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Free, informed and ongoing consent
- For research with humans to be considered ethical, it is essential that participants provide their free, informed and ongoing consent. Research can begin only after the participants have provided their initial consent, and individuals must have the possibility to withdraw their consent at any point during the research project.
This section provides researchers an overview of the key considerations regarding the process for obtaining consent or assent from research participants, as well as templates and sample forms for obtaining their consent or assent.
Do I need my student’s permission to conduct a study of reflective practice? Do I need to declare a conflict of interest to conduct research with my own students? What things do I need to know before planning an in-class experiment or involving students whom I teach as participants?
Who can obtain informed consent from research participants? A member of the study staff must obtain consent. This may be the principal investigator or designate. Consideration must be given to possible coercion by virtue of pre-existing relationships (i.e., physician-patient, professor-student).
Consent to participate in a research study should be understood as a process rather than an event. Researchers should plan for and articulate the steps by which consent is initially obtained and the steps by which it is reviewed throughout the study.
Consent. Written consent. Once a potential participant has read the information letter and has had an opportunity to ask any questions related to the study and receive satisfactory responses, they should requested to sign a consent form that states they have read the information in the letter and agree to participate in the research.
In some cases, participant actions (e.g., completing a questionnaire or participating in research activities) can demonstrate consent. If there are valid reasons for not recording consent in writing, such as participant safety, the consent procedures must be documented in the ethics application.
People also ask
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Why is informed consent important in a research study?
The REB is increasingly open to allow children between the ages of 12 and 17 to consent on their own behalf for research projects which inquire into subjects over which an individual of that has agency to decide.
