Guide to Creating an Information Letter and Consent Form | Information Letter Samples | Consent Form Samples | Resources
An information-consent letter is used most often to inform a potential participant about a research study and to document a participant's agreement to take part in the study.
Guide to Creating an Information Letter and Consent Form
The guide to creating an information letter and consent form (docx) is intended to provide researchers with the information needed to develop their information letters and consent documents. TCPS 2, Article 3.2 indicates that “Researchers shall provide to participants, or authorized third parties, full disclosure of all information necessary for making an informed decision to participate in the research project.”
The guide to creating an information letter and consent form (docx) was developed as a resource for researchers to use when developing their materials.
Information Letter Samples
The samples below are intended to be examples of information letters. When developing your information letter refer to the guide and use the samples as a starting place. All information letters should be accompanied by a consent material documenting how consent is obtained.
Consent and Permission Form Samples
Consent and permission forms are generally used with an information letter. These forms document a participant’s agreement to take part in the study. Depending on the study methods and context, permission may also be needed to use quotations, take audio or video recordings, take photographs/digital images, or to store and use data for future research.
While consent is typically obtained in written form, researchers may obtain consent in other ways such as orally or verbally. Consent is to be document regardless of the method chosen (TCPS 2, Article 3.12).
| Method for obtaining consent | Sample consent material |
|---|---|
| Written | Written consent form (docx) |
| Verbal | |
| Online (e.g., online surveys) | Online consent form (docx) |
| Parental consent form for research with child |
Parent consent form (docx) Child or youth assent form (docx) |
| Post de-briefing (e.g., for studies using deception) | Post debriefing consent form (docx) |
Resources
Waterloo finance policy on remuneration to research participants
Waterloo guidelines for using plain language in participant materials
Waterloo guidelines for recruiting people to surveys using crowdsourcing
Waterloo guidelines for storing data and information
Updated June 2023