In some communities, being asked to sign a form could suggest a lack of trust and could potentially deter participants. You could choose to document verbal consent by using a tape recorder or by having someone available to witness the verbal consent. For a BC project that involved students at a number of sites, researchers developed an information and consent form that coordinators reviewed with students. The coordinators signed the form to indicate that the student had been informed and had provided consent, and passed the signed forms on to the researchers (Marina Niks, personal communication, January 2008).

Here are some questions to address in the information you provide to participants.

• What is your research about? What do you hope to learn? How will you use what you learn?
• Who are you? Who is sponsoring the research? Who else is involved in the research with you?
• How do you plan to do the research? What are you asking participants to do?
• What, if any, is the potential risk of harm for participants?
• Who might benefit from the research?
• How will the research be shared?
• What will participants receive for taking part in the research?
• Will you check back with participants about using information
• How will you ensure that participation is voluntary? How can participants withdraw? What will you do with their information they withdraw?
• How will you address issues of anonymity and confidentiality? Can participants choose to use a pseudonym or their own name?
• How will you securely store information and for how long?

What about when your research involves a group where people come and go? In such cases, you can review your research at the start of each session and request consent. You may want to request consent verbally and document whether people agree to participate or not. You can use a similar approach when you have casual conversations with research participants that are relevant to the research. You could explain that you'd like to include the participants' comments in your research and ask for their permission to do so.

Language and literacy differences

Differences in language and literacy use can pose challenges to the informed consent process. Whether you ask for written permission or not, it may be helpful to have a written form or checklist for you to review with each participant. Paula Davies (2006) discussed her research idea with her class, and students had time to ask questions and share ideas before deciding whether to participate. Susan Lefebvre and her colleagues (2006) developed a clear language consent form that included graphics. Examples of consent forms follow.