Joining a study
Getting informed
Maybe you have seen a flyer advertising an interesting study, or maybe you have been contacted by a researcher inviting you to take part in a study. Feel free to get in touch with the researcher to ask for more information before deciding to join the study. The researcher will always be happy to answer all your questions.
The researcher will also give you a Participant Information Sheet that contains all the necessary details, and more. This Participant Information Sheet has been checked by the ethics committee who approved the study, so you can be sure that it contains all the information you must know. If after reading the Participant Information Sheet you have more questions, again feel free to get in touch with the researcher.
Giving consent to take part
When you are ready, the researcher will ask you to complete and sign a Consent Form, either in person or online (depending on the study). This Consent Form has also been checked by the ethics committee.
The Consent Form will generally include multiple statements that you’ll be asked to initial to show that you understand and agree with them. Most of these have to be completed but sometimes there are optional statements (e.g. “I agree for my anonymised data to be used for teaching purposes”). Which statements are essential and which are option should be very clear, but if in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask the researcher.
Once you have completed and signed the Consent Form, you will officially be a participant in this study.
The next step entirely depends on the study. Some studies can be entirely done online, but most of our studies will involve at least one appointment with us. This will have all been explained in the Participant Information Sheet and by the researcher.
