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It is the responsibility of the researcher to have a back-up volunteer available for each scanning slot. In the first instance this should not be someone from within the Unit though if a back-up fails, colleagues will most probably be willing to help out. A back-up can be on stand-by for a morning or an afternoon (or both if they are not used in the morning) and the agreed rate is £10 for each session or the normal scanning rate if they are used. The radiographers are not responsible for supplying back-ups but they do hold a list of volunteers who have shown an interest in being a back-up so it is a good idea to use this resource in the first instance. If there is no-one available from this list then researchers will need to use their own contacts or request a volunteer list from Jackie Harper. Please do not send CBU-all/CBU-Misc emails requesting for back-ups. It is not unusual for volunteers to cancel at the last minute or just not arrive for their slot so it is in your interests to make sure you have back-ups organised. This will ensure that there are no unnecessary interruptions in your scanning. It is the responsibility of the researcher to have a back-up volunteer available for each scanning slot. In the first instance this should not be someone from within the Unit though if a back-up fails, colleagues will most probably be willing to help out. A back-up can be on stand-by for a morning or an afternoon (or both if they are not used in the morning) and the agreed rate is £10 for each half-day session (or part of a half-day if your slots don't stretch to a full half-day) or the normal scanning rate if they are used. The radiographers are not responsible for supplying back-ups but they do hold a list of volunteers who have shown an interest in being a back-up so it is a good idea to use this resource in the first instance. If there is no-one available from this list then researchers will need to use their own contacts or request a volunteer list from Jackie Harper. Please do not send CBU-all/CBU-Misc emails requesting for back-ups. It is not unusual for volunteers to cancel at the last minute or just not arrive for their slot so it is in your interests to make sure you have back-ups organised. This will ensure that there are no unnecessary interruptions in your scanning.

Recruiting participants for CBU-based studies

Useful documents

There are various resources including a map to the CBU imaging facility on the [wiki:VolunteerForScan MRI facility volunteer page].

There are subject screening forms and other bits of useful information on the [wiki:InternalPages MRI facility internal pages] by LucilleMurby

Background: CBU Volunteers

The CBU maintains a panel of volunteers who are willing to take part in fMRI studies and these are available to all researchers working on CBU and CBU collaborative studies. Before recruiting participants, researchers need to have had a panel induction with [mailto:panel@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk Jackie Harper] and it is a good idea to arrange for the induction to take place shortly after joining the Unit or shortly after the project has been approved to proceed by the IIG.

Volunteers can be obtained in two ways: by informing Lucille Murby at the [wiki:CbuProjectLogging Project Discussion Meeting] that you wish to use Brainscan or by requesting a panel list to your specific criterion from Jackie Harper.

Anchor(book_via_brainscan)

Booking Volunteers via Brainscan

Brainscan is a system where volunteers are booked in by radiographers for projects run by members of the CBU and their collaborators, but is currently only available for volunteers with relatively 'standard' characteristics (young, right handed etc). If your project requires volunteers with more specific characteristics (e.g. left handers or volunteers never scanned by you before) then, at the present time, you will need to contact the panel manager for a list of appropriate Panel members and book them yourself (see the [#book_via_panel book via panel manager] section).

The radiographers undertake to ensure that all volunteers suggested via the Brainscan system are fully health cleared and deemed suitable by them for the researcher's project. The researcher will receive details of the volunteers booked into their scan slots and will need to make contact with them and make sure that:

  1. The volunteer is actually suitable for their project
  2. The volunteer will turn up on the day

The responsibility for ensuring that the volunteer is suitable for the study still rests with the researcher and it is up to the researcher to confirm the appointment, relay the specifics of the project and to remind the volunteer of the appointment the day before.

Once you have requested to use the Brainscan volunteer booking system and have discussed the technical details of your project with Helen Lloyd, the radiographers will start to find potential volunteers for your scanning slots. They will ensure that those suggested are health cleared and they will try to ensure that the people they find are suitable for your study. The onus is on you, however, to ensure that the person is actually appropriate for your research.

You will be copied into a confirmation email sent to the volunteer from Brainscan and this will give you their details as well as which slot they are booked for (please note that volunteers are asked to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the scan start time to allow adequate time for the paperwork to be filled in, the task instructions to be explained and some overall contingency time for unplanned delays). At this point you will now need to make contact with your volunteer, ensure that they are suitable for your study and try to establish a rapport so that they will turn up on the day you are scanning. This is best done by phone but you will not need to use the Structured Phone Questionnaire (relevant for the #book_via_panel section) because the radiographers undertake to ensure that volunteers booked by Brainscan are fully health cleared.

Once all participants are booked, a Project Summary will be sent from the radiographers in the form of a spreadsheet which lists your slots and contains all the details you need in one place. Forward this email to anyone else working on your study and to the buddy that you will have working with you on your scan days.

Please now go to the [#once_booked Once Volunteers are Booked] section.

Anchor(book_via_panel)

Booking Volunteers via the panel manager

Obtaining potential participant lists

If you are not using Brainscan you'll need to obtain your volunteers via Jackie Harper. Email [mailto:panel@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk Jackie Harper] with your requirements (age; handedness; whether scanned before or not etc.) and you'll receive a list via your pigeon hole. Please request your volunteers early. Jackie organises the volunteers for both scanning and behavioural studies and cannot guarantee you a list at short notice.

Telephone screening and booking

Volunteers must be booked by telephone so prior to booking any volunteers, please make sure you are familiar with the [:MriSubjectScreening:Structured Phone Questionnaire] as well as the CBU payment rates and the specific scanning slots that you have available. On receipt of the list from Jackie, start contacting volunteers using the Structured Phone Questionnaire. Make sure the volunteer is fully aware who you are, what the study involves and has the opportunity to ask questions, in case they feel they would not like to take part. Please ensure that your contact with volunteers is always in line with the CBU data protection guidelines. Do not take volunteer lists home and always ensure that correspondence with volunteers is confidential and stored on your PGP drive. It is very important that researchers understand the relevance of all questions in the Structured Phone Questionnaire so we advise you to read through the notes throughout the document. The volunteer will be screened for metal on arrival but it is critical that you try to eliminate all unsuitable volunteers at the outset otherwise your scanning slot could be lost and you'll have to apply to the IMC for a replacement which may incur a delay in your research. Note any contraindications and send any relevant feedback to Jackie Harper. Researchers should also check with each volunteer that is booked that they are not already booked in for another fMRI study within the same fortnightly period. The CBU guidelines are that no volunteer can be scanned more than once every 14 days. Please remember that volunteers are asked to arrive at least 30 minutes before the scan start time to allow adequate time for the paperwork to be filled in, the task instructions to be explained and some overall contingency time for unplanned delays (you may want to extend this if you have specific extended tasks for them to complete prior to the scan; ask colleagues or Helen Lloyd if you are unsure of how much time to allow). If this is a first scan with us, the volunteer should be asked to bring their GP's details to the appointment so this can be incorporated into their records.

Confirmation email

Send a Confirmation Email to each volunteer booked (please obtain the template from Lucille Murby) which contains the link to the website so that the volunteer has a chance to read more about what we do and obtain our site map. Please blind copy this email to radiographers (please do not standard copy as we do not want these volunteers to contact the radiographers direct). Please also send the radiographers a summary of your booked slots at least three working days prior to scanning (containing the full volunteer name, contact numbers on the day and an email address if applicable). Please also forward this summary to anyone working with you on the project and to the buddy that you will have working with you on your scan days. Radiographers will inform CBU Reception about the bookings. Please now go to the [#once_booked Once Volunteers are Booked] section.

Anchor(once_booked)

Once Volunteers are Booked

Rapport/Volunteer Information

Once your volunteers are booked (by either method) and you are happy that they are suitable for your project, you will need to establish a rapport with them. This will help to stress the value of their assistance in our investigations and help to ensure that they turn up for their appointment. You will also need to send them a copy of the Volunteer Information Sheet (as submitted to LREC for ethical approval of your study). This should be done as soon as possible after booking them so that they have ample time to read the information. Please remember that your ethical protocol may stipulate how long volunteers are given to read the document so ensure that you allow the time documented. If you have booked the volunteers yourself (see the [#book_via_brainscan book via brainscan] section) then you may want to attach this document to your confirmation email; otherwise we suggest that you could send it once to all of your volunteers (put your address in the To section so you can check it arrives and put all the volunteer email addresses in the Bcc box so that the list of names is not visible to the recipients - in line with our data protection guidelines). Radiographers will inform CBU Reception about the appointment so there is no need for the researcher to do this.

Template emails/letters

Always use the template emails and letters (available from Lucille Murby) so that all correspondence from the CBU is consistent.

Problems with Volunteers

If you have any problems with a volunteer please do not discuss the issue with colleagues, only share this information with Jackie Harper or Lucille Murby. Similarly, researchers should feed back to the Panel any details about contraindications and requests from volunteers who wish to be removed from the list.

Volunteer Reminders

(1-2 days before scanning). In order to ensure as far as possible that the volunteer will turn up for their appointment, please remind them a day or two before they are due to be scanned, and inform them that they should contact you if they have any problems in keeping their appointment as our scan time is very valuable and we may be able to find someone else to fill their slot. This is to minimise the (not infrequent) situation where participants do not turn up for slots without informing you, which inconveniences the whole team and may mean that the completion of your study is significantly delayed (if replacement slots can not be found quickly).

Exchange Contact numbers

Make certain that the volunteer knows how to contact the CBU Imaging Facility should they need to on the day and attempt to secure a mobile phone number for the volunteer that you can contact them when they are on the move in case you need to cancel at the last minute or they unexpectedly do not turn up.

Confirm Arrival Procedures

The volunteer will need to be informed of the specific arrival procedures - all volunteers need to sign in at Unit Reception (if their arrival time is out of office hours then you must ensure that you or your buddy is there to meet them). During working hours volunteers can be directed through the South Wing corridor to the Imaging Facility. Out of hours, they will need to be escorted around the outside of the South Wing. (Please remember that all doors in the Main Unit are alarmed out of hours and can only be opened from the inside as a fire escape route).

Recruit backup volunteers

It is the responsibility of the researcher to have a back-up volunteer available for each scanning slot. In the first instance this should not be someone from within the Unit though if a back-up fails, colleagues will most probably be willing to help out. A back-up can be on stand-by for a morning or an afternoon (or both if they are not used in the morning) and the agreed rate is £10 for each half-day session (or part of a half-day if your slots don't stretch to a full half-day) or the normal scanning rate if they are used. The radiographers are not responsible for supplying back-ups but they do hold a list of volunteers who have shown an interest in being a back-up so it is a good idea to use this resource in the first instance. If there is no-one available from this list then researchers will need to use their own contacts or request a volunteer list from Jackie Harper. Please do not send CBU-all/CBU-Misc emails requesting for back-ups. It is not unusual for volunteers to cancel at the last minute or just not arrive for their slot so it is in your interests to make sure you have back-ups organised. This will ensure that there are no unnecessary interruptions in your scanning.

Request participant money

You will need to request money to pay your volunteers by 12 noon on the Wednesday before the week you scan. Contact subject-money@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk with details of how much you will require, making sure you won't be left short of money. Collect the money on the Monday - you will be given an appointment time.

Obtain an MRI Volunteer Receipt

You will need one of these yellow forms for each volunteer (available from the Filing drawers in the South Wing Elbow and also available in the MRI Control Room). Each form is to be used for one scan only. Please fill out the internal section (completing the session number once the scan has started and leaving the WBSE number for Finance to fill in). The volunteer will need to sign this document on completion of the scan and in order to obtain payment.

CbuImaging: CbuRecruitVolunteers (last edited 2013-03-07 21:22:55 by localhost)