Okay, so today I decided to tackle something I’ve been putting off for a while: creating an informed consent form for a psychology experiment I’m planning. It sounds super official and intimidating, but it’s really just about making sure people know what they’re getting into when they participate in my study.
First, I dug around online for some templates. I figured there had to be some good examples out there, and I was right. I found a bunch of different ones, some geared towards clinical trials (way too intense for my little experiment), and some that were closer to what I needed.
I started by copying a basic template that seemed like a good fit. Then the real work began – customizing it!
- I changed the title to reflect my specific study, which is about how background music affects memory recall.
- Next, I wrote a simple, plain-language description of what participants would actually do in the experiment. No jargon, just the facts: “You’ll listen to a short story with some music playing, and then we’ll ask you some questions about it.”
- I made sure to include a section about potential risks. Honestly, the biggest risk in my study is probably boredom, but I mentioned that some people might find the music distracting or unpleasant.
- I also added the stuff. The compensation, the time.
- Crucially, I emphasized that participation is completely voluntary. People can drop out at any time, for any reason, with no penalty. This is super important – I want everyone to feel comfortable and respected.
- I had add a part that they can keep their data private.
After drafting the whole thing, I read it over about a dozen times. I even got a friend (not a psychologist) to read it to make sure it made sense to someone who wasn’t familiar with research stuff. They pointed out a couple of sentences that were a bit confusing, so I rewrote those to be clearer.
Finally, I added a section at the bottom for participants to sign and date, confirming that they’ve read and understood the form. And that’s it! It’s not perfect, but it’s a solid first draft, and I feel much better knowing that I’m taking the ethical considerations of my research seriously.
