Checklist of Strategies For Writing and Reviewing Consent Forms

Use this checklist to help develop and/or review consent forms.

Planning

Identify and know your potential participants.

 

Consider potential participants’ perspectives.

 

Determine what information your audience will need and not need to make an informed decision about participation.

 

Based on the above considerations, decide what information belongs to the key information section and what goes in the rest of the consent form.

Writing and Organization

Use common, everyday words.

 

Think about how potential participants will perceive your writing.

 

Keep sentences short, simple, and conversational.

 

Separate information into sections with useful headings.

Design

Set page margins to 1 inch or larger. (Ensure the text is large enough to read easily — at minimum:)

 

Bold, italicize, color, or increase the size of text for emphasis only.(Use illustrations, tables, and other graphic elements to:)

Review and Revision

Review each section sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph.

 

Use readability tests thoughtfully.

 

Check that you have the information required by the Common Rule at §46.116.

 

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