Consent form guidance

The consent form should be on headed letter paper which bears the name of the University and the name and address of the department to which the principal researcher is attached.

Sample consent forms to cover the secondary use of datasets by other researchers in the future are available from the ESRC Data Archive website.

The consent form should include:

  • the name of the study;
  • the name and status (e.g. doctoral student) of the researcher collecting the information and how to contact him/her;
  • the purpose of the study;
  • declarations that the participant:

    • has read the participant information sheet;
    • has had the opportunity to ask questions about the study and has received satisfactory answers to questions, and any additional details requested;
    • understands that s/he may withdraw from the study without penalty at any time by advising the researchers of this decision;
    • understands that this project has been reviewed by, and received ethics clearance through, the University of Oxford Central University Research Ethics Committee;
    • understands who will have access to personal data provided, how the data will be stored; and what will happen to the data at the end of the project;
    • where the research will be written up as a student’s thesis , understands how personal data included in that thesis will be published and stored (see the ORA website);
    • agrees to participate in this study;
    • understands how to raise a concern and make a complaint (see complaints procedure).

The participant should sign, print and date his/her name.

The researcher who secures the consent should sign, print and date his/her name.

These requirements match those on CUREC/2 question 18.

The following templates are also available as PDF and Word documents: