Informed consent explained in three minutes
When performing any kind of research the question of consent becomes very important. You cannot collect data from anyone without making sure you have their express permission to do so. This is both a legal requirement, but also an ethical one.
Consent must be freely given, it can be retracted at any point and it must be informed. This means that all participants in the REFUGE-ED project have been asked to give their consent to participate in the research, and they have been informed about what data will be collected, how it will be stored, who has access, and what to do if they change their minds about participating etc. This is a lot of information and the consent forms can be several pages long to cover all the required information.
As a supplement to the written information it can be a good idea to explain the project, data collection and consent process in a more people friendly manner. This is what REFUGE-ED partner Trinity College Dublin has done by making a short film explaining the project. In this version we have edited out all reference to the participating school to protect the identities of the pupils participating in the pilot.