the informed consent form: document development and evaluation

Informed Consent Forms 1313
and second year of college—about five to form. While there are literally hundreds of
six grade levels higher than the NCI recom- type faces, the most important distinction is
mendation. between serif and sans serif type.
Serif fonts are generally believed to be
“Avoid ...Wordscontaining more than three syl- more readable (2), because they have both
lables.” thick and thin strokes, and serifs, the small
strokes at the end of a letter. The serifs do
Such long words can be hard to read and not get in the way of reading (3). On the
understand because they are long (hard to other hand, sans serif strokes are usually of
pronounce), and because they are often unfa- a single thickness, and do not have the small
miliar to most readers. Unfamiliar words, es- strokes at the end of a letter. Sans serif fonts
pecially if they are not explained in the text, are harder to read over many pages of singlecan
slow down the reading process. If there spaced text. These fonts lack the small
are too many long words, the reader may just strokes on the ascending and descending letgive
up, perhaps refusing to participate in the ters (such as b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, p, q, and t),
study, or perhaps signing the consent form so the eye cannot follow the text as easily.
without really understanding the nature of
the study.
For example:
Serif: Before participating in this research study,
Some Additional Factors
it is important that you read and understand this
statement which describes the purpose, proce-
Although not identified by the NCI, there are dures, benefits, risks, discomforts, and precautwo
additional factors that make consent forms tions of the study. Signing the consent form will
easier and more enjoyable to read. One is the indicate that you have been informed and that you
use of personal pronouns (eg, Flesch Human
Interest Score). Readers are more likely to be
interested in a consent form that refers to “you”
instead of “the subject.” The 12 consent forms
were all at a “very interesting” level.
Overall writing style combines basic text
elements into a broader measure. The progive
your consent.
Sans Serif: Before participating in this research
study, it is important that you read and
understand this statement which describes
the purpose, procedures, benefits, risks, dis-
comforts, and precautions of the study. Signing
the consent form will indicate that you
have been informed and that you give your
gram WStyle calculates “overall writing
style” based on:
consent.
Of the 12 informed consent forms evalu-
1. Use of the active voice—35 points,
2. Word economy—25 points,
3. Readability—20 points, and
ated, 10 were written in a serif typeface, and
2 in a sans serif typeface.
4. Word choice—20 points. “Left margins are justified. Right margins are
Only one of the 12 informed consent forms
ragged.”
scored as high as “satisfactory—the other 11
were all written in a “weak” or “poor” writing
style, with an overall average rating of “poor.”
Justification means that both margins are
straight. Even so, there are two types of justi-
fied text. Ragged right justification means
that the right margin is uneven. There are
DOCUMENT DESIGN ISSUES two kinds of even right justification: one
where the spaces between the words are even
“Style of print is easy to read.” (preferred) and one where the spaces between
the words are uneven (not recom-
Typeface is the type (or font) that the mended). When spaces between the words
writer chooses for the informed consent are not even, the overall design leads to “riv-