Survey on The Ethics of Destructive Research on Human Remains

Disclaimer: AAFS is neither conducting nor endorsing this research or survey. AAFS is providing this opportunity solely to facilitate outreach to potential participants. Any questions regarding the research, survey, or participation request should be directed to the recruiter identified below.

Disciplines Invited to Participate:  Anthropology, Criminalistics, Forensic Nursing Science, General, Odontology, Pathology/Biology, and Toxicology

Membership Category Requirement:  All AAFS Affiliates and Members

You are invited to participate in a research project titled The Ethics of Destructive Research on Human Remains: An Exploratory Study. This project has been developed by:

• Shelby Feirstein, MS (P.I.; shelby.feirstein@umontana.edu; (406) 243-7807; Anthropology Student Affiliate)
• Lacy Hazelwood, PhD (lacy.hazelwood@umontana.edu; (432) 302-0600)
• Xenia Kyriakou, PhD (xenia.kyriakou@umontana.edu; (406) 243-2693; Anthropology Associate Member)
• Nicholas Passalacqua, PhD (Passalacqua.19@osu.edu; (614) 688-0387; Anthropology Section Member)
• Meradeth Snow, PhD (meradeth.snow@mso.umt.edu; (406) 243-2693)

This online survey should take about 10-20 minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary, and responses will be kept anonymous to the degree permitted by the technology being used. No personal identifying information, including IP addresses will be collected. Participation or nonparticipation will not impact your relationship with the University of Montana.

You may choose not to respond to any of the short-answer questions. Submission of the survey will be interpreted as your informed consent to participate and your affirmation that you:

• Are at least 18 years of age
• Work or are a student in the field of forensic science, bioarchaeology, or another related field that regularly works with human remains or human biological samples

This study explores:

• Whether practitioners and researchers believe experimental destructive analysis should be conducted in the name of science, data collection, and human identification
• What level of destruction or alteration is considered "too much"
• How practitioners' emotions, ethics, and perspectives inform fieldwork and casework
• What drives acceptance of some destructive analyses and continued reservations toward others

The results of this survey will be used for presentation at a future AAFS conference, a chapter in the PI's dissertation, and for publication in JFS.

Open Date: September 1, 2026

Close Date: March 1, 2027

If you have any questions about the research, please contact the Principal Investigator, Shelby Feirstein, M.S., via email at shelby.feirstein@umontana.edu or the faculty advisor, Dr. Meradeth Snow at meradeth.snow@mso.umt.edu. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a research subject, contact the UM Institutional Review Board (IRB) at (406) 243-6672. This study has been approved with exemption.

Special Note: This survey is about destructive research using donated human bodies. This means that the individuals gave permission before they died, or their next of kin gave permission after their death, for certain types of research. Some questions describe imaginary research projects. Please assume that each project has received all the required approvals and permissions.

Disclaimer: This survey is completely anonymous. You can choose to explain your answers, but please do not include any personal or identifying information. If you do, we will have to remove your response from the final analysis. Click to Participate: https://umt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3IAGcK9DM2K0fpY.

Thank you for your participation.