4. Setting up data collection and obtaining consent
There are two possible paths available to the researcher to collect data with the L’ART Research Assistant. Your preference will depend on how you wish to obtain informed consent from your participants.
Should you wish to obtain your participants’ consent on paper for any reason (e.g., you require your participant’s signature, or you prefer to work with physical copies of ethics-related documentation) then you will start data collection by clicking directly on the research tool you require under Choose a task on the app’s home screen.
In the current version (0.5.3a), the tasks available are: LSBQe, AToL, AGT, and Memory Task.
The second option offers the researcher an integrated digital avenue to obtain informed consent, which negates the need to handle physical information sheets, consent forms and signatures.
This can be done by using the generic consent form provided (see Fig. 4.1 & Fig. 4.2) or by linking it to your own digital consent form.
To obtain consent digitally, open the side menu on the top left-handby clicking on the “burger menu” icon. Then click on Informed Consent.
Fig. 4.1 The side menu of the L’ART app
Fig. 4.2 Participant consent start screen
After selecting the required language version and entering a unique participant ID, your study’s consent form, information sheet and eligibility criteria will appear below.
If the participant gives their consent and confirms their eligibility through marking their respective boxes, they will be automatically advanced to the start screen for the first task (see Task sequencing on how to set this).
The task start screen is the same start screen that researchers who opt for the LSBQe task without digital informed consent will see after they select a task from the app’s home screen.