You want to tell someone all the information about the study so they can make a decision to take part in it or not. If they feel like they haven’t been provided with the correct or most up to date information they may feel like they haven’t given informed consent.
Think of the Information Sheet as your study’s FAQ for your participant before they even step into the room (even the virtual one).
The goal here is simple: autonomy. You are providing the full picture so they can make an informed decision to take part (or not). If a participant feels like they’re missing the fine print or that the information is outdated, you haven't actually achieved informed consent; you've just checked a box.
Just like the Consent Form, timing is everything. I send the Information Sheet alongside the consent form 24 hours before the session. This hits the Goldilocks zone of research ops.
Space to breathe: It gives the participant enough time to actually review the details without feeling pressured.
Fresh in the mind: It’s close enough to the session that they haven't forgotten the "why" and "how" by the time you hit record.
Let’s break down the essential components.
You want this to match the tone of your consent form. This won’t change from study to study as it's a generic statement.
You need to write:
- Who are you?
- Why are you doing research?
This is where you want to give an overview of the study you are going to wrong. This should match the recruitment email and calendar invite.
You need to tell the participant:
- How long will it take?
- What sort of method collection is it?
- Will there be informed consent?
- Will you take notes?
- Participation is voluntary
- How to withdraw
To get informed consent, we need to tell people how we plan to store and use the information we collect from them.
You need to tell the participant:
-If anyone else plans to observe the research session
-Will the information collected be used by anyone else?
-Links to any privacy notices
You may decide to give people a little thanks for taking part in your session. This could be anything from monetary vouchers to giving away 3 months of your service.
You need to tell them:
-What will they receive?
-When will they receive it?
-How they will receive it
Think of the information sheet as your research FAQ. By answering the 'how, what, and when' before the session even starts, you reclaim those first ten minutes of your interview. Instead of explaining your privacy policy or how the vouchers work, you can dive straight into the insights. It’s a small investment in admin that pays massive dividends in session quality and participant retention.
Now its time you start to think about how to recruit some users since you've got the legal bit sorted!
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