Assessing Comprehension

Communication is a two-party process, and misunderstanding can occur on either end. The video clip below recognizes the potential for misunderstanding by both parties and demonstrates how the PI/RTM can take action:

Click on the picture above to view the video.

The PI/RTM is responsible for how well he or she is understood. More specifically, your responsibility goes beyond giving every participant a fair opportunity to understand and to decide without overt coercion. You must design and carry out an informed consent process that ensures that each individual does indeed understand the nature of the research participation, and then makes a decision based solely on his or her own judgment and without coercion or intimidation. Often the best technique to confirm understanding is to have the participants paraphrase back the critical components of the information they have been given. Verbatim parroting is not very helpful, but an independently synthesized re-expression implies comprehension.