When you do user research, you must always have ‘informed consent’ from your participants. You will need a record from them to show that they understand your research and that they have agreed to take part in it. You can view an example information sheet and consent form here.
By having informed consent, you will help to make sure that:
- participants understand what they are signing up to, making your sessions more effective
- your research is ethical
- you are complying with data protection law
You will need informed consent from all your user research participants, even if they work within the council.
What informed consent is
For consent to be informed, participants must understand:
- who is doing the research
- the purpose of the research
- what data you are collecting
- what will happen during the research
- how you will use the results of the research and who you will share it with
- that taking part is voluntary and they can stop or withdraw their consent at any time
- how long their data will be kept for (please refer to the council’s GDPR and retentions)
- what their rights are and how they can make a complaint
You must also let participants know:
- whether the session is being observed (and who will be watching it)
- if and how the session is being recorded (for example, video or audio recorded)
You must also tell participants how you will handle their personal data, including:
- who the ‘data controller’ (the organisation responsible for their data) is, so they know who to contact if they have any concerns
- if any other organisations will be processing the data, such as staff from an agency working in your team
Getting informed consent
When recruiting participants, we recommend that you provide them with an ‘information sheet’.
This will give them the information they need to give their informed consent, as well as tell them about their rights as a participant.
Information sheets also help to ensure that participants:
- feel prepared and are not surprised by the research activities they will be taking part in
- know how you will be recording the sessions and what data you want to collect from them
- do not feel pressured to agree to anything they are uncomfortable with
Make sure that you provide your participants with an information sheet before your user research session begins.
Designing your information sheet
Write your information sheet in a language your participants can understand.
Make sure that your information sheet is accessible and in a format they can use. You could send a printed information sheet by post, attach it to an email, or offer to read it aloud during a phone call.
Check with Birmingham City Council’s data protection expert or legal adviser that your document complies with the law.
Managing user research data
When running your user research session, you may collect data such as:
- notes
- photos
- audio or video recordings
- responses from any questionnaires you receive
- copies of paperwork
You must carefully manage the user research data you collect link to ‘How to store user research & participant data’ page. Only use data which you have the consent for to use and delete it when it is no longer needed.
Collecting and keeping evidence of consent
Write your consent form in language your participants can understand. Provide it in a format they can use, such as an online form or an interactive PDF.
For face-to-face user research sessions, your participant can sign a paper form. You can scan and keep a copy of this document then dispose of the original version.
For remote user research sessions, you can send your participant the form by email or by post.
You can also collect and record verbal consent from a participant. Keep a copy of the script and the part of the recording which provides evidence of consent.
You must keep evidence of the consent you have received from every participant and be able to show exactly what they have consented to.
Keep the record of the participant’s consent you have, along with the research data it covers.
Make sure that you can match the record to the data. Use the date the consent was collected, the research round number and the participant number to name the scan of a consent form.
Getting consent from people with disabilities
If your participant has a disability, make sure that they can access and understand your information sheet and consent form.
If they have a visual or a cognitive impairment, offer to read the form aloud to them and ask if they need help with signing it. Also, check before the session if they need a digital version, so they can read it using assistive technology.
If they have a motor impairment, they might not be able to sign the form themselves. You can offer to record their verbal consent instead.
You can also create an easy read version of the consent form to help those with learning disabilities and those who struggle to read. Include images and shortened sentences with simple words to help explain the details within the form.
Getting consent from children or vulnerable adults
If you want to work with participants who are children, you cannot rely on their consent alone. This also applies to vulnerable adults (people who are unable to take care of themselves or are at risk of harm or exploitation).
You will need to get consent from both the participant and someone who can support them on their behalf. This could be a parent, guardian, carer, or other responsible adult.
If you have any concerns about this, find out what is the best practice in your department or for the council.
Withdrawing consent
Participants have the right to stop or withdraw their consent at any time during the process.
You should make this clear to them from the start and remind them at the beginning and at the end of a session. If at any point you are unsure whether you have your participant’s consent, stop the session and check with them.
If a participant withdraws their consent during a session, you must stop and delete any data that you have collected.
Delete any online notes, relevant recordings, files and database entries. Dispose of any paper notes securely in confidential waste.
Follow the same process if the participant withdraws their consent after the session.
If you find that you have some data without any given consent to have it, you must delete it immediately.
You must name and organise the research data you collect in a way that allows you to respond if a participant withdraws their consent.
You can view a template information sheet and consent form here.