CONDUCTING CLASS RESEARCH PROJECTS
How to Handle Informed Consent in Your Study
It is important that your participants have an idea of what they are consenting to when they agree to participate in your study. This can be done orally (e.g., "Do you have a few minutes to complete a survey about your attitudes about our school mascot?" or it can be done in writing. If you are having people fill out a paper and pencil questionnaire please include a cover sheet to inform your participants.
Please copy and edit this page and include it on the first page of your paper and pencil or Qualtrics survey.
"Welcome to our Study!
You are being asked to participate in a research study we are conducting as part of a class project. It has not been reviewed by
Bradley University’s Internal Review Board (Committee on the Use of Human Subjects in Research) because it is for educational
purposes, but it is being conducting according to the ethical principles and practices outlined by the American Psychological Association.
Your participation in this research is voluntary. Please contact the main experimenter (Dr. Hermann at ahermann@bradley.edu)
if you have any questions or concerns about the study. In this study you will [insert general description of activities here,
e.g.. “Answer questions about your personal preferences and write a brief essay”]. It will take approximately [XX] minutes to complete."
No personally identifying information will be collected as we are interested in group averages rather than individual responses.
All efforts will be made to keep your responses anonymous and they are strictly confidential. You are free to discontinue your
participation at any time.
Again, thank you for your time and participation."
How to Handle Debriefing in Your Study
In debriefing your participants, your main concern should be to inform them about the purpose of the study in as brief and positive way as possible and to invite them to ask more questions if they have them. This can be done orally or in writing. If you are doing your study on Qualtrics, please be sure include a debriefing statement on the last page.
When you write your debriefing use the following guidelines
Below is an example debriefing paragraph that you can copy and edit to fit your study.
“Thank you very much for your participation. One of thing we are investigating is how the type of picture participants
saw might affect their ratings of their own attractiveness. In some conditions, participants saw a picture of a highly
attractive person, while in other conditions participants saw a picture of an average person. These pictures could
influence people in different ways, making them more or less satisfied with their own attractiveness or they may
have had no effect.”
“Again, thank you for taking the time to participate in our study. Please feel free to contact us at [insert email address]
if you have any questions.”
How to Handle Informed Consent in Your Study
It is important that your participants have an idea of what they are consenting to when they agree to participate in your study. This can be done orally (e.g., "Do you have a few minutes to complete a survey about your attitudes about our school mascot?" or it can be done in writing. If you are having people fill out a paper and pencil questionnaire please include a cover sheet to inform your participants.
Please copy and edit this page and include it on the first page of your paper and pencil or Qualtrics survey.
"Welcome to our Study!
You are being asked to participate in a research study we are conducting as part of a class project. It has not been reviewed by
Bradley University’s Internal Review Board (Committee on the Use of Human Subjects in Research) because it is for educational
purposes, but it is being conducting according to the ethical principles and practices outlined by the American Psychological Association.
Your participation in this research is voluntary. Please contact the main experimenter (Dr. Hermann at ahermann@bradley.edu)
if you have any questions or concerns about the study. In this study you will [insert general description of activities here,
e.g.. “Answer questions about your personal preferences and write a brief essay”]. It will take approximately [XX] minutes to complete."
No personally identifying information will be collected as we are interested in group averages rather than individual responses.
All efforts will be made to keep your responses anonymous and they are strictly confidential. You are free to discontinue your
participation at any time.
Again, thank you for your time and participation."
How to Handle Debriefing in Your Study
In debriefing your participants, your main concern should be to inform them about the purpose of the study in as brief and positive way as possible and to invite them to ask more questions if they have them. This can be done orally or in writing. If you are doing your study on Qualtrics, please be sure include a debriefing statement on the last page.
When you write your debriefing use the following guidelines
- Avoid giving the idea that you’ve tricked your participants.
- Briefly describe different possible ways the study could turn out.
- Keep the detail to a minimum.
- Treat participants that way you’d like to be treated if you were in the study.
Below is an example debriefing paragraph that you can copy and edit to fit your study.
“Thank you very much for your participation. One of thing we are investigating is how the type of picture participants
saw might affect their ratings of their own attractiveness. In some conditions, participants saw a picture of a highly
attractive person, while in other conditions participants saw a picture of an average person. These pictures could
influence people in different ways, making them more or less satisfied with their own attractiveness or they may
have had no effect.”
“Again, thank you for taking the time to participate in our study. Please feel free to contact us at [insert email address]
if you have any questions.”
