2026 Projects

Ethical Ignorance and Responsibility in Human–Horse Relations

Format: On Campus or Online (Both are possible)
Number of Students: 4
Duration of Project: July 13-August 3, 2026

Application Deadline: June 5, 2026

Project Supervisor: Nilüfer Yapıcı, PhD.
Research Areas: Management

Project Description

This project supports a qualitative research study on ethical ignorance and responsibility in human–horse relations within equestrian clubs. The study examines how horses’ expressions of tension, resistance, fatigue, or withdrawal are interpreted and responded to across organizational roles (riders, trainers, club owners/managers, veterinarians, caretakers/grooms, and officials), and how welfare is shaped by routines, competition calendars, and governance structures.

This project will prepare the empirical materials for analysis by producing accurate transcripts (AI-assisted + careful checking), cleaning and standardizing multilingual interview data, and compiling key external governance documents (especially FEI welfare/regulatory texts) into an organized reference library.

About the Project

Equestrian clubs operate simultaneously as workplaces, care environments, and performance-oriented organizations, where human performance and reputation depend on horses’ bodily capacities and willingness to cooperate. While horses may be treated as partners or “athletes,” they can also remain materially replaceable within performance logics, creating ethical tensions that are not always addressed proactively.
Building on this context, the study uses multisited qualitative data (interviews and observations) and examines how organizational routines and regulatory frameworks shape what is noticed, discussed, acted upon, or minimised in relation to horse well-being. Students will contribute by preparing a high-quality multilingual dataset (TR/EN/FR/DE) and a structured document repository so the research team can proceed to coding and analysis.

Project Objectives

  • Produce accurate, clean, and consistent interview transcripts ready for qualitative analysis.
  • Create a structured multilingual document library of external reference materials (focus: FEI; also relevant national/disciplinary documents if needed).
  • Build a traceable workflow (file naming, versioning, logs) so data can be audited and reused.
  • Strengthen students’ skills in research methods, responsible AI use, and research ethics.

Project Tasks

Students will be assigned by language stream (TR / EN / FR / DE), with coordination across the team.

A) Transcription and Quality Control (Core)

  • Generate initial transcripts using approved AI tools/workflow.
  • Perform line-by-line accuracy checks, correct misheard terms and names, and ensure speaker turns are consistent.
  • Clean transcripts: remove filler where appropriate (without changing meaning), standardize punctuation, and fix obvious grammar for readability.
  • Apply consistent formatting rules (speaker labels, timestamps if required, anonymization conventions).

 

B) Transcript Cleaning and Standardization

  • Standardize terminology (e.g., horse welfare / health and welfare; role labels: rider/athlete, trainer/coach, groom/caretaker, veterinarian, steward/official).
  • Create a simple transcript “style guide” (what to correct, what to leave as-is, how to mark unclear audio).
  • Flag ambiguous passages for supervisor review.

 

C) External Data Collection (FEI + related)

  • Collect and organize: FEI General Regulations, Code of Conduct for the Welfare of the Horse, veterinary regulations/guidelines, stewarding guidance, and other welfare-related FEI documents.
  • Maintain a bibliography with document titles, version dates, links, and short notes about relevance.
  • Collect parallel national or discipline-specific documents where relevant to interviews.

 

D) Data Organization

  • Set up and maintain a shared folder structure and naming conventions (language / date / interview code).
  • Maintain a progress tracker (what’s transcribed, checked, cleaned, pending).

Deliverables

By August 3, 2026:

  1. Cleaned transcripts for assigned interviews (TR/EN/FR/DE), including a QC status label (e.g., Draft / Checked / Final).
  2. A transcript style guide (1–2 pages) documenting conventions used.
  3. A structured external document library (FEI-focused) with a short annotated index (title, date/version, scope, relevance).
  4. A simple project log (who did what, what remains, unresolved audio sections/questions).

Benefits for the Student

  • Hands-on experience in a real research project (qualitative methods + multilingual data preparation).
  • Training in AI-assisted transcription with verification, research ethics, and data organization practices.
  • Exposure to sport governance and welfare standards (FEI documents) and how they inform real-world decisions.
  • A reference letter/certificate possible upon successful completion.
  • Particularly valuable for students interested in management, social sciences, animal welfare, sport studies, or translation/communication.

Requirements

Essential

  • Strong attention to detail and willingness to do careful verification work.
  • Familiarity with Word/Google Docs/Excel and organized file handling.
  • Ability to follow a transcript style guide and file organization rules.
  • Reliability: meet deadlines and communicate issues early

 

Language (by stream)

  • Turkish stream: Fluent Turkish (native or near-native preferred).
  • English stream: B1 minimum reading comprehension and ability to transcribe/edit conversational speech with support (AI + checking).
  • French / German streams: A2–B1 minimum reading comprehension and ability to transcribe/edit conversational speech with support (AI + checking).

 

Preferred (not required)

  • Interest in horses/equestrian sport; equestrian athlete experience is a plus.
  • Comfort working with audio and repetitive detail-oriented tasks.
  • Basic Python/R for qualitative data preparation (text cleaning with regex, batch file organization, metadata/QC reporting) is desirable.

 

Ethics & Confidentiality
Students must agree to confidential handling of interview data and follow anonymization instructions.

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2026 Projects
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