IRB Gets New Researchers’ Attention With Visually Clever Infographics
Illustrations work on cellphones
As the IRB at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ, worked on creating a culture of compliance, IRB leaders learned that new researchers, including students, pay more attention to policies and regulations when they’re spelled out in more pictures than words.
“About 40% of our submissions are from students, and we completely understand that a lot of what we’re asking for in terms of compliance has to be relayed in a way that is simple,” says Hila Berger, research compliance officer at Montclair State University.
Creating infographics to illustrate educational materials, workshops, and marketing items was just one of the strategies the IRB employed to improve its compliance culture. (For more informaton, see story on compliance strategies in this issue.)
“We use infographics to simply relay complex information,” she says. “So if a new policy or procedure comes up, or if we need a way to teach new faculty, we use infographics.”
Berger has noticed more infographics being published in mainstream media. Also, students increasingly communicate with visual information. Even the federal Office of Research Integrity (ORI) has begun to use infographics to communicate some policies.
As Berger lives in a policy-driven environment, she began to think about how researchers would find long emails about new policies unappealing. She found a graphics program online that offers an education discount.
“They provide a template, and you put in your details,” she explains. “If you have only half an hour, you can easily create an infographic from their templates.”
The IRB office has one employee proficient in creating graphics to take over the role for the past couple of years, Berger adds. (Web extra: See sample infographic in IRB Advisor online at reliasmedia.com.)
The infographics also are useful in training, as it helps connect the audience with the information. It helped the IRB spice up its email communications, with a side benefit of giving university professors a more effective way to teach their students about the IRB.
“Faculty members say they use the infographics I sent them to present to their students about the IRB process,” Berger says. “They really like the infographics and respond well to them.”
Even when educational material doesn’t lend itself to eye-catching graphics, the IRB can turn the information into graphic bullet points with headlines in a different color. For example, the IRB created a one-page informational sheet about approaching and recruiting prospective participants. Its text is broken up by titles and bullet points. Here’s what it says:
- Advertisements: Advertisements include posted and distributed flyers, letters, announcements placed online or sent by email, and information sheets sent to targeted groups of prospective participants. The IRB will review the advertisement and how it will be used to determine that it is not coercive and does not promise unreasonable benefits. The IRB reviews the final copy of the advertisements for readability.
- IRB Tips: Advertisements should provide the information that prospective participants need to determine their eligibility and interest. Include the following information, worded appropriately, in advertisements:
- “Montclair State University” header with the college and department name contact information;
- the purpose of the research;
- in summary form, the key inclusion/exclusion criteria that will be used to determine eligibility for the study;
- a brief list of key participation benefits/compensation, if any (e.g., a no-cost health examination, free parking, SONA credits);
- the time or other commitments required of the subjects;
- the person or office to contact for further information.
“We also try to use [graphics] for general newsletter layout,” Berger says. “We have many compliance newsletters that communicate new procedures or new processes.”
The challenge for IRBs is to create infographics that include all necessary information, but not too much.
“You can’t fit everything into an infographic, so you have to highlight the most critical issues,” Berger says. “People want tidbits of information.”
Some of the easiest ways to use infographics is for marketing IRB events, such as workshops and training sessions.
“We send a visual set of information that guides people to when our workshops are offered, and it changes all the time,” Berger says.
Since many people see information mainly through their cellphones, infographics are a way to grab their attention quickly, she adds.
As the IRB at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ, worked on creating a culture of compliance, IRB leaders learned that new researchers, including students, pay more attention to policies and regulations when they’re spelled out in more pictures than words.
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