For interviewees

DESCRIPTION

‘Transnational bachelors’ are men who have moved between countries and describe themselves as single. This project seeks to understand how these men live and manage their lives as singles.

Single men is the largest group among people who migrate. Unfortunately, very little research about them exists. One aim of the project is to provide research about their situation. Another reason for the project, is that Western media often portray the group in a negative light only. The project is meant to give a more nuanced portrayal.

The research is done through interviews, observations and fieldwork among the following four groups: Syrians and Poles in Sweden, Bangladeshis and Romanians in Italy. The reason why those groups were selected, is that they live under quite different conditions. By selecting them, relevant comparisons can be made.

WHAT WILL THE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS BRING UP?

During the interview, the researcher will ask you about your route to Sweden, your thoughts about Sweden and your country/countries of origin, about your close relations and what it means to be single, as well as your thoughts about women and men.

WHO IS INTERVIEWED IN SWEDEN AND WHY YOU ARE ASKED FOR AN INTERVIEW

In Sweden, we interview men who are born in Poland or Syria, but who live in Sweden and describe themselves as singles. All interviewees must be 18 years of age or older and have the right to reside in Sweden at the time of the interview. You are asked for an interview, since you fit these criteria and because we were able to contact you.

VOLUNTARINESS

Your participation is entirely voluntary and you can at any time withdraw your assent to participate in the project.

TO CONSIDER DURING THE INTERVIEW

You can at any time stop the interview and your participation in the research project. You can select to not respond to a specific question. If you feel uncomfortable around a certain question or topic during the interview, it is important that you tell the interviewer.

ARE THERE ANY BENEFITS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROJECT?

There are no direct personal benefits for those who participate in the study, and no compensation is paid. The ambition is that the research will benefit society and contribute to more knowledge and understanding about migrated single men and their situation.

HOW THE RECORDING OF YOUR INTERVIEW IS MANAGED

The recording of the interview will be transcribed to written format. This is done by a commercial transcription service, that has been instructed on how to manage the data. In the transcription of the interview, names of people (including yours) and places where you currently reside and live are not mentioned. Both the recording and the transcription will be kept so that no unauthorized person can access them. That means that only the researchers in the project, who work at Karlstad University, Gothenburg University and Fulda University in Germany, and the cleared staff at the transcription service, will have access to the interview in its entirety. However, the interview can be cited in parts and referenced in research articles or research-popularizing articles. Of course, no names will be mentioned there either.

The recording and the transcribed interview will be stored on a local hard drive to which no unauthorized person has access. The recording and the transcribed interviews are erased after 10 years. The researchers in the project can however download the anonymized transcribed interview and use it later in their own research.

The interview will be used for the research project discussed here, however it can also be used by the four researchers connected to the project (see contacts below!) for their own research. The interview will not be used for anything besides research.

You have the right to freely access the data that is being stored about you and to have errors corrected. You have the right to demand the erasure, entire or partial, of the data, and to object to the management of the data. You can send your complaints to the Swedish data inspection board (Datainspektionen). You can contact the data protection ombud at Karlstad university through dpo@kau.se.

RESPONSIBLE INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

Karlstad University is the institution responsible for the research project and for the storage of its data. The head researcher of the project is professor Ulf Mellström.