We’re conducting research about online fat communities!
A note on terminology: People use different words to discuss fatness but we have chosen to use the word fat. If you use a different word and are still interested in participating, please feel free to contact us with the form below.
Who are we?
Blakeley H. Payne and Jordan Taylor, researchers in the Internet Rules Lab
Dr. Katta Spiel, researcher at Vienna University of Technology
Dr. Casey Fiesler, assistant professor at University of Colorado Boulder and Director of the Internet Rules Lab
We study technology, ethics, and social justice. Multiple members of our research team identify as fat.
What is the study about?
We’re interested in learning more about the experiences of fat people online, what value online communities bring to members of the fat community, what challenges members of the fat community face online, how online spaces could be better designed for and with fat people, and how people who participate might feel about outsiders (such as researchers or journalists) using information from that space.
What do we need?
We are looking for people who are 18+ and identify as fat to participate in one 30-90 minute interview.
The interview will be between you and a fat member of our team. We have researchers who can conduct interviews in English or German. The interview can occur in the medium you prefer, such as phone, voice chat, or video chat (though we will only record audio). However, if you would like to participate but are unable to do so through voice or video chat, we are happy to make accommodations.
Interview participants will be compensated for their time with a $20 gift card.
Should we have more volunteers who want to participate in the interview study than we have the capacity to interview, we will send a short questionnaire on the same topic to the remaining volunteers who may choose to fill it out at their discretion. Unfortunately, we cannot compensate those who participate in the questionnaire.
What do I need to do?
Please fill out the form below to let us know you are interested. If based on your answers you do not qualify for this study, we will immediately destroy any information that you provided to us. Assuming that you qualify, we will get in touch with you to schedule an interview, or will let you know if we already have enough participants. You can also use the form below to ask questions about the study, or email irl.fat.research@gmail.com. You can also contact the principle investigator directly at casey.fiesler@colorado.edu.
Fill out this form to volunteer to participate!
This study has been approved by the University of Colorado Institutional Review Board.