Informed Consent
A participant's voluntary agreement to take part in research after learning its purpose, procedures, risks, and their right to withdraw.
Informed consent is the process by which people agree to participate in research on the basis of adequate information. Participants must understand the study's purpose, what participation involves, foreseeable risks and benefits, how their data will be stored and used, and that they may withdraw without penalty. Consent must be voluntary and, for most studies, documented.
Consent is ongoing rather than a one-time signature. Participants can withdraw at any stage, and additional consent may be needed for recordings, quotations, or secondary use of data. Special protections apply to children and other vulnerable groups.
In a thesis, consent procedures are described in the methodology chapter and the forms usually appear in the appendices. Getting them right protects participants first, but it also protects the student: examiners check that the consent process matches what the ethics approval permitted, and mismatches raise serious questions.
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