RESEARCH ARTICLE Evaluating the Consent Preferences of UK Research Volunteers for Genetic and Clinical Studies

Objectives To establish the views of research volunteers on the consent process; to explore their views on the consent process in different research scenarios; to inform debate on emerging mod-els of consent for participation in research. Design, Setting and Participants 2,308 adult volunteers from the TwinsUK Registry (www.twinsuk.ac.uk) completed an on-line survey about their views on the consent process for use of their DNA and medical infor-mation in research. Their views on the re-consenting process in different scenarios were assessed. Results The majority of volunteers preferred to be informed of the identity of the main researcher of a study in which they are participating, which is contrary to current practice. Over 80 % were willing to complete the consent process online instead of face to face. On the whole, respon-dents did not view their DNA differently from their medical information with regard to the con