Narrating Productive Jewish-Muslim Friendships
The goal of this project is to highlight how Jewish and Muslim college students form and maintain mutual friendships given the tensions that have historically been associated with their respective religious communities and the ongoing war in the Middle East.
This project has been funded by the Healy Endowment Faculty Research Grant at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Who is eligible to participate?
To be eligible to participate, you must be a UMass undergraduate student who identifies as Jewish or Muslim and who is willing to talk about Jewish Muslim relationships on campus.
What will I be asked to do as a participant?
As a potential participant, you will first complete a short screening survey. Once your eligibility is confirmed, you will be contacted to schedule a 45-60 minute interview either in the Amherst area or online through Zoom
What do I receive as a participant?
Participants will receive a $25 gift card after the conclusion of their interview.
How will my personal information be protected?
Your privacy and confidentiality are important to us. The following procedures will be used to protect the confidentiality of your study records, including your responses to the screening survey, your interview recording, and transcripts. Only the researcher will have access to the recordings, and they will be used for transcription purposes. The recordings will be deleted after transcriptions are complete or within one year of recording, whichever is sooner. You will have the opportunity to review the transcripts for accuracy.
The researchers will keep all study records and identifying information on Microsoft OneDrive, which is password-protected. All electronic files containing identifiable information will be hosted on computers that also have password protection to prevent access by unauthorized users. Only the members of the research staff will have access to the passwords. At the conclusion of this study, the researchers may publish their findings. Information will be presented in summary format, and you will not be identified in any publications or presentations.
Who can I talk to if I have questions?
If you have further questions about this project or if you have a research-related problem, you may contact the researcher, Musbah Shaheen (shaheen@umass.edu). If you have any questions concerning your rights as a research subject, you may contact the University of Massachusetts Amherst Human Research Protection Office (HRPO) at (413) 545-3428 or humansubjects@ora.umass.edu.
Jewish Muslim Friendships 2.pdf