BU Research Blog

A participant must be informed about the purpose, methods and intended possible uses of the research, what their participation in research entails and what risks, if any, are involved, so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not they want to take part in your research. Provide your participants with a suitable Participant Information Sheet and Agreement Form, allowing sufficient time for a participant to reflect/ask questions before they agree (consent) to take part. Participation should be voluntary and free from coercion.

Make sure you read the associated ‘How to prepare your participant information sheet….’ guidance

There are a number of templates available (see below) – please download the templates that are appropriate to you and the research project you will be undertaking.

Quick Links

Participant Information Sheet Template (general use by students (undergraduate and postgraduate taught students)
Participant Information Sheet Template (general use by staff and postgraduate researchers [PGRs])
Participant Information Sheet Templates for questionnaires (general use by all staff and students) – please select the appropriate version
Participant Agreement Form Templates (general use by staff and students)
Good examples of Information Sheets/Assent Forms when recruiting children
Remember ….

For Students

Participant Information Sheet Templates for use by undergraduate and postgraduate taught students. If you’re collecting data via a questionnaire, see “Participant Information Sheet Templates for a questionnaire or online survey“.

Participant Information Sheet Template – general use
Participant Information Sheet Template – Parents/Guardian (required if recruiting children as research participants)
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For Staff and PGRs

Participant Information Sheet Templates for use by staff and PGR students. If you’re collecting data via a questionnaire, see “Participant Information Sheet Templates for a questionnaire or online survey“.

Participant Information Sheet Template– general use
Parent/Guardian Information Sheet Template – Parents/Guardian (required if recruiting children as research participants)
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Participant Agreement Forms for use by any BU Researcher (staff or student):

Participant Agreement Form template (PAF) General Use
Participant Agreement Form template (PAF) – Parent/Guardian
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Examples of Information Sheets/Assent Forms for children (when recruiting children as research participants)

Exemplar Participant Assent Form (kindly provided by Dr Fiona Ling)
Exemplar Participant Information Sheet/Assent Form (kindly provided by Mark Moseley, PGR)
External guidance on how to produce an information sheet for children (http://www.hra-decisiontools.org.uk/consent/examples.html) – please refer to section ‘Children and Young people (UK wide)‘
Global kids Online provides tools and example participant agreement forms for working with children and schools (http://globalkidsonline.net/tools/qualitative/)
Health Research Authority guidance with regard to readability, including external resources/tools you can use.
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Questionnaires

Participant Information Sheet Templates for a questionnaire or online survey

If collecting identifiable personal information:

Participant Information Sheet Template for questionnaires/online survey

Anonymised Questionnaires (not collecting identifiable personal information about a research participant):

Remember….

Depending on your research, you may need to consider using a number of different forms or adapted version of the forms as follows:

Participant Information Sheet – Adults
Participant Information Sheet – Children/Young People
Parent/Guardian Information Sheet

Agreement form for Adults
Agreement form for parent/guardians
Assent form (for children/young people who are agreeing to take part (under 16)).

When involving children with a wide age range, it might be appropriate to provide separate PI Sheets for the different age groups. Always tailor your PI Sheet to the participant.

Research activities such as data collection should not commence before the online ethics checklist (including participant information/agreement forms if relevant) has been approved.