Research Match

Greetings Mercer University Institution Researcher & Welcome to ResearchMatch!

ResearchMatch is an online recruitment platform that connects researchers with volunteers who are interested in learning about health-related study opportunities.

ResearchMatch aims to serve as an effective, useful, and complementary recruitment tool that helps connect interested volunteers with researchers who are searching for volunteers to enroll in their clinical and other health-related research studies.

https://www.researchmatch.org/

Before getting started, make sure you are ready to register as a ResearchMatch researcher at Mercer University by answering the following 2 questions:

Question 1. Are you employed by Mercer University?

• If yes, please go to question 2.
• If no, you may not use this tool at this time as it is only available to sites that have signed the ResearchMatch agreement.
• Please contact one of your ResearchMatch Liaisons - Dr. Ava Chambliss-Richardson; Chambliss_A@mercer.edu or Ajuania White; White_ag@mercer.edu

Question 2. Do you want to view ResearchMatch for feasibility purposes or for actual recruitment?

• Feasibility Access allows you to view aggregate data regarding the ResearchMatch population today. To register with feasibility access, please use your institutional email address when registering. (e.g: janedoe@mercer.edu)
• Recruitment Access allows you to contact volunteers about your IRB-approved study. Do you have IRB approval to use ResearchMatch as a recruitment tool?
  • If yes, please go to the “Register for Recruitment Access Steps” below.
  • If no, please follow these instructions:

1. Register as a Researcher on ResearchMatch, you do not need to be the PI, and you will have feasibility access. This will allow you to view aggregate data regarding the ResearchMatch population starting today. Please use your institutional email address when registering. (e.g: janedoe@mercer.edu)
2. Submit an amendment to add ResearchMatch as a new proposed recruitment tool to your existing IRB application. Ask your Liaison for template language.
3. In your IRB amendment submit the Contact Message that you plan to send to possible volunteer matches through ResearchMatch. This message should be less than 2000 characters and cannot contain contact information or URLs. Examples of a contact message are available on your dashboard after you register for feasibility access.
4. Once you have been granted IRB approval to use ResearchMatch, and have an IRB approved contact message for ResearchMatch, you may login with your username and password and add your study to the system through the researcher dashboard.

Register Your IRB Approved Study:

You will need to complete the entire study registration process in one sitting and have IRB approval to use ResearchMatch, and an IRB approved contact message for ResearchMatch. Have your IRB letter ready to upload. Your request will be routed to your Liaison for review.

1. Proceed if you are the Principal Investigator (PI) or an individual who is authorized to recruit for an IRB-approved study on behalf of the study PI at Mercer University.
   • If you are not the PI, you will be asked to provide the PI’s name, email, and phone number.
2. Upload your current IRB letter of approval for the study you are registering on ResearchMatch, which cites that this study is active and approved by the IRB of record.
   • This document must include a valid IRB expiration date.
   • If your study is IRB exempt, you must attach the acknowledgment/approval documentation of this exemption.

Once again, if you do not have IRB approval to use ResearchMatch but wish to register today, please proceed and you will have feasibility access. Once you are logged in as a registered ResearchMatch researcher you may add a study at any time.

In preparation of using Research Match for your approved IRB project, below are tips which you may find helpful:

Contact messages you send to potential research volunteers cannot contain any study staff personnel identifiers (department, name, email, telephone or fax numbers, URLs) and require IRB approval.

Send only the number of contact messages to potential volunteers that your study staff can reasonably and promptly handle within 24-48 hours.

For those volunteers who respond, “yes I am interested in being contacted about your study,” remember to:

1. Follow proper procedure of using the Mercer University recruitment email template.

2. Use a separate email (or phone call) for each interested volunteer- don’t blind copy.

3. Honor interested volunteer’s protected health information (name, email address, etc.).

4. Throughout the recruitment phase for each research volunteer, remember to complete the  Research Match enrollment continuum table on your dashboard.

*REDCap is software associated with Research Match to conduct pre-screening surveys for potential volunteers. Mercer University has no legal binding contract with Research Match or REDCap to use the REDCap software. If faculty, staff, or student obtain access to the REDCap software, the data collected will not be protected by Mercer University.  The IO ( Institutional Official) requires all faculty, staff, or students to use Qualtrics or Survey Monkey to collect and store data for online survey research instead of REDCap.

Thank you for your interest in ResearchMatch!