Which of the following is not part of obtaining informed consent?

a) explaining the hypothesis to the participants

b) letting participants know that participation is voluntary

c) obtaining the participant's signature or a signature from the parent or guardian if the participant is a minor

d) reviewing that data is confidential

The correct answer is A. Explaining the hypothesis to the participants.

Explanation:

Informed consent means getting the permission (consent) of a participant for a clinical trial, therapy, experiment or research, amongst other. It is an informative document which allows the individual to be a part of an investigation and by signing it, he/she allows the researcher to use the information given as well as consenting to it.

During the informed consent, the participants understand that their participation is voluntary, they sign or the guardian signs (if the participant is a minor) and they understand that the information will be confidential.

The researcher, however, does not have to explain the hypothesis to the participants in the informed consent since the hypothesis is a part of the investigation and does not provide much information for the participants.