ResearchMatch

Wayne State University is now a participating site in the ResearchMatch program!

ResearchMatch is an online volunteer registry and recruitment tool that connects people who are interested in learning about and participating in research studies with researchers conducting studies. It is a non-profit program funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that has been in existence since 2010.

ResearchMatch cannot be used for studies that do not have health related outcomes (A few examples are studies which explore consumer spending/decision making, political opinions, ecological impact, architectural features, leadership styles, cleaning technologies, work force issues, and battery life).

The ResearchMatch Liaison team at WSU have worked with the WSU IRB to establish a streamlined process to facilitate the use of this recruitment tool.

ResearchMatch IRB Process

To utilize ResearchMatch, please use the following IRB process:

Protocol Checklist: select Internet use in Research. The internet CITI training module is required.
Indicate the use of Research Match for the Recruitment Section description of recruitment methods and procedures.
Internet Addendum select "Other" and indicate Research Match.
Attachments section - Attach the Research Match contact message.
Attach the ResearchMatch Contact Message (Requirements for/examples of are included below) in the “Protocol Information Attachments” section in eProtocol.
Complete the IRB’s “Internet Use in Research” Addendum:
- Indicate the use of Research Match for the Recruitment Section description of recruitment methods and procedures
- Select "Other" and indicate ResearchMatch

Upon receipt of IRB Approval, submit the following items to researchmatchws@wayne.edu
- IRB approval letter
- IRB Approved Research Match Contact Message
- A copy of the IRB “Internet Use in Research Addendum” (select Print View and save the addendum as a PDF)
See the IRB’s Advertising for Research Participants Guidance Tool for additional information:

For questions/assistance with ResearchMatch at Wayne State University please email: researchmatchws@wayne.edu

Monthly Researcher Training with ResearchMatch (via Zoom)

A monthly ResearchMatch research training session will be held the second Thursday of each month at 2 p.m. (CST) – click here to register!

Posting your Approved Study to ResearchMatch

Once you have IRB approval you can post your study on ResearchMatch following the process below:

How to Register with ResearchMatch:

Key study personnel recruiting participants should register themselves as a Researcher on ResearchMatch
Your study must be IRB-approved. To register your study, you must:
1. Have IRB approval to use ResearchMatch as a recruitment method.
2. Have an IRB approved ResearchMatch advertisement (also referred to as a contact message). Unlike an email, this recruitment message cannot include study team identifiers (like emails or phone numbers). Do not include embedded surveys or URLs. Maximum length is 2000 characters. (Please see “Example Contact Message” on the right-hand menu.)
3. Optional: If you have approval and the ability to recruit monolingual Spanish speakers, you will need an IRB approved contact message in Spanish.
4. Optional: Submit a REDCap Pre-screening eligibility survey for IRB approval.
Log in and register your study in ResearchMatch:
1. If you are not the Principal Investigator (PI), then list yourself as the proxy. The PI will be emailed to approve you as their proxy.
2. You upload your IRB Final Action Letter with the current expiration date, and an IRB approved recruitment message for ResearchMatch.
3. The liaison will verify that you have IRB approval to use ResearchMatch and that you have an IRB approved ResearchMatch advertisement that does not contain identifiers.

Once you are approved you will have access to search for potential Volunteers and send them your Contact Message and REDCap Prescreening survey.

How it works

ResearchMatch allows researchers to search for de-identified volunteers who have registered themselves as being interested in participating in research. The researcher creates a cohort of people that meet some of the key inclusion and exclusion criteria for their study by using filters on ResearchMatch, and then sends their IRB approved message to them via ResearchMatch.

Interested volunteers create a “profile” with their basic health information. This allows researchers to search for potential participants that meet certain criteria. The potential participant can be sent the IRB approved message about the study and can then choose whether to provide their contact information to the researcher. This is an excellent resource for researchers looking to identify potential participants outside of usual-care settings.

The researcher finds the contact information of those interested individuals on their ResearchMatch dashboard and can then contact them directly.

Contact Message Rules

You will be prompted to enter a study description/recruitment message that is approved by your IRB for use on ResearchMatch. The contact message will be sent to your identified cohort

This message should describe your study much like an email recruitment message, but it cannot contain phone numbers, email addresses, links to websites, or embedded surveys. Your message cannot exceed 2000 characters.

EXAMPLES of Contact Messages

Example 1:

People at risk for getting diabetes are needed for the Pre-diabetes study

By taking part, you would help us learn if a medicine now used to treat people with diabetes - could also help to prevent diabetes in people at risk

You may qualify for the Pre-diabetes study if you:

Already have a xyz blood test from your health care provider
Have at least one symptom of xyz
Are 18-45 years old
Do not have xyz
Are not being treated with insulin or prednisone

This study involves:
Blood sugar testing and exams
Study medicine or placebo
12 visits to the study center over two years
Participants will be compensation at study completion

No direct study team contact identifiers: no e-mail addresses, postal addresses, or phone numbers
Maximum 2000 characters
No embedded surveys

Example 2:

Would you like to help researchers learn more about the causes of motor neuron diseases such as ALS and SMA?

Are you interested in helping researchers who are trying to learn more about the causes of motor neuron diseases such as ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and SMA? Researchers at Vanderbilt are looking for study volunteers.

You may be eligible for this study if:

You are 18 years or older.
You are a healthy volunteer OR if a physician has determined that you have ALS, SMA or another disorder affecting the motor neuron or nerve.
You are available for one visit for approximately 1 hour.
You are willing to have a small biopsy of skin taken from a small spot on your leg.

The skin around the spot will be numbed prior to the sample being taken. The skin biopsy procedure is a standard technique used to look at nerve fibers in the skin. For this study, the researchers will use the skin cells from the biopsy to grow a lot of skin cells (called a culture) and these will be converted to nerve cells.

If you are interested in hearing more about this study, please click “yes” so that a study team member may contact you.