The institutional affiliations) with the research (e.g., form printed on letterhead with logos); |
| The researcher (s)’ institutional/organisational affiliations) (e.g. the lead researcher (name) is an Assistant Professor at Mount Saint Vincent University who studies...); |
| A general description of the research and its’ purposes; |
| An explanation of how participants are selected; |
| A description of what participants will be asked to do (e.g., activities, tasks, answer questions) and the length of time likely required of their participation; |
| A description of any specific research instruments or technologies that will be used (e.g., tape recorders, film, maps, observation rooms); |
| Potential beneficial outcome (s) of the research generally and, if applicable, for the participant (s); |
| An outline of potential/actual risks, if any, for the participants associated with their involvement in the research (e.g., emotional disturbance, social disrepute), as well as risks to social groups and/or organisations with which the participant is affiliated; |
| Outline of the steps taken to ensure participant confidentiality and anonymity (e.g., all personal identifiers will be removed, sample master lists will be destroyed); |
| Specification of participants’ rights to refuse to answer questions, to terminate their involvement in the research at anytime, to refuse to be tape-recorded, video-taped, photographed at any point in the research, and to review and/or edit tapes, transcripts, video and photographs |
A description of the dissemination strategy (e.g., reports, focus groups, academic papers/books);
A description of how and where information gathered will stored and secured (e.g., research office, university archives, national data archives); |
| A commitment respecting how the research team intends to inform participants of the research outcomes (e.g., sent an executive summary, receive a copy of the full research report); |
| When appropriate, it must be made clear that the study is for research purposes and will not affect such matters as access to clinical care or academic services. If the participants are a captive audience (i.e., students, employees, patients) be sure to state explicitly that their access to future care or service delivery will not be affected in any way by participating or choosing not to participate in the study; |
If the research involves children or dependent adults, the researcher (s) should address the following issues:
- Offer the parent/guardian an opportunity to accompany the participant to the testing site at a convenient time. If the parent/guardian is unable to accompany their child, the researcher should arrange to call each parent / guardian routinely after the testing situation.
- Address the procedural issues of participant supervision during the testing procedure. The Informed Consent process must be very explicit regarding this issue. This is especially salient if a research assistant is to collect the data. A parent/guardian or other designate must be invited to be present. It is recommended also that the researcher have someone escort the participant to and from the testing site.
- The P.I. is advised to send an informational package to the school/ institution/ centre in which the study is introduced / explained;
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| A qualified designated representative must be specified as a contact who can explain the study further in case of further questions (usually the Principal Investigator (P.I.)); |
| You must include the following in the Informed Consent: "If you have questions about how this study is being conducted and wish to speak with someone not involved in the study, you may contact the Chair of the University Research Ethics Board (UREB) c/o MSVU Research Office, at 457-6350 or via e-mail at research@msvu.ca." ; |
| If an off-site and/or third party’s involvement is critical to the project (e.g., school board, daycare), approval from the U-REB will be contingent upon receipt of the off-site and/or third party approval; |
| A specific place at the very end of the Form, where the respondent is asked for a signature and date indicating that they are providing their free and inform consent as the condition for agreeing to participate in the research (the interviewer (s) should also sign and provide the participant with a copy of their consent form). |
When researchers are conducting survey research employing telephone, mail-out, drop-off, e-mail, and/or on-line types of information gathering techniques, prospective participants’ free and informed consent must be solicited through any of the following:
- Provision of a Research Statement as a preamble in the research questionnaire that includes all of the substantive content of a Consent Form (mail-out, on-line, e-mail, drop-off);
- In the case of telephone conducted surveys, voice delivery of a Research Statement as a preamble in the research questionnaire that includes all of the substantive content of a Consent Form;
- In pre-selected samples (e.g., mail outs, e-mail), the presentation of a Research Statement that includes all of the substantive content of a Consent Form may be included in a ‘contact and introduction letter’ that precedes letter or e-mail transmission of the survey questionnaire.
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