Letter of Solicitation

The following MUST be included in any letter or other correspondence (including verbal recruitment script, flyers, newspaper ads, etc.) to recruit subjects: 

• The researcher’s affiliation with Seton Hall University (college/school, department and program).
• An explanation of the purpose of the research in lay terms.
• Expected duration of the subject’s participation (estimate of the amount of time involved to participate in the research).
• A description of the procedures to be followed, and identification of any procedures which are experimental. If questionnaires or survey instruments are used in the research, they should be specifically named and briefly described unless their purpose and subject matter are obvious from their titles.
• A statement of the voluntary nature of the participation.
• A statement indicating if anonymity (i.e., no identifying data on subjects to researcher or others) will be preserved.  If anonymity will be maintained, then an additional statement must be included saying how this will be achieved.
• A statement of how the subject’s data will be securely stored to maintain confidentiality.

Note: For security reasons, data can no longer be stored  electronically on hard drives of laptop or desktop computers.  Data must now be stored electronically only on a CD or USB memory key, and kept in a locked, secure physical site. 

For clarity’s sake, each of these above 7 points should be addressed in a separate paragraph. Do NOT put Letter of Solicitation on Seton Hall University letterhead stationary unless the Letter of Solicitation is being used in place of an Informed Consent Form when asking for participation in an anonymous survey. If a Solicitation/Recruitment Letter does not follow these directions, the protocol will be returned to researcher without review for remediation. This will delay the IRB review at least until the next month.

If a flyer or newspaper advertisement is to be used, it should include the following:  

• The researcher’s affiliation with Seton Hall University (college/school, department and program).  A brief explanation of the purpose of the research and the expected duration of the subject’s participation (estimate of the amount of time involved to participate in the research).
• A brief description of the procedures to be followed, and identification of any procedures which are experimental. If questionnaires or survey instruments are used in the research, they should be specifically named and briefly described unless their purpose and subject matter are obvious from their titles.
• A statement of the voluntary nature of the project.
• A statement of how anonymity will be preserved.
• A statement of how the subject’s data will be securely stored to maintain confidentiality.

Note: For security reasons, data can no longer be  stored  electronically on hard drives of laptop or desktop computers.  Data must now be stored electronically only on a CD or USB memory key, and kept in a locked, secure physical site.