Consent templates

About this survey

My name is [your name] and I am a Grade [__] student at [school]. I am doing a research project about [topic in one plain sentence].

This survey has [number] questions and takes about [number] minutes. It asks about [general description — e.g. how you study and how much sleep you get].

Your answers are anonymous. I am not asking for your name, your email, or anything else that could identify you. I will not be able to tell which answers are yours, which also means I cannot remove your answers once you have submitted them.

Taking part is completely voluntary. You can skip any question, and you can close this survey at any point before submitting it. Nothing happens either way — it does not affect your grades or anything at school.

I will report the results as totals and averages, never as individual responses. The finished work may be published on the Okanagan Student Research Initiative website at osri.ca.

Questions? Email me at [your email]. [If applicable: My supervising teacher is [name], [email].]

If you are ready to begin, continue to the first question. That means you agree to take part.

Parent or guardian permission form

Study: [title of your study]
Student researcher: [your name], Grade [__], [school]
Supervisor: [name, role, email]

What this is. I am a secondary school student carrying out a research project about [topic]. I am asking permission for your child to take part.

What your child would do. [Describe exactly: e.g. "Answer 12 questions in a 15-minute interview at school, during lunch, in a room with a teacher present."] This will take about [number] minutes and will happen [when and where].

What I will record. [Be specific: written notes only / an audio recording / photographs.] [If recording: The recording will be typed up and then deleted by [date].]

Privacy. [Choose one and delete the other:]
— Your child's name will not appear anywhere in the finished work. I will refer to participants as "Participant 1", "Participant 2", and so on.
— Your child's name will appear in the finished work, with your permission and theirs.

The information will be stored [where — e.g. in a password-protected file on my own computer] and seen only by me [and my supervisor]. It will be deleted by [date]. The finished work may be published on the Okanagan Student Research Initiative website at osri.ca.

Voluntary. Taking part is your child's choice and yours. You may say no, and your child may stop at any time without giving a reason. Nothing that happens at school depends on this.

Withdrawing. You may ask me to remove your child's information at any point before [date — the date you begin writing up]. After that the information will already be combined with everyone else's and cannot be separated out.

Questions. [your email] [supervisor's email]

______________________________________________
Parent or guardian name (printed)

______________________________________________
Signature            Date

I give permission for my child, ______________________________, to take part.

Hi — my name is [your name] and I am a student at [school]. I am doing a research project about [topic in one short sentence].

I would like to ask you [what you will ask — e.g. "some questions about how you get to school"]. It would take about [number] minutes.

Your parent or guardian said it is okay, but it is your choice too. You do not have to. If you start and then change your mind, you can stop and nobody will be annoyed with you.

[If anonymous:] I will not write down your name anywhere. [If not:] I will [explain exactly what you will write down and who will see it.]

Do you have any questions?   Do you want to take part?

Participant agreed:   Yes ☐   No ☐    Date: ____________

Study: [title]
Researcher: [your name], Grade [__] student, [school]
Contact: [your email]

I am a secondary school student researching [topic] for publication with the Okanagan Student Research Initiative, a student-run research venue in the Okanagan Valley (osri.ca).

I would like to interview you about [subject]. It would take about [number] minutes, [in person at / by phone / by video call].

Recording. [Choose:] I would like to record audio so that I can quote you accurately; I will delete the recording once I have typed it up. / I will take written notes only.

How I would identify you. [Choose:] By name and job title, as a named source. / Not by name — I would describe you only as "[e.g. a water quality scientist]".

Your control over it. You may decline any question, stop at any time, and ask me not to use anything you said. If you would like to check any quotation before it is published, I will send it to you.

The finished work will be published openly at osri.ca under a Creative Commons licence.

Consent given:   ☐ by email   ☐ verbally, recorded at the start   ☐ signed below

______________________________________________
Name            Signature            Date

Thank you for taking part. There is something I need to tell you now that the task is finished.

What I actually studied. I told you this study was about [what you said]. It was really about [what it was about]. I could not tell you beforehand because [honest reason — e.g. "knowing I was counting how often people checked their phone would have changed how often you checked it"].

What this means for you. Nothing you did was wrong and nothing was a test of you personally. [Explain anything that might have caused confusion or worry.]

Your right to pull out, now that you know. You can tell me to delete your data right now, and I will, no questions asked. That is the whole point of telling you.

Do you want your data removed?   Yes ☐   No ☐

Questions, now or later: [your email] [supervisor's email]