third Party Random
X Other: Convenience sampling
11. Payment to Subjects
a. Will subjects be compensated for participation? Yes X No If yes, please indicate amount:
b. Form of Payment: Cash Check Gift Certificate Voucher 1099 Other
c. Will Payment be prorated? Yes No If yes, please explain:
d. When will the subject be paid? Each Visit Study Completion Other
12. Extra Credit
a. Will subjects be offered extra credit? Yes X No
b. If yes, describe the alternative:
13. Risks: Identify all potential risks/discomforts to subjects.
Although the focus of the film will be on the good of Tibetan/Indian relationships, some subjects when interviewed may have negative things to say about the other race. In addition, if there are any potential conflicts that I try to follow, some people may prefer that I stay out of them (in which case I would). There may also be some general discomfort from the presence of a camera.
14. Benefits:
a. Are there direct benefits to participants? Yes X No If yes, please list.
b. Are there potential benefits to society? X Yes No If yes, please list. The finished film should promote service and charity and inspire people to be more loving of their neighbors and to seek to serve them. It will also serve to give people a view into Tibetan and Indian cultures and help them to better understand and appreciate these cultures.
15. Study Procedures (DO NOT LEAVE ANY ITEM BLANK):
a. What will be the duration of the subjects’ participation?
Between 5 and 10 participants will be involved in multiple visits over the course of three months. Another 10 – 20 participants will be briefly interviewed in one one-hour or less visit.
b. Will the subjects be followed after their participation ends? Yes X No If yes, please describe:
c. Describe the number, duration and nature of visits/encounters.
Between 5 and 10 participants will be involved in multiple visits over the course of three months, with each visit lasting about 2 – 3 hours. The nature of these visits may be informal interviewing, but a lot of it may simply be observing them going about their day-to-day business. Another 10 – 20 participants will be briefly interviewed in one one-hour or less visit. These will be informal interviews either in their homes or in a public place.
d. Is the study Therapeutic? X Non-therapeutic?
e. List all procedures that will be performed to generate data for the research. Informal interviews and observations recorded on video.
f. List all procedures/questionnaires done solely for the purpose of the research study.
Informal, recorded interviews
g. List all procedures/questionnaires participants already do regardless of research.
Their daily activities and interactions with others.
16. Informed Consent:
a. Are you requesting Waiver or Alteration of Informed Consent? Yes X No
b. Briefly describe your process to obtain consent: I will obtain written consent from subjects before I begin any interviewing.
17. Confidentiality:
a. Are the subject’s social security number, BYU ID number or any identifier (other than study number and initials) being sent off site? Yes X No If yes, describe and explain reasons:
b. Will any entity other than the investigative staff have access to medical, health or psychological information about the subject? Yes X No If yes, please indicate who:
c. Briefly describe provisions made to maintain confidentiality of data, including who will have access to raw data, what will be done with the tapes, where data will be stored, how long data will be stored, etc.
Data will be video recorded on cards and then put onto a hard drive. Once the data has been moved to the hard drive, the cards will be erased. I will be the only one to have access to the raw data and I will keep it in a locked box when not in use. Data will be stored for between 6 months to a year.
d. Will raw data be made available to anyone other than the PI and immediate study personnel?
Yes X No
If yes, describe the procedure for sharing data. Include with whom it will be shared, how and why.
Part C
The attached investigation involves the use of human subjects. I understand the university’s policy concerning research involving human subjects and I agree:
1. X Yes No To obtain voluntary and informed consent of subjects who are to participate in this project.
2. X Yes No To report to the IRB any unanticipated effects on subjects which become apparent during the course of, or as a result of, the experimentation and the actions taken.
3. X Yes No To cooperate with members of the committee charged with continuing review of this project.
4. X Yes No To obtain prior approval from the committee before amending or altering the scope of the project or implementing changes in the approved consent document.
5. X Yes No To maintain the documentation of consent forms and progress reports as required by institutional policy.
6. X Yes No To safeguard the confidentiality of research subjects and the data collected when the approved level of research requires it.
Signature* of the Principal Investigator: Date:
*Faculty Sponsor Signature Required for All Student Submissions (will not be processed without this)
“I have read and reviewed this proposal and certify that it is ready for review by the IRB. I have worked with the student to prepare this research protocol. I agree to mentor the student during the research project.”
Faculty Sponsor (Please sign and print):
Required: Thesis/Dissertation – Date of Approval by the Proposal Review Committee:
Required: Committee Chair/Faculty Sponsor (Please sign and print):
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬_______________________________________________________
* If you are faculty submitting by email, please check this box to verify that you are the PI listed on this application and agree to follow the items listed above. I agree
Only professors can submit applications electronically via email.
Part D Synopsis of the Proposal
1. Specific Aims
My goal with the finished film is that I will be able to show it to any audience, whether it be American or foreign, and that it will inspire people to love their neighbors, and to be more charitable and service oriented. This is a message I feel the world greatly needs and I hope that my film will be able to give that message to the people who see it.
2. Hypothesis or Research Question
A shared belief in charity and compassion has the power to bring different cultures and people together.
3. Background and Significance
The significance of this project will be more in the message of the film than in any research or factual value. Still, as far as I can tell from my studies, there has been very little said or studied about the relationship between Tibetans and Indians, and what studies have been made seem to deal with it more from a political point of view. This of course plays a large role in the overall relationship, but my film will mostly be looking at individuals, not in political positions, and how and why they have found ways to help one another.
While this topic could be studied in many other parts of the world, I feel that Dharamsala will be a prime example because of what’s going on there now. There is conflict still (as can be found in any part of the world), but there is also much love and compassion. BYU’s history in Dharamsala will also make it easier for me to make this film because many students before me have already been to the area and the people living there have seen these students conducting research in their towns. So when I come into the area, I will not be a complete alien to the people living there.
Also, because of BYU’s history with this area, I will be fortunate to live with a Tibetan host family in McLeod Ganj. Living with this family will be a great advantage because I will be able to learn directly from them about the culture, and what types of things are acceptable or not.
4. Description of Subjects
I will be looking for subjects who are involved one way or another in helping others, whether it be Tibetans helping Indians, Indians helping Tibetans, or even just people helping others in general, regardless of their culture. I will also look for people who are being helped by others in order to see how they appreciate or value this help. Specifcally I will be working with members of the Tibetan Tong-Len Charitable Trust Organization and the Indian organization: Friends of Tibet. I am working to get in contact with these organizations before I enter the field so that they will already have an idea of who I am and what I am doing. Most finding of subjects however will have to come once I have entered the field.
5. Confidentiality
Data will be video recorded on cards and then put onto a hard drive. Once the data has been moved to the hard drive, the cards will be erased. I will be the only one to have access to the raw data and I will keep it in a locked box when not in use. Data will be stored for between 6 months to a year.
6. Method or Procedures
Before entering the field I will have a base or an outline of the story of my film and what I suspect may happen while I am there. Once in the field, I will spend at least the first two weeks just getting to know the area and the people I hope to work with. I will not start filming until I feel I have a basic knowledge of the culture and its moral and ethical ideologies. This should help me to minimize the risks of offending or worrying the people I work with. Filming will include informal interviews with these individuals as well as observing them in their day-to-day lives and how they interact with others. It will also follow the events or projects conducted by the Tibetan Tong-Len Charitable Trust and Indian Friends of Tibet organizations. In addition, I will want to get some footage of the general area to establish to the audience where the film is taking place.
I plan to start by getting in contact with the Indians and Tibetans who are involved in charitable organizations, and then finding Tibetans and Indians that have benefitted from the services of these organizations. On a smaller level I will also talk to others in the streets or in their homes to get a basic idea of how people feel about certain issues involving the relationship between Tibetans and Indians. It will be important to see and represent the Tibetans and Indians equally, and to find common ground between them despite their different cultural backgrounds.
7. Data Analysis
As I film and collect data, I will takes notes on how I can organize my footage into a story. After returning from the field I will spend the next four months editing the footage I have collected, being careful to represent the people and cultures in the most accurate way possible, and in a way that will inspire viewers to be more charitable in their own lives.
8. Risks
Although the focus of the film will be on the good of Tibetan/Indian relationships, some subjects when interviewed may have negative things to say about the other race. In addition, if there are any potential conflicts that I try to follow, some people may prefer that I stay out of them (in which case I would). There may also be some general discomfort from the presence of a camera.
9. Benefits
The finished film should promote service and charity and inspire people to be more loving of their neighbors and to seek to serve them. It will also serve to give people a view into Tibetan and Indian cultures and help them to better understand and appreciate these cultures.
10. Compensation
There will be no direct compensation. I will minimize the time that I take away from subjects by doing most of my filming and interviewing “on-the-go” so that they can be going about their day-to-day tasks without having to stop or take time off for me. If subjects would like, I may send them a copy of the finished film.
11. References
His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Toward a True Kinship of Faiths: How the World's Religions Can Come Together. New York: Doubleday Religion, 2010. Print.
Tong-Len Charitable Trust: Registered Charity, India, McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.
Dharmananda, Subhuti.” From Tibet to India: History of the Attempted Destruction of Tibetan Culture in Tibet and the Efforts at Preservation of Tibetan Culture in Exile.” Itmonline. May 2000. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.
Lakshmi, Rama. "For India, Tibet Poses some Delicate Issues." Washington Post. 2 April 2008. Web. 28 Jan 2011.
Bhatia, Ashwini. "Indian Police Question Tibetan Spiritual Leader". Washington Post. 29 Jan 2011. Web. 31 Jan 2011.
Tharoor, Ishaan. "Why India is Investigating a Reincarnated Tiibetan Lama". Time. 3 Feb 2011. Web. 15 Feb 2011.
Sharma, Naresh Kumar. "Now Chinese SIM Cards Recovered". The Times of India. 6 Feb 2011. Web. 15 Feb 2011.
Ridge, Mian. "Tibet's Karmapa Lama Fueling China and India Border Tensions". MinnPost. 15 Feb 2011. Web. 15 Feb 2011.
"No Comments on Clean Chit to Karmapa Lama". Sify News. 17 Feb 2011. Web. 17 Feb 2011.
Lama, The Dalai. "The World of Tibetan Buddhism: An Overview of its Philosophy and Practice". New York : Wisdom Publications. 2005.
Shattuck, Cybelle. "Hinduism". London : Routeledge. 1999.
Tibetan Centre for Conflict Resolution. Web. 7 Feb 2011.
Interview with Prashant Varma. "Indians "Responsible" for Tibetan Suffering." Web. 25 feb 2011. http://www.friendsoftibet.org/articles/varma.html.
Friends of Tibet website. Web. 25 Feb 2011. http://friendsoftibet.org/.
12. Qualifications
I have been studying film for over a year now and this semester I have been specifically studying documentary film and its history, theories, ethical concerns, and techniques. I have also been working as a documentary filmmaker for BYU’s center for service and learning for the past six months. The center for service and learning has also helped me to get more involved in service and charity and has caused me to think more deeply about these subjects, which are also the themes of my film.
As for qualifications for the location, I served a full-time mission in Mexico, during which time I exerted extra effort in learning about the language, the culture, and the history. I was naturally very interested to know these things and I feel the same way about India. To help prepare myself for the new cultures I will be surrounded by, I am currently enrolled in Tibetan and Hindi language classes as well as the field study cultural prep class. I have worked hard to research my topic and find out as much about it as I can before I go. Although there are not many professional or scholarly sources that study the relationship between Indians and Tibetans, I have talked to people who have been to Mcleod Ganj, and followed several articles and organizations online, and I have learned a lot about the situation there. I am a hard worker in my schooling and feel that I will successfully be able to conduct and complete my project.
My mentor Jeff Parkin is also very qualified to help me with this project as he himself has been to India to work on two of his own documentaries. He has experienced the culture for himself and knows what it is like to work on a film in a foreign place. Apart from this, he has been working as a professional filmmaker for many years and knows the ins and outs of filmmaking very well. With his help I feel I will be able to produce a quality film.
Include the following information as necessary in the appropriate appendix.
Appendix E – Consent Document or
Request for a Waiver and/or Alteration of Informed Consent: Any consent modification including a consent script for telephone or oral consent, mail survey, online consent statements require a request for a Waiver and/or Alteration of Informed Consent. You will request to waive the participants’ signatures and you may consider an abbreviated consent statement if the research is low risk. See examples on the forms page. Read the instructions and add it to your application for consideration.
On the Consent Form. Indicate the number of pages and an area for initials: For example, page 1 of 2 _____ (initials).
Ethical research practices and respect for persons as outlined in the Belmont Report require that all subjects be given adequate information to allow them to make an informed and voluntary decision whether or not to participate in the research. The following information includes all the required elements of informed consent needed and how to write an informed consent form.
All elements of informed consent should be present on surveys, interviews (both written and oral), and signed consent forms. Some survey research may not require a signed consent form, but needs to include all elements of informed consent. Informed consent must be sought from all prospective participants (or their legally authorized representative), unless waived by the IRB. Investigators should be sensitive to the possible need for an interpreter/translator for persons who do not speak English. Translated versions of the form must be submitted if research is conducted in a foreign language.
The informed consent must include the following information:
1. A statement that the study involves research.
2. A description of the procedures to be followed, the expected duration, the conditions of the subject’s participation, and an identification of the experimental procedures proposed.
3. The reasonably foreseeable risks and discomforts.
4. The expected benefits of the research.
5. A description of the extent to which confidentiality of information will be maintained.
6. An explanation as to the availability of compensation and the availability of treatment if injury occurs, except where the research involves no more than minimal risk(s).
7. A contact person, phone number, and email address to which inquiries about the research project can be made.
8. A contact person not associated with the research, phone number, and address to which other questions may be sent (IRB Administrator).
9. A statement that participation is voluntary.
10. A statement that no penalties will result from non-participation or withdrawal.
Appendix F – Questionnaires, Surveys, Instruments, Interview questions, etc.
Translated tools must be submitted if conducted in a foreign language.
Appendix G – Tutorial Certificate
All researchers must submit their tutorial certificates on each application submission regardless if it was turned in previously. Additionally, all research staff interacting with human subjects must submit an IRB certificate.
Appendix H – All other supporting documents such as letters of support from other institutions or universities, grant applications, vitae, etc.
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