Informed consent is an agreement between the investigators and
the research participants. A signed informed consent form
notifies potential research participants of their obligations
and rights, and lets them know in advance what they are agreeing
to do as a participant in a particular research study. Informed
consent ensures that participants know that their participation
is voluntary and notifies participants that they may withdraw
from the study at any time. Participants also have a right to
know how their personal information will be protected, secured
and destroyed. Take the CITI ethics tutorial titled "Informed
Consent" for more information on informed consent procedures.
All participants in a study should sign a copy of the Informed
Consent Form (IFC). The investigator should retain all signed
copies of the IFC, as well as provide a copy for each
participant to keep. Study participants are given a copy of the
consent to be used as a reference document to reinforce their
understanding of the study and t