Directions: Answer the following questions to decide if you are ready to begin data collection. If you respond “Yes” to all items, you are ready to begin collecting data. However, if you respond “No” to any item, you are not ready to begin collecting data.
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Human Subjects Considerations
Has the final versions of your advertising, consent forms, and research questions been approved by your institution’s Institutional Review Board?	Yes	No
Do you have a written protocol for addressing risks to study participants that has been approved by your institution’s Institutional Review Board?	Yes	No
Does your protocol include guidelines for logging and addressing participants’ concerns, including how this information will be communicated to your institution’s Institutional Review Board and to your funder?	Yes	No
Does your protocol identify conditions and procedures for stopping data collection if there appears to be harm to participants?	Yes	No
Does your protocol have guidelines for restarting a study if the issue(s) that causes data collection to stop are resolved?	Yes	No
Are all databases and logs ready to be activated?	Yes	No
Do you have a current referral list applicable to participants in all geographical areas from which your sample is drawn?	Yes	No
Have all members of your research team completed human subjects training, per requirements of your institution’s Institutional Review Board?	Yes	No
If funded by NIH, did you obtain a Certificate of Confidentiality?	Yes	No
Recruitment Considerations
Do you have a signed contract with the vendor(s) you will rely on to publish your recruitment banner advertisements to send out emails?	Yes	No
Do you have written documentation from the vendor(s) that your recruitment plan, advertisements, and email content developed by your research team conforms to the vendor(s) marketing and advertising specifications?	Yes	No
Do you and your vendor(s) have a written plan to monitor participant recruitment, as well as a written contingency recruitment plan if recruitment is slower than desired?	Yes	No
Do you have adequate money in your budget to cover the costs associated with recruitment, including an estimated 50% cost overrun contingency budget if recruitment takes longer than expected?	Yes	No
Do you have a written protocol for ending recruitment, including how to remove advertising, respond to inquiries from persons interested in participating in the study, block access to online instruments, and lock the database?	Yes	No
Do you have a written protocol for processing participant payments?	Yes	No
Research Instrumentation Considerations
Have you obtained written sign-off from the Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators, and Methodologist for all instruments?	Yes	No
Have you obtained written sign-off from members of your Community Advisory Board (if applicable)?	Yes	No
Have online data collection instruments been tested in-house and all identified “bugs” resolved?	Yes	No
Are all variables names and codes set up to facilitate easy data cleaning and analysis?	Yes	No
Have you verified that online data are being correctly stored in the study database and on the designated server?	Yes	No
Have you completed pilot testing?	Yes	No
Data Collection and Participant Safety Considerations
Do you have a written data collection protocol, including procedures for identifying and removing duplicate participants from the study?	Yes	No
Have all members of the research team been trained on the data collection protocol?	Yes	No
Public Relations Considerations
Do you have a written public relations protocol that includes a list of key personnel allowed to interact with media, key messages, and guidelines for using online social networking media (both study-related pages and personal pages of members of the research team)?	Yes	No
Have all key personnel received a copy of the emergency communication protocol?	Yes	No