Developing information for participants in your research - Writing your participant information This presentation will help you to create the first draft of your participant information PMM/FEB/10 Please see getting started and making your first draft before going on

Your participant information should have three elements 1. Letter of invitation PMM/FEB/10

Write a letter inviting a potential participant to take part. The letter should include Title of the project Who you are, What the project is about, Why you are doing the project Request for the person’s help What helping will involve Reference to the information sheet Your contact details and the name (and, for students, the contact details of your supervisor). Thank the person for taking the time to read about the project. Make sure you use headed notepaper

Example – project title I am a nurse working in the Accident and Emergency Department at XX Hospital. I am also a student on the XXX course at Birmingham City University. As a part of my studies I have to do a research project and I am trying to find out about PMM/FEB/10

The purpose of this letter is to ask for your help in this project by taking part. This will involve I have enclosed an information sheet which tells you more about the project. The sheet is in two parts – Part 1 tells you about.... Part 2 explains.... PMM/FEB/10

Please can you take a few minutes to read this sheet? You d not have to take part in the project if you do not want to. If you do feel able to take part please sign the consent form at the end of the information sheet. Please post the signed consent form back to me and the prepaid envelope provided by (date). PMM/FEB/10

If you would like more information about the project please contact me at (insert contact details here) or my supervisor (name) (insert contact details here). Thank you for taking time to read this letter. PMM/FEB/10

2. Participant information sheet PMM/FEB/10

Take the draft you have developed in the previous exercise. Use the questions as subheadings to create your information sheet. Take out any questions that were not applicable to your study. PMM/FEB/10

Use headed note paper from your place of work if that is where you are researching or ask your supervisor for BCU paper. Put the title of the project at the start of the sheet.

PMM/FEB/10 Make clear that Make clear that any information given will be treated in the strictest confidence; used only for the purposes of this project; destroyed once the project is complete. make clear that participants will not be identified in any way in the report. Explain what to do if the individual wants to know more or does not understand something - provide a work- based contact address, phone number or .

Enclose a stamped addressed envelope for returns Set a date for returns PMM/FEB/10

Use simple straightforward language Check the readability of your work

People who lack confidence in reading are often faced with an immediate barrier if the written information they are given doesn't take account of their difficulties. PMM/FEB/10

Compare this You are being invited to take part in a research study. Before you decide it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully. Talk to others about the study if you wish. Part 1 tells you the purpose of this study and what will happen to you if you take part. Part 2 gives you more detailed information about the conduct of the study. Please contact us if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you wish to take part. (NRES May 2007)

PMM/FEB/10 With this – which is easier to understand? What is this about? I am trying to find out whether mental health services in Birmingham meet the needs of Irish people. I am asking for you help in this matter. Please take a few minutes to read this leaflet and talk to other people about it if you wish.

The concept of readability is an attempt to match the reading level of written material to the ‘reading with understanding’ level of the reader. A readability formula carries out calculations on a text, based primarily on sentence and word length, and results in a numerical score. PMM/FEB/10

SMOG – Simplified Measure of Gobbledygook SMOG –is a mathematical formula that gives a readability level for written material. Readability is an attempt to match the reading level of written material to the "reading with understanding" level of the reader. The SMOG calculator can be accessed at MOG.html MOG.html

Readability formulae are not exact but will give a fair impression of how material will look to potential participants. PMM/FEB/10

Example of a readability formula SMOG (Simple Measure Of Gobbledegook) based on the work of McLaughlin (1969). Originally developed for the US education system it has now been adapted for UK use by the National Literacy Trust PMM/FEB/10

Manual calculation 1. Select a text 2. Count 10 sentences 3. Count the number of words that have three or more syllables 4. Multiply this by 3 PMM/FEB/10

Circle the number closest to your answer Circle the number closest to your answer PMM/FEB/10

Find the square root of the number you circled Find the square root of the number you circled PMM/FEB/10

Add 8 = Readability Level To obtain the most accurate readability level on longer texts carry out this test on three different sections of the document, for example, the beginning, the middle and the end, and take the average of the three scores. PMM/FEB/10

LevelEquivalent to... SMOGG score Entry level 1 National curriculum level 1 Entry level 2 Level expected of a seven-year-old (national curriculum level 2) Below 8 Entry level 3 Level expected of an 11- year-old (national curriculum levels 3-4) 9-10 Level 1 GCSE grades D-G (national curriculum level 5) 11–12 Level 2 GCSE grades A-C (national curriculum levels 6-8) 14 –15 PMM/FEB/10

In developing your participant information you should aim for a low SMOGG score –below 10 if possible. PMM/FEB/10

3. The consent form PMM/FEB/10

Writing participant information - the consent form Use a separate sheet of headed notepaper and set the title of the project at the top of the page. Use the standard NRES consent form but make sure that the language is clear and simple. Consent statements should confirm That the participant has been given information and has understood what the project is about; Who has provided the information; What the participant is agreeing to do; That the participant is aware that s/he may withdraw consent at any time without this affecting treatment, care, education or employment in any way. Date End of this presentation