For Research Participants

If you are currently participating or considering participation in a research project, the following information is intended to better inform you of your rights and where to get answers to questions you may have.

What Is Research?

Participating in research is completely voluntary. Even if you sign up, you can always change your mind and stop participating at any time, for any reason! 

Please watch this short video if you want to learn more about participating in research. 

Questions You May Want To Ask When Deciding to Participate in Research:

Please watch this short video to learn more about what questions you may want to ask.

If You Participate in Research, You Have the Right To:

Who Do You Contact?

In general, it is best to contact the researcher or their study team regarding specific questions you may have about the project itself. However, if you would like to speak with someone outside of the research team regarding questions about your participation, obtaining further information, or if you have a concern, complaint, or suggestion please contact the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at 402-472-6965 or via email at irb@unl.edu

Please keep in mind that the IRB oversees numerous projects for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) that use various modes of communication during recruitment.  If you received a paper consent form, you should see an approval stamp like the image below; however, you may have received consent information via email or online and an approval stamp may not necessarily be included.  When contacting the IRB, if you can reference your IRB number or the study’s Principal Investigator (PI), it will allow us to more efficiently identify how best to help you. 

The approval stamp should look something like this: 

Participant Feedback Survey- We Want to Hear From You!

The UNL Institutional Review Board is committed to protecting the rights and welfare of research participants. We would appreciate your feedback regarding a study that you previously or are currently participating in. The information you provide will be anonymous unless you enter your contact information at the end of the survey. Any information you may provide will be used to improve research conducted at UNL:

Click the link to take the survey: http://bit.ly/UNLresearchfeedback

Additional Resources