Resources for Faculty/Staff/Researchers
Researchers Recruiting Participants Under 18 Years of Age
If you would like to recruit students from Introductory Psychology who are under 18 years of age, we have established a system that makes that possible. Underage students can obtain parental/guardian consent by going to the psychology department office and getting parental/guardian consent forms that, when signed, allow them to participate in any study posted on SONA representing no more than minimal risk. Copies of the forms that parents complete and the procedures students follow are posted below.
If you plan to include students younger than 18 years of ages in studies, then you must do the following:
- Your study can not pose more than minimal risk
- Your IRB protocol should include the standardized Parental Consent Form that is posted below.
- You need to add to your existing consent form or create a second consent form just for students under 18 years of age. Specifically, you need a signature line for a witness. A persona who is not a minor and not the researcher must sign the consent form of participants under 18 years of age as a witness. The witness could be another participant in the study.
It is our current understanding that adding students younger than 18 to your study will not change the status of your IRB request. That is, if your protocol would be expedited without the younger subjects, including them will not necessarily require the protocol to undergo full review.
