With increasing data protection and transparency needs for research, research participants are required to read huge amount of information and provide consent to an ever growing extent. The information in the consent forms is often somewhat difficult to grasp - especially if English (or other language of the research) may not be your mother tongue. To help this process, RECOMS fellow Mai Abbas came with a creative idea to design consent forms in a graphic way with the help of a designer.
by Reka Livits
A visual consent form has been developed as collaboration between RECOMS fellow Mai Abbas and a graphic recorder and visual facilitator professional (Réka Livits, Visualive). The aim of this work is to break down the rigid concept of informed consent form and making it more accessible to the participants, which might lead to better engagement and understanding of the research process. This enhances the communication process and the building of trust between the researcher and the community members. The developed consent form consists of two parts. The first part is a visual narrative “comic” that shares information about the study and the research process via sequential images and the second part consists of visual illustrations that clarify each point in the certificate of consent. A reflective account on the fellow experience of using and developing this method will be captured in RECOMS open access edited research methods book (to be published in 2021).