Which of the following is not part of obtaining informed consent?

Which of the following is not part of obtaining informed consent?

1: Letting participants know about potential risks of their participation

2: Letting participants know that participation is voluntary

3: Explaining the hypothesis to participants

4: Giving enough information to the participants so they know if they should participate or not

Answer: 3: Explaining the hypothesis to participants

Informing participants about the hypothesis is not usually a part of seeking their consent to participate in the study. The concept of informed consent relates to the idea of furnishing the participants with the fundamental details of the research study in question while avoiding the influences of response or behavioural bias. They entail explaining to the participants the nature and purpose of the study, methods to be used, associated risks and benefits, and the fact that participants’ participation is voluntary and they can withdraw at any time. However, the reaction of participants to the hypothesis in question can be as problematic, thus it is better to avoid sharing the specific hypothesis of a study. Scholars seek to provide sufficient information to the public; however, they also seek to protect their work and findings. They give the participant sufficient information on whether to participate without providing the actual detailed information that may contort the study or incline the participant’s response in a specific direction.