The study seeks to understand how NIDs work from the perspective of residents and property owners. Interviews are conducted either in-person or over Zoom and typically last 60-90 minutes. Topics we will cover include:
- If you reside in the neighborhood: Why do you live there? What do you love it about it? What would you like to see change?
- If you own property in the neighborhood but do not reside there: How did you come to own property in the neighborhood? What has your experience been as a property owner there? What are your thoughts about the neighborhood?
- Your involvement with the NID and the reasons why you chose to get involved (or not).
- Your opinions about the NID in/near your neighborhood and the NID program more broadly. What impact has the NID had on you and your neighborhood? What has worked well in your neighborhood's NID? What has been a challenge? What do you envision for its future? What would you recommend to residents of other neighborhoods?
Eligible participants will receive a $20 compensation for their time. To be eligible for compensation, participants must meet the following requirements:
- Be a resident of a Neighborhood Improvement District
- Not be a full-time, paid employee of an organization that manages one of the NIDs
- Not be an employee of the City of Milwaukee whose job duties include supporting and/or managing NIDs
Study FAQ
- Why are you studying NIDs in Milwaukee? I study neighborhood identity, neighborhood change, neighborhood inequality, and neighborhood organizing. NIDs are potentially related to all of these things! Do NIDs strengthen or alter neighborhood identity? How are decisions about NIDs made and by whom? How are NIDs related to neighborhood change? Are NIDs a tool to reduce inequality between neighborhoods? Milwaukee is a pioneer and innovator in the use of Neighborhood/Business Improvement Districts as a tool for neighborhood development. Because of this, it's a great place to study these questions.
- How will you use the information you collect from interviews? I make an audio-only recording of our interview and I create a written transcript of our conversation from the recording. As I do more interviews and create more transcripts, I read and re-read all of these transcripts to look for themes and patterns in what people say about NIDs. I am interested in these general themes and patterns. While I may use quotes from our interview in my report to illustrate a theme or pattern, I will never disclose your identity or any information about you that could reveal who you are.
- Will anyone else hear the interview recording or read the transcript? Absolutely not. I am the only person who will hear the interview recording or read the transcript. Keeping your information confidential is extremely important to me. All recordings and documentation with your name are kept on a password-protected cloud-server that only I have access to. The University of Wisconsin-Madison requires me to create a plan to protect your information and stick with it.
- What if I decide during or after the interview that I don't want to participate in your study any more? That's fine! If you change your mind during or after the interview, just let me know and I will delete the files and no longer include them in my study. It is important to me that you be in control of your information.
- How can I sign up to participate? You may sign up at here or contact me at [email protected].
Study information
Research Team Contact Information
Principal Investigator
Gay Seidman, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Email: [email protected]
Student Researcher
Sarah Farr, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Email: [email protected]
Education and Social/Behavioral Science IRB Office
Phone: 608-263-2320
Confidential Human Research Protection Hotline: 608-890-1273 or [email protected]
Study Description
You are invited to participate in a research study about Neighborhood Improvement Districts in Milwaukee. I have asked you to participate because you have knowledge about this topic.
I will be making an audio recording of this interview. Audio recordings will only be heard by research and transcription personnel. Audio recordings and transcriptions of those audio recordings will be kept indefinitely. Audio recordings and transcriptions may be used by me for my future research.
This study includes interviews with Neighborhood Improvement District board members, neighborhood residents, property owners, city officials, and others with expert knowledge on this topic. Interviews will be conducted over the phone, Zoom, or in person.
If you decide to participate in this research study, you will be asked to participate in one interview that will not exceed 1.5 hours. Your participation requires only one session, but may include additional sessions if you and I agree to conduct further interviews.
The only minimal risk to you from participation in this study would be a breach of confidentiality if a non-authorized individual were to obtain information about this interview. We don't expect any direct benefits to you from participation in this study.
This study is confidential, which means that neither your name nor any other identifiable information about you will be published or shared will others. If you participate in this study, we would like to be able to quote you without using your name or identifying you.
You may ask any questions about the research at any time. If you have questions about the research after you leave today you should contact the Principal Investigator, Professor Gay Seidman, or the student researcher, me (Sarah Elizabeth Farr) at the phone numbers and email addresses the I have provided to you. If you are not satisfied with the response of the research team, have more questions, or want to talk with someone about your rights as a research participant, you should contact the Education and Social/Behavioral Science IRB Office at the phone number I have provided to you.
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you decide not to participate or to withdraw from the study, you may do so without penalty at any time.
Your verbal consent indicates that you have been read this information, had an opportunity to ask any questions about your participation in this research, and voluntarily consent to participate.
Principal Investigator
Gay Seidman, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Email: [email protected]
Student Researcher
Sarah Farr, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Email: [email protected]
Education and Social/Behavioral Science IRB Office
Phone: 608-263-2320
Confidential Human Research Protection Hotline: 608-890-1273 or [email protected]
Study Description
You are invited to participate in a research study about Neighborhood Improvement Districts in Milwaukee. I have asked you to participate because you have knowledge about this topic.
I will be making an audio recording of this interview. Audio recordings will only be heard by research and transcription personnel. Audio recordings and transcriptions of those audio recordings will be kept indefinitely. Audio recordings and transcriptions may be used by me for my future research.
This study includes interviews with Neighborhood Improvement District board members, neighborhood residents, property owners, city officials, and others with expert knowledge on this topic. Interviews will be conducted over the phone, Zoom, or in person.
If you decide to participate in this research study, you will be asked to participate in one interview that will not exceed 1.5 hours. Your participation requires only one session, but may include additional sessions if you and I agree to conduct further interviews.
The only minimal risk to you from participation in this study would be a breach of confidentiality if a non-authorized individual were to obtain information about this interview. We don't expect any direct benefits to you from participation in this study.
This study is confidential, which means that neither your name nor any other identifiable information about you will be published or shared will others. If you participate in this study, we would like to be able to quote you without using your name or identifying you.
You may ask any questions about the research at any time. If you have questions about the research after you leave today you should contact the Principal Investigator, Professor Gay Seidman, or the student researcher, me (Sarah Elizabeth Farr) at the phone numbers and email addresses the I have provided to you. If you are not satisfied with the response of the research team, have more questions, or want to talk with someone about your rights as a research participant, you should contact the Education and Social/Behavioral Science IRB Office at the phone number I have provided to you.
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you decide not to participate or to withdraw from the study, you may do so without penalty at any time.
Your verbal consent indicates that you have been read this information, had an opportunity to ask any questions about your participation in this research, and voluntarily consent to participate.