Guidelines for Creating an Informed Consent Cover Letter for No-Risk Surveys

NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD: POLICY ON ADVERTISEMENTS AND FLYERS

The flyer template is on the following page. Please review the policy below before designing your flyer or any other advertisement, including recruitment letters/email.  The Institutional Review Board (IRB) recognizes that advertising for people to join studies is an important way to obtain research volunteers. Federal regulations give the IRB chair/designee responsibility to review and approve advertising materials before their use. It is IRB policy that researchers submit drafts of their ads, posters, flyers, TV/radio clips, and/or Internet ads to the IRB for approval before their use.  When preparing materials for advertising, an important distinction must be made between “permissible information” and “coercive inducement.” If an incentive is offered, it needs to be of a nature that doesn’t strongly entice the person, limiting his voluntary choice.  Special consideration needs to be given if the target population includes vulnerable persons (e.g., minors, the critically ill, students, prisoners).  To assist in developing ads for research participants, a list of “Do’s” and Don’ts” follows. As always, you may contact the Office of Research Compliance and Ethics at 336-285-2961 or [email protected] for further assistance. Do: Don’t:

Keep the A&T logo and the gray stamp validation Use inappropriate clip art. box in the header of the flyer.

Leave the words “research study” off of the Use the words “research study.” recruitment solicitation.

Make overly enticing claims (e. g., intervention is Briefly state the purpose of the study. “safe,” “effective,” etc.) for purpose of study.

List any age restrictions and other criteria for State that anyone is welcome to join. participation.

Emphasize benefits and de-emphasize risks or imply Note any major known benefits and any major a certainty of a favorable outcome as a result of known risks. (This is not required if there are none.) participation.

Overemphasize compensation (such as underline, Refer to compensation, not payment. boldface, a large font, or exclamation points) or make exaggerated claims.

Use enticement terms such as fat or balding (in regard Include time commitment expected. If you have a to the subjects); New, exciting, or cutting edge (in specific date and location for the study, include that. regard to “treatment” being studied).

Give name of the principal investigator. If PI is a Give a general phone number. student, also give faculty sponsor name.

Provide the name and contact information of the Have a representative without preparation take calls. study person who should be called.

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IRB Validation Stamp NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY Area Do not remove.

Instructions: The A&T logo and the gray stamp box in the header must appear on your flyer. The example below is for illustration purposes only. You may design your flyer however you wish, so long as it contains the mandatory elements as stated in the guidelines. This text box should be deleted. VolunteersVolunteers NeededNeeded forfor ResearchResearch StudyStudy We need participants for a research study: “Do College Students Prefer Android or Apple iOS Smart Phones?”

Description of Project: We are conducting a research study about college students’ perceptions of smart phones. Your participation will take about 45 minutes. We will ask you to take a paper survey and participate in a focus group on the A&T campus. To participate: You must be currently enrolled at N.C. A&T, be at least 18 years old, and be able to use a smart phone. Participants will be entered to win a $50 Best Buy gift card. To learn more, contact the principle investigator of the study, Lois Griffin, at 336 555-0123 or [email protected]. This research is conducted under the direction of Dr. Martha Stuart, Associate Professor, Psychology, and has been reviewed and approved by the N.C. A&T Institutional Review Board. S l L S l L S l L S l L S l L S l L S l L S l L S l L S l L S l L d d d d d d d d d d d m m m m m m m m m m m o o o o o o o o o o o g g g g g g g g g g g i i i i i i i i i i i r r r r r r r r r r r a a a a a a a a a a a s s s s s s s s s s s i i i i i i i i i i i r r r r r r r r r r r f f f f f f f f f f f G G G G G G G G G G G t t t t t t t t t t t f f f f f f f f f f f

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