Crafting the Participant Agreement
I'm so pleased that Harry Boadwee, a Silicon Valley lawyer, has contributed the following, which will be included in the book as a sidebar. It's great to get a legal perspective on the need, intent, and process for the document we create to manage our agreement with participants.
In the meantime, I'm looking for some stellar examples, especially from corporations who have had to go through their own legal department and still come out the other end with something vaguely consumer-ready. If you've got something you'd like to share for possible inclusion in the book, please get in touch!
Participant agreements for user research are simple but necessary in order to protect the study sponsors. Although a contract can be formed by spoken promises, or by a loose exchange of emails, the best and common practice is to sign a contract. Participant agreements must be short, often no longer than a page, so that participants can read and sign them quickly, without negotiation. Even a document with a short-form title such as "Permission" or "Release" can be a contract.
A typical participant agreement covers two main concerns.
First, the participant will agree to keep confidential the information disclosed in the study and make no use of the information beyond participation in the study. Such information can include, for example, the questions raised in the study as well as the details of the product or service being studied. For example, many studies cover early stage concepts or unreleased products/services. Study sponsors obviously don't want participants to disclose this information to competitors or (even worse) to the public by blogging or tweeting about it.
Second, the participant will grant permission to the sponsor to record, reproduce, display and distribute the participant's responses, voice and likeness without any additional compensation or royalty. A "likeness" can encompass video, photographs or even drawings. The study may include some small consideration, such as a T-shirt or gift card for a token amount. The release is needed in order to prevent legal claims for compensation under the privacy and publicity laws of many states. These releases often include an explicit waiver of any right to inspect or approve the materials created in the study.
These types of releases most often cover the sponsor's internal use only. Because the concepts and products/services in the study often are in an early stage, the sponsor probably wouldn't want to use a participant's statements as a public testimonial. If it did, the sponsor would need to obtain a separate testimonial release permitting public display and distribution of the participant's responses, voice and likeness, and if desired the participant's name and address.
Similarly, if the study sponsor wants detailed testing and feedback concerning a product as used by numerous participants in their homes or offices, the sponsor would use a "beta evaluation agreement" instead.
Participants less than eighteen years old generally do not have the legal right in most states to form a contract. Instead, a parent or legal guardian should enter into the contract on their behalf. Participant agreements and the issues that they cover are governed by state law, which might create different or additional requirements depending on the state.
Harry Boadwee is the founder of the Boadwee Law Office in Cupertino, California. He focuses on technology transactions, software and internet law. This article is for general information purposes only and is not legal or other professional advice.
Copyright © 2011 Boadwee Law Office.
In the meantime, I'm looking for some stellar examples, especially from corporations who have had to go through their own legal department and still come out the other end with something vaguely consumer-ready. If you've got something you'd like to share for possible inclusion in the book, please get in touch!
Participant agreements for user research are simple but necessary in order to protect the study sponsors. Although a contract can be formed by spoken promises, or by a loose exchange of emails, the best and common practice is to sign a contract. Participant agreements must be short, often no longer than a page, so that participants can read and sign them quickly, without negotiation. Even a document with a short-form title such as "Permission" or "Release" can be a contract.
A typical participant agreement covers two main concerns.
First, the participant will agree to keep confidential the information disclosed in the study and make no use of the information beyond participation in the study. Such information can include, for example, the questions raised in the study as well as the details of the product or service being studied. For example, many studies cover early stage concepts or unreleased products/services. Study sponsors obviously don't want participants to disclose this information to competitors or (even worse) to the public by blogging or tweeting about it.
Second, the participant will grant permission to the sponsor to record, reproduce, display and distribute the participant's responses, voice and likeness without any additional compensation or royalty. A "likeness" can encompass video, photographs or even drawings. The study may include some small consideration, such as a T-shirt or gift card for a token amount. The release is needed in order to prevent legal claims for compensation under the privacy and publicity laws of many states. These releases often include an explicit waiver of any right to inspect or approve the materials created in the study.
These types of releases most often cover the sponsor's internal use only. Because the concepts and products/services in the study often are in an early stage, the sponsor probably wouldn't want to use a participant's statements as a public testimonial. If it did, the sponsor would need to obtain a separate testimonial release permitting public display and distribution of the participant's responses, voice and likeness, and if desired the participant's name and address.
Similarly, if the study sponsor wants detailed testing and feedback concerning a product as used by numerous participants in their homes or offices, the sponsor would use a "beta evaluation agreement" instead.
Participants less than eighteen years old generally do not have the legal right in most states to form a contract. Instead, a parent or legal guardian should enter into the contract on their behalf. Participant agreements and the issues that they cover are governed by state law, which might create different or additional requirements depending on the state.
Harry Boadwee is the founder of the Boadwee Law Office in Cupertino, California. He focuses on technology transactions, software and internet law. This article is for general information purposes only and is not legal or other professional advice.
Copyright © 2011 Boadwee Law Office.