A step-by-step guide to writing a professional, IRB-compliant interview consent form. Covers all required elements for research, journalism, UX, and academic interviews.
The purpose of an interview consent form is to ensure that participants fully understand what they are agreeing to before an interview begins. A well-written consent form protects participants' rights, meets ethical and legal requirements, and documents that participation was voluntary and informed.
Consent forms are required for academic research by most Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), recommended by journalism ethics guidelines, required by many UX research teams, and best practice across all professional interview contexts.
The opening section of your interview consent form should clearly describe why you are conducting the interview, what you hope to learn, and how the results will be used. Write in plain language that a non-specialist participant can understand.
Include: Study or project title, your name and affiliation, a brief description of the research or project purpose, and how findings will be used (e.g., published dissertation, news article, product improvement).
Tell participants exactly what participating will involve: how long the interview will take, what topics will be covered, the format (in-person, Zoom, phone), and whether multiple sessions are required.
Include: Estimated interview duration, interview format (structured/semi-structured/in-depth), location or platform, number of sessions, and the general topic areas.
Be transparent about recording. Specify the type of recording (audio, video), who will access it, how it will be used, and what will happen to it when the research ends. Always offer a choice to refuse recording while still participating.
Include: Recording type, purpose of recording, who has access, transcription procedures, retention period, and deletion policy.
Describe specifically how you will protect the participant's identity and data. Choose from full anonymization, pseudonymization, or identified participation (with explicit consent) — and state this clearly.
Include: Whether the participant will be identified, how data will be stored and protected, who else may access the data (e.g., dissertation supervisor), and what happens to data after the study.
Every interview consent form must state clearly that participation is entirely voluntary, that refusing or withdrawing has no negative consequences, and how a participant can withdraw.
Include: Statement that participation is voluntary, right to decline any question, right to withdraw at any time, how to withdraw, and no-penalty statement.
The final section of your interview consent form must include signature and date lines for both the participant and the researcher. For minors, include a parent or guardian signature line in addition to the minor's assent signature.
Include: Participant name (printed), participant signature, date, researcher signature, date. Add: parent/guardian signature if interviewing minors. Add: recording consent checkboxes (Yes/No) if not already covered.
Write at an accessible reading level. Avoid academic or legal jargon. Participants should be able to understand everything without needing specialized knowledge.
Don't just say "your data will be kept confidential." Specify exactly how: what pseudonymization means, who has access, where data is stored, and when it will be deleted.
For IRB-reviewed research, always include the protocol number and IRB contact information. Missing these elements is a common reason for IRB revision requests.
Always give participants the option to decline recording while still participating. Recording should never be presented as mandatory.
Both the participant and the researcher must sign and date the form. The participant should receive a copy — this is ethically required in most research contexts.
Editable PDF and Word template for any interview type.
View Template →Specifically designed for dissertation and thesis research.
View Form →Complete explainer covering definition, purpose, and requirements.
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