Consent Statement
BMC guidance separates ethics approval/consent to participate from consent for publication and requires publication consent when a manuscript contains an individual person’s identifiable details, images, or videos. Exact declarations remain study- and journal-dependent.
A consent statement records the informed-consent declaration required for participation and/or publication in the target venue. Keep consent to participate distinct from consent to publish identifiable material.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
Consent requirements, waiver rules, guardian/next-of-kin procedures, documentation and exact wording depend on law, ethics review and publisher policy.
Further guidance
Distinction
Do not collapse consent to participate in research and consent to publish identifiable information into the same concept; journals may require separate declarations.
Practical Application
Identify which declaration the venue requires: consent to participate, consent for publication of identifiable material, or both. State the applicable informed-consent status without merging these legally and ethically distinct purposes, and follow the exact journal/ethics requirements for waivers, guardians, or other special cases.
Purpose
State the applicable informed-consent declaration for participation or publication.
Reader Check
Can a reader tell whether the statement concerns participation, publication of identifiable information, or both, and does the wording match the governing ethics/publisher requirement?
Worked Example
Instead of writing one vague sentence such as “Consent was obtained,” state the relevant declaration separately—for example, participation consent in the ethics/declarations section and publication consent when identifiable images or personal details are included.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Preparing your manuscript — declarations guidance (BMC) (opens in a new tab)BMC / Springer Nature · BMC manuscript declarations guidance for ethics approval/consent to participate and consent for publication