SAMPLE CONSENT FORMS

See a Sample Informed Consent Form for a project where participants are asked to perform physical activities.

See a Sample Informed Consent Form for a project where participants are asked to taste test items of food.

See a Sample Informed Consent Form for a project where participants are asked to complete a survey.

Tips for Forms & Projects:

There are two parts to this form. The first is the Human Subjects Form 4 which is the form that is used to gather the IRB approval signatures. Please note that there are several questions that need to be answered by the Student Researcher prior to forwarding it on to the IRB along with the Research Plan, any surveys or questionnaires being used and a copy of the consent form being used.

The Research Plan for a project that uses Human Subjects must include the following:

It is important that the Medical or Mental Health Professional identifies themselves as one of the approved IRB members listed on the form in the box labeled "Degree/Professional License" where they sign. Remember that the type of activities the student researcher is having participants take part in will determine who should review the project. Physical activities should be reviewed by a medical doctor, physician's assistant or registered nurse. Psychological studies should be reviewed by a psychologist, psychiatrist, licensed social worker, or a licensed clinical professional counselor. In rural areas of the state where a medical professional is hard to come by, please contact CSEF SRC for assistance.

Neither the Adult Sponsor, parent(s), Qualified Scientist, nor the Designated Supervisor who oversees a specific project is permitted to serve on the IRB reviewing that project. This eliminates any conflict of interest.

IRB approval is needed BEFORE laboratory/data collection begins.

The second part is a Human Informed Consent Form. Students should feel free to either use the form as it is provided by ISEF, or copy all of the following information into a new document:

Purpose of the project: This is where the Student Researcher should explain as simply as possible, why they are doing the project.

If you participate, you will be asked to: Include EVERYTHING you will be asking the subject to do in the study. If you have different tasks for different sets of subjects, then different consent forms must be used for each set of tasks.

Time required for participation: Give a good estimate for how much time the subject should expect to spend participating in your study.

Risks: Remember, there is no such thing as NO RISK. If no risks are anticipated, then use the phrase "NO KNOWN RISKS." Always keep in mind that there are emotional as well as physical risks involved in some studies. This is also where you would describe how you will minimize the possible risks.

Benefits: Give any benefits to the individual participant as well as the benefit to society in general. If there are no benefits, it is perfectly all right to state that there are no benefits for participating in the study except to satisfy the curiosity of the student researcher.

How confidentiality will be maintained: The best procedures are those where absolutely no identifying information is collected along with the data. Another technique is to have a numbered linked list where the data from the participants is given a number and the number is separately identified by name. This would allow the researcher to destroy the numbered list of names as soon as the need for the link is done. It is also best that the Adult Sponsor or Designated Supervisor be in charge of keeping the data.

Read more about ISEF rules regarding Human Subject research. IRB's may use this power point presentation as a training guide on how to review student research projects.