This study information is for litigants who are being offered participation in our Text Messaging Study, by a court or legal aid organization.
The info below can help you understand what the study is, and what expectations you should have.
See this website page to learn more about the Text Messaging software and purpose.
STUDY DESCRIPTION:
You are invited to participate in a research study on text message reminders for court appointments. The study will examine if getting appointment reminders helps people show up for their court appointments.
We will randomly pick half of the people to get text message reminders 10, 5, and 1 days before their court date. People who have not been selected will not receive any text message reminders.
By providing your cell phone number, you are consenting to be part of the research study.
RISKS AND BENEFITS:
There are no risks to participating in this study. If you participate, your cell phone number and court appointment information will be sent via a secure and encrypted server. A program will randomly decide who gets a message and who does not. Benefits of participation include notification reminders about your hearing so that you can better navigate the process. We cannot and do not guarantee or promise that you will receive any benefits from participating in this study.
You will be informed within 2 business days if you will receive text message reminders. ** If you do not get a text from us within 2 business days, you will not receive text messages appointment reminders.
PARTICIPANT’S RIGHTS:
Your participation in the study are entirely voluntary – it will not impact your court case at all. Your cell phone number will not be used for anything other than to send you reminders. Your private information will be stored on a secure server and not shared outside the research study team. You have the right to withdraw your consent or stop participating at any time.
The results of this research study may be presented at professional meetings or published. We will only report statistics about how many people show up for their appointments. We will never use your name or any other personally-identifiable information in our reports. We will destroy all identifying information at the end of the study period.
Identifiers might be removed from identifiable private information and, after such removal, the information could be used for future research studies or distributed to another investigator for future research studies without additional informed consent from you.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Questions: If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this research, its procedures, risks and benefits, contact, Margaret Hagan, Director of the Legal Design Lab at Stanford Law School, at mdhagan@stanford.edu, 650-498-1392.
Independent Contact: If you are not satisfied with how this study is being conducted, or if you have any concerns, complaints, or general questions about the research or your rights as a participant, please contact the Stanford Institutional Review Board (IRB) to speak to someone independent of the research team at (650)-723-2480 or toll free at 1-866-680-2906, or email at IRB2-Manager@lists.stanford.edu. You can also write to the Stanford IRB, Stanford University, 3000 El Camino Real, Five Palo Alto Square, 4th Floor, Palo Alto, CA 94306.
Please save or print a copy of this consent page for your records