NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY
Institutional Review Board
Flyer Template
and Policy on Advertisements and Flyers
A template to design your flyer is on page two. Please review the policy below before designing your flyer or
any other advertisement, including recruitment letters/email.
The Institutional Review Board (IRB) recognizes that advertising for people to join studies is an important
way to obtain research volunteers. Federal regulations give the IRB chair/designee responsibility to review
and approve advertising materials before their use. It is IRB policy that researchers submit the drafts of their
ads, posters, flyers, TV/radio clips, and/or Internet ads to the IRB for approval prior to their use.
When preparing materials for advertising, an important distinction must be made between “permissible
information” and “coercive inducement.” If an incentive is offered, it needs to be of a nature that it doesn’t
strongly entice the person, limiting his voluntary choice.
Special consideration needs to be given if the target population includes vulnerable persons (e.g., minors,
the critically ill, students, prisoners).
To assist in development of advertisements for research participants, a list of “Do’s” and Don’ts” follows. As
always, you may contact the Office of Research Compliance and Ethics at 336-285-2961 or
rescomp@ncat.edu for further assistance.
Do:
Don’t:
Keep the A&T logo and the gray stamp
validation box in the header of the flyer.
Use inappropriate clip art.
Use the words “research study.”
Leave the words “research study” off of the
recruitment solicitation.
Briefly state the purpose of the study.
Make overly enticing claims (e. g., intervention
is “safe,” “effective,” etc.) for purpose of study.
List any age restrictions and other criteria for
participation.
State that anyone is welcome to join.
Note any major known benefits and any major
known risks. (This is not required if there are
none.)
Emphasize benefits and de-emphasize risks or
imply a certainty of a favorable outcome as a
result of participation.
Refer to compensation, not payment.
Overemphasize compensation (such as
underline, boldface, a large font, or exclamation
points) or make exaggerated claims.
Include time commitment expected. If you
have a specific date and location for the
study, include that.
Use enticement terms such as fat or balding (in
regard to the subjects); New, exciting, or cutting
edge (in regard to “treatment” being studied).
Give name of the principal investigator. If PI is
a student, also give faculty sponsor name.
Give a general phone number.
Provide the name and contact information of
the study person who should be called.
Have a representative without preparation take
calls.
IRB Validation Stamp Area
Do not remove.
NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL
AND TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY
Instructions: The A&T logo and the gray stamp box in the header must appear on your flyer. The example below is
for illustration purposes only. You may design your flyer however you wish, so long as it contains the mandatory
elements as stated in the guidelines above. This text box can be deleted to reveal a clean template to work from.
Volunteers Needed for
Research Study
We need participants for a research study:
“Do College Students Prefer Android or Apple iOS Smart Phones?”
Description of Project: We are researching college students’ perceptions of smart
phones. Your participation will take about two hours. We will ask you to take a paper
survey and participate in a focus group on the A&T campus.
To participate: You must be currently enrolled at NC A&T, be at least 18 years old, and
be able to use a smart phone.
Participants will be entered to win a $50 Best Buy gift card.
To learn more, contact the principle investigator of the study, Lois Griffin,
at 336-555-0123 or ldgriff3@ncat.edu.
This research is conducted under the direction of Dr. Martha Stuart, Psychology Department, and has
been reviewed and approved by the NC A&T Institutional Review Board.
Lois Griffin
ldgriff3@ncat.edu
Smart Phone Research Study
Lois Griffin
ldgriff3@ncat.edu
Smart Phone Research Study
Lois Griffin
ldgriff3@ncat.edu
Smart Phone Research Study
Lois Griffin
ldgriff3@ncat.edu
Smart Phone Research Study
Lois Griffin
ldgriff3@ncat.edu
Smart Phone Research Study
Lois Griffin
ldgriff3@ncat.edu
Smart Phone Research Study
Lois Griffin
ldgriff3@ncat.edu
Smart Phone Research Study
Lois Griffin
ldgriff3@ncat.edu
Smart Phone Research Study
Lois Griffin
ldgriff3@ncat.edu
Smart Phone Research Study
Lois Griffin
ldgriff3@ncat.edu
Smart Phone Research Study
Lois Griffin
ldgriff3@ncat.edu
Smart Phone Research Study