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Volunteers Frequently Asked Questions

ResearchMatch Overview

Why is ResearchMatch important?

Research affects our everyday lives – ranging from the medicine we take to the health of our families. Becoming a research participant is a gift you give of yourself to benefit your family, your community and the health of people everywhere. Research needs volunteers both with and without medical conditions. All too often important research studies end early because there are too few research participants in the study. At the same time, people are looking for research studies but are having difficult time finding them. As a result, important questions that can affect the health of our community go unanswered. ResearchMatch helps this problem by connecting people who want to participate in studies get connected with the research studies that may be a good ‘match’ for them through its secure, online matching tool.

Who is involved in ResearchMatch?

Researchmatch.org is a collaborative project, led by the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical & Translational Research, and involves a number of other not-for-profit institutions.

How can ResearchMatch benefit me?

ResearchMatch may help reduce the time that you spend searching for research studies that interest you. ResearchMatch may also help you learn more about the research in your community by matching you with a researcher in your area. Your participation has the potential to positively impact the future research for everyone.

What to expect?

What happens once I register?

After you register, your profile (without the contact information) will be searchable by researchers who are authorized to use ResearchMatch. If a researcher thinks your profile matches their study’s needs, you may receive a message through ResearchMatch from that researcher that tells you a bit more information about the study. You may easily respond Yes or No if you wish to learn more. A yes response will release your contact information to the researcher so they may contact you directly with more information. A no response will keep your contact information hidden. Please remember that even if you respond yes through ResearchMatch, you are never obligated to participate in a study. You can learn more about the voluntary nature of ResearchMatch by clicking here.

Since I am entering in my phone number, will I start getting a lot of calls if I join the registry?

How many calls you get will be up to you! When you create your ResearchMatch profile, your contact details are ‘hidden’ from researchers that are searching the registry for possible matches to their studies. Researchers actually send their first message about their study to you through ResearchMatch via email and we route this message to you without the researcher knowing who you are. This way, it is your decision if you wish for your contact information to be shown to the researcher or not after you read more about their study. If you allow for your contact details to be shared with the researcher, they will use that information to provide you with further information about their study if you appear to qualify. Please read the Volunteer Agreement for more information.

When will I start to hear from researchers if I join ResearchMatch?

You will be contacted as soon as you are matched with a research study. Please remember though that ResearchMatch cannot guarantee that you will actually be contacted by any researchers, although it is certainly our hope that these contacts will occur.

Do I have to participate in a research study if I join ResearchMatch?

No, you will never have to participate in a study. It is always your choice!

What if I change my mind about being part of ResearchMatch?

You can remove yourself from ResearchMatch at any time. You simply log in to your profile, scroll down to “Update Profile”, click “Remove yourself as a volunteer” and confirm that you would like to be removed. Once you do this, all of your identifiable information will be removed and future researchers who are searching the registry will not be able to search for you. However, you may still be able to be contacted by those researchers you have already released your contact information to through ResearchMatch. Please be aware that it is not possible for ResearchMatch to prevent researchers from contacting you if they received your contact information while your profile was active on the platform.

Joining ResearchMatch

Who can join?

Anyone from the United States, including Puerto Rico, can join ResearchMatch. All ages and backgrounds are welcome. A parent, legal guardian or caretaker may register someone under the age of 18 or an adult that may not be able to enter in their own information. If a volunteer is under 18 at the time of registration, they will need to create their own account when they turn 18, or be re-registered by their parent, guardian, or caretaker.

What if I do not have a health condition - can I still join?

Research needs healthy volunteers as well as those with medical conditions. ResearchMatch encourages everyone who is interested to join.

Do I need to have health insurance to join ResearchMatch?

No, you do not need to have health insurance to join ResearchMatch. But you may want or need to have health insurance before participating in a medical research study. Please talk to the study team before you begin a study.

Do I need to have a social security number to join ResearchMatch?

No, ResearchMatch does not ask you for a Social Security number or ask questions about your immigration status. Your identity and the contact information that you share with ResearchMatch is kept confidential until you choose to share it with a research team so that they can contact you and tell you more about a study or survey. Please see the privacy statement for more information. Please note it is possible a study team may ask for this information if it is a part of their study. Ask the study team if you need a Social Security number before you join a study as it could be required for study payment.

What does it cost to join ResearchMatch?

ResearchMatch is a not-for-profit activity and is free to join.

Privacy and Protections

How does ResearchMatch protect my information?

ResearchMatch takes your privacy very seriously. ResearchMatch is a secure, central database that will store your information if you wish to be matched with research studies, now or in the future. All ResearchMatch data that is sent between the web server and browsers will be coded (encrypted) using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protection. Another protection is that ResearchMatch will not release your personal contact information until you have given permission for that release. The ResearchMatch registry is a collaborative project between all participating sites, but is maintained at Vanderbilt and overseen by the Vanderbilt Institutional Review Board. ResearchMatch will never sell, rent or lease your personal information. Please read our privacy statement for more details.

Are there any risks to joining?

There is a potential risk of loss of confidentiality of your profile information, but ResearchMatch makes many efforts to keep your personal information private, secure, and confidential until you allow us to release it. You can learn more about the steps ResearchMatch takes to protect your confidentiality by reading our privacy statement. There may also be a chance you could be inconvenienced by receiving too many emails from researchers using ResearchMatch when your anonymous profile is ‘matched’ with their research studies. If you feel that you are getting too many emails, you can always remove yourself from ResearchMatch by logging in to your profile and selecting this option. Once you do this, all of your identifiable information will be removed and future researchers who are searching the registry will not be able to search for you. However, you may still be able to be contacted by those researchers you have already released your contact information to through ResearchMatch.

Compensation

Will I receive payment for joining ResearchMatch?

ResearchMatch is not a study but a research study-matching tool. We do not directly provide payment for joining. Some studies on ResearchMatch may give compensation but we cannot confirm which studies will provide compensation and which will not. It is your decision to release your contact information to studies that may interest you if you decide to join as a ResearchMatch volunteer.

Updating my information

What if my contact and/or health information has changed?

You can change your profile at any time. You only have to login with your unique username and password to make these changes.

Clinical Trials

Is ResearchMatch only for clinical trials?

No, ResearchMatch will help match any type of approved study that is looking for people to participate in their study. You may be contacted about different research opportunities ranging from a survey you can do at home to a clinical trial that may involve you traveling to the researcher’s institution.

How can I learn more about what it means to take part in a research study?

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) gives you more information about taking part in research. To learn more, please visit: www.nih.gov/health-information/nih-clinical-research-trials-you/basics.