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The Basics

The CU Anschutz Research Studies website is a recruitment tool to inform the public about research studies and clinical trials at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and to encourage participation in campus research studies. If you include the CU Anschutz Research Studies website as a recruitment method on your IRB application, then you will be able to recruit using this website.

The CU Anschutz Research Studies website is a form of recruiting human participants to clinical research studies. You should work with your study’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Record to see if they require review and approval of your study webpage content.

A second pair of eyes is always helpful! We are reviewing your webpage to make sure that it is communicating the study information in an understandable way and using plain language that is appropriate for the general public. This is for your benefit! The more clearly you communicate the study and what you are asking the potential participant to do, the more likely they are to volunteer for your study. This review is in lieu of an amendment to the COMIRB per their Policy and Procedures. If you use a different IRB as your IRB of Record, please refer to their processes and allow adequate time if this IRB requires approval of content.

The CU Anschutz Research Studies website is a public-facing website. That means anyone from the community can visit the website, see your study webpage and submit an inquiry if they are interested in participating.

The Content

There are two ways that you can create a study webpage on the CU Anschutz Research Studies website.

If your study uses OnCore, the university’s Clinical Trial Management System, then you will need to take the following steps:

  1. Login to OnCore using your university credentials.
  2. In the PC Console, in Main tab on the left-hand side, under the Details tab, uncheck the box next to “Exclude Protocol on Web”.
  3. In the SIP Console, at the bottom righthand side of the page, click the ‘Configure’ button. This will open the SIP Configuration page, which will show the ‘Display Protocol’ dropdown menu option. You need to select ‘Yes’ from this dropdown menu.
  4. You also need to make sure to complete the following fields in OnCore:
    • Title: PC Console > Main > Details > Title
    • Objective: SIP Console > Configure Button > Display Protocol? > Select ‘Yes’ from dropdown menu > Objective
    • Primary Contact: PC Console > Main > Staff
    • Description: SIP Console > Description
    • Eligibility: SIP Console > Detailed Eligibility

If your study does not use OnCore, or if you would like to make customizations to your study webpage, you can use the Research Admin Tool. This tool was created to allow research teams to create study webpages for studies that are not in OnCore. Please follow the instructions provided in the Instructions for Creating a Study Webpage.

Making changes to your study webpage is easy. There are two ways you can make updates:

  1. OnCore: You can make changes to your study webpage directly through OnCore, the Clinical Trial Management System that the university uses. You will need to login into OnCore using your university login credentials, and you will need to have the correct access permissions for the specific study to make the necessary changes.
  2. Research Admin Tool: If your study does not use OnCore then you can update your study webpage using this tool. Studies that use OnCore can use the Research Admin Tool to customize their study webpage. You will need to log in using your university login credentials. You will either need to be the Primary Contact of the study in OnCore or be added as an Editor to the study webpage through the Research Admin Tool by the Primary Contact.

The Research Admin Tool allows you to make several customizations to your study webpage.

  • Why this Research Matters: You can divide this section into three sections using the Research Admin Tool. The main section of ‘Why this Research Matters’ and two additional sections titled ‘What to Expect’ and ‘Study Duration’. This allows you to shorten a lengthy section into smaller subsections. This makes it easier for people to understand.
  • What to Expect: This section should have information about what the person will need to do if they join the study. This may include number, type, and frequency of study visits; what the individual will need to do at the study visits; what the person will need to do in between the study visits; and any other information that you feel is important.
  • Study Duration: This section should have information about the total duration of the study. You also can include total duration of the study visits, and number, type, and frequency of study visits here instead of in the section above.
  • Who can Participate: There are several font enhancements such as bold, italicized, and underline. You also can superscript and subscript text, make bullet or numbered lists, and insert a variety of special characters. This is particularly important for separating inclusion and exclusion criteria from each other, instead of having them appear as one long paragraph.
  • Study Screener Link: You can add a website link for your study screener. This will automatically load after the individual completes the CU Anschutz Research Studies webform. You should not be including a Study Screener Link in the Description section or anywhere else on the CU Anschutz Research Studies website.
  • Additional fields: The Research Admin Tool has several other fields including age, compensation, travel compensation, Facebook link, Twitter Link, or other website link.

These additional features allow you to really customize your study webpage!

To remove your study webpage from the CU Anschutz Research Studies website, you need to do the following:

Study webpages that are feeding from OnCore:

  1. Login to OnCore using your university credentials.
  2. In the PC Console, in Main tab on the left-hand side, under the Details tab, check the box next to “Exclude Protocol on Web”.
  3. In the SIP Console, at the bottom righthand side of the page, click the ‘Configure’ button. This will open the SIP Configuration page, which will show the ‘Display Protocol’ dropdown menu option. You need to select ‘No’ from this dropdown menu.

Study webpages that were created or customized using the Research Admin Tool:

  1. Login to the Research Admin Tool using your university credentials.
  2. Under ‘Customized Studies’, find the study that you would like to remove.
  3. On the far-right side, you will see a little red trash can. Click the trash can to delete the study webpage from the CU Anschutz Research Studies website.

Note: If you used the Research Admin Tool to customize your study webpage, once you delete the study webpage from the Research Admin Tool, the data from OnCore will start to feed to the CU Anschutz Research Studies website again. To completely remove your study from the CU Anschutz Research Studies website, you will then need to take the steps outlined above in “Study webpages that are feeding from OnCore” to opt-out from having OnCore data push to the CU Anschutz Research Studies website.

When a study’s IRB approval expires, is suspended or is closed to accrual, it is the responsibility of the study team to update the information in OnCore to ensure the study webpage is removed from the CU Anschutz Research Studies website. Similarly, if you have used the Research Admin Tool to create or make customizations to your study webpage, you will need to take the steps outlined above to remove the study webpage from the CU Anschutz Research Studies website.

If you or someone from your team does not take the necessary steps to remove your study webpage from the CU Anschutz Research Studies website, your study webpage will remain active.

The CU Anschutz Research Studies website is a public-facing resource, and we want to make sure that anyone that visits the website can understand the information on the website and the individual study webpages.

Plain language is a clear way of writing and sharing information so that people can understand the information quickly and easily the first time they read it. According to plainlanguage.gov, information that is communicated using plain language helps the individual find what they need, understand what they find, and use what they find to meet their needs.

The CU Anschutz Research Studies website is a public-facing resource, and we want to make sure that anyone that visits the website can understand the information on the website and the individual study webpages.

Plain language is a clear way of writing and sharing information so that people can understand the information quickly and easily the first time they read it. According to plainlanguage.gov, information that is communicated using plain language helps the individual find what they need, understand what they find, and use what they find to meet their needs.

When researchers are communicating about clinical research and science, they sometimes tend to use very technical and complex language. We want to avoid this. Using plain language can help clearly explain information to potential participants, giving them a better chance to understand what is being asked of them.

Having a study webpage that is understandable to the community we serve is the most important aspect of creating a public-facing website for your study, because it increases trust and participation in clinical research.

Here are several plain language resources:

Need step-by-step instructions for creating and updating your study webpage on the CU Anschutz Research Studies website? Check out our detailed instructions here.