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April 2, 2013
Consent Form Readability Level:
A general rule of thumb used by federal regulators is that consent forms aimed at the general public should be written at a 7th grade reading level. Adjustments up or down from that standard can be made depending on the target population of subjects. Short sentences and the use of smaller words help to achieve lower reading levels. The Flesch-Kincaid grade level estimate is available in Microsoft Word. It may be helpful but is only an aid for writing at the appropriate level. Common sense is sometimes a better guide.
MS Word 2010
Setup
- Click the File tab, and then click Options
- Click Proofing
- Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, make sure the Check grammar with spelling check box is selected.
- Select Show readability statistics.
Level Check
With the Consent form open, press the F7 key to run spellchecker. Spell Check will open and run. After the process is complete, a box will appear asking if you want to continue. Click Yes. Readability Statistics show up in the bottom portion of the table after the Spelling & Grammar check is complete.
MS Word 97-2003
Setup
- Click on the File tab, and then click Options
- Click Proofing
- Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, make sure the Check grammar with spelling check box is selected.
April 11, 2012
Human Subjects Research with Sponsored Projects:
When you submit a grant proposal that involves human subjects, keep two things in mind:
- Some federal and private agencies require IRB approval before a grant can be funded.
- It takes 10 working days before the IRB can complete a proposal review and more than that when changes are necessary or special populations are involved. Some proposals will require a review by the Full Board, which meets once a month.
For several years, some federal funding awards have been made with very short time frames required for funds to be awarded. This has led to situations in which the investigator had as little as 24 hours to document IRB approval. In other words, an investigator had to write an IRB proposal and submit it to the IRB and the proposal had to be reviewed and necessary changes made, all within 24-hours. This is an impossible situation for us and for IRBs across the country.
It is in your best interest to submit your IRB proposal when you submit a grant proposal or soon after. If you receive a promising priority score or call from your Program Officer, and haven’t yet submitted your IRB proposal, submit it right away! We do not want you to have any risk of having to turn back funds that have been awarded to you because of a lack of IRB approval.
O.P. 62.25 Payments to Research Participants - http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual/OP62.25.pdf
The revised O.P. 62.25 is now available to researchers. The HRPP staff wishes to thank Noel Sloan for her efforts in facilitating these changes and supporting researchers in their endeavors to pay subjects.
Key elements of interest to researchers:
- Noncash items are allowed but need prior approval by the Office of Tax Compliance & Reporting. (1.c.)
- “Participants who are being paid $25 or less are not required to provide their SSN…” (2.b.)
- Gift cards are allowed. Use the cash advance to purchase the gift cards. Do not use the pcard or TechBuy methods. (2.c.)
- Gift cards by online vendors are allowed. Review the policy and procedure in this section for details. (2.c.)
- Payments to employees have been revised both in participation conditions and payment procedures. (3.c.)
- New forms to report and process research payments are available as attachment links at the end of the document.
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Contact
Human Research Protection Program
Administration Building, Room 357
Box 41075 | MS 1075
Lubbock, TX 79409-1075
(806) 742-2064 ofc | (806) 742-3947 fax
hrpp@ttu.edu
