Skip contents

How to tailor an approved consent form or create a new one

You can adjust the approved consent forms to the specific context of your research.

In some cases, you may need to create a new consent form or use a different approach to gathering consent. You must get approval to do this.

The sections you can change, by adding or removing options given to participants, are marked in the templates. Do not make any other changes.

You are conducting research about a sensitive topic with a user group that you know may feel uncomfortable being recorded. To make the participants feel more comfortable you will use voice changing technology in any video clips you use. You add this to the information sheet.
You are usability testing a prototype. If any participant said "no" to their screen being recorded, the research session would have no value to your team. Therefore, you make it clear to participants that screen recording will take place but you remove the opt-out option from the form.

See also:

If you are conducting user research with people whose first language is not English and who may not be able to read English at a reading age of 10-11, then you can translate an approved consent form into the participant's language. You can do this by using a commercial translation service

You can also arrange for an interpreter to attend the session to read the information sheet to the participant and collect their responses in the form.

You will need budget in your team to procure language service. Speak to your delivery manager or lead user researcher to understand how to do this in your business area, or to research operations for any other advice.

See also:

You must not use AI or automated translations (e.g. Google Translate) without a human confirming that it is a fully accurate translation. Errors or changes of context in the text may lead to participants not being properly informed about their involvement in the research or understanding their data protection rights.

In some cases, tailoring an existing approved consent form may not be enough to meet the specific contextual needs of your research.

If that is the case, you can create a new consent form or use a different approach to gathering consent. Any new consent form must be approved by research operations to ensure it meets the DfE UR informed consent principles and our legal obligations under UK data laws.

If you have an idea for a different or innovative way to gather informed consent (i.e. one of the approved consent forms does meet your needs, but you want to experiment with a different approach) you must speak to the informed consent working group as well as research operations. They will confirm that it meets our informed consent principles and help you plan how to experiment with it appropriately and ethically.

1. Speak to research operations before you start

They will give advice and initial feedback on your planned approach, check whether an appropriate consent form is already being developed elsewhere and help ensure you meet DfE data policies.

Make sure you understand our informed consent principles and how to apply them:
About our principles informed consent principles and how to apply them (PowerPoint document)

Also consult the bank of case studies to read about how other researchers have tailored their approach to consent to meet contextual needs in their research:
Bank of case studies (opens in a new tab, DfE SharePoint users only)

If you are not sure whether your planned approach meets the principles, get advice from the informed consent working group.

3. Get approval from research operations

You must send your consent form or approach to research operations for approval before using it.

They will check that it meets our informed consent principles and complies with DfE data policies. If they are not sure, they will refer you to the informed consent working group or to the DfE data protection team.

Further help and advice

Related content