Informed Consent with Evaluation and Research

  • When appropriate, you should obtain voluntary and written informed consent from your participants:
  1. Without any suggested or actual deprivation or penalty if they refuse to participate;
  2. Without unreasonable inducement to participate;
  3. With due regard for the participants’ well-being, privacy, and dignity
  • When seeking such informed consent, you should:
  1. Provide information about the nature, extent, and duration of the participation requested, and
  2. Disclose the risks and benefits associated with participating in the research.
  • When evaluation or research participants are incapable of giving informed consent, you should: 
  1. Provide an appropriate explanation to them,
  2. To the extent possible, obtain their assent to participate, and
  3. Get written consent from an appropriate proxy.
  • You should not design or conduct evaluation or research that does not require consent procedures (for example, some forms of naturalistic observation and archival research) unless: 
  1. A rigorous and responsible review of the research has found it to be justified due to its potential scientific, educational, or applied value; and 
  2. Equally effective alternative procedures that do not involve a waiver of consent are unavailable.
  • You should notify your participants of their right to withdraw from evaluation and research at any time without penalty. 
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