Information
You, the researcher, need to clearly and plainly state what your project is about.

• What are you studying?
• Why do you need human subjects to participate, and
• What are they expected to do?
• What risks do those participants face?
• What benefits might they gain?

Consent

Your human subjects need to agree to participate in your study. What that agreement looks like depends on how much risk is involved. 

• Is your study completely anonymous? If you will collect no information from participants that could identify them, you can simply provide them with your project overview and a statement letting them know that their participation is proof of their consent.
• If your study is not anonymous – if it is somehow possible to connect your participants’ identities to what they’ve shared with you – you will need to obtain documentation of their consent. But how?
  • You can collect signed paper or fax agreements.
  • You can collect electronic signature agreements.
  • You can record agreements that you receive during a telephone or video call.

It’s important to keep your participants’ information private.

But what is privacy? In research, privacy means having control over when, how, and how much personal information human subjects share with others. 

Confidentiality is an important aspect of human subject-based research.

While privacy, and the risks associated with it, can be discussed with your participants before you begin your project, confidentiality is up to you, the researcher, to maintain after that private data has been collected. 

Remember:
There is always risk involved when you’re doing research with human subjects! Including your plans to maintain confidentiality in your consent statement will help your participants feel reassured about their safety.