Where to submit documents for multi-site studies

Applies to: Multi-site studies in Huron
Last reviewed: 09/01/2026 by Office of Responsible Research Practices

Multi-site studies have three places documents can go.

Before you start: Approval of a study-wide template does not constitute approval of an Ohio State-specific version unless the Ohio State version has also been submitted and approved.

The three destinations

Page in Huron	What goes there
Study-Related Documents	Documents intended for use across all sites and not specific to Ohio State
Local Site Documents (parent study)	Documents specific to Ohio State
Participating Site Submission	Documents specific to a participating site

Study-Related Documents

Submit documents that are intended for use across all sites and are not specific to Ohio State, including:

Consent and assent templates
Recruitment templates
Study-wide participant materials
Surveys and questionnaires
Data collection forms
Diaries, logs, worksheets, and other study tools

If a document can be used by multiple sites with site-specific information added later, it generally belongs on the Study-Related Documents page.

Local Site Documents (parent study)

Submit documents that are specific to Ohio State, such as:

Ohio State consent forms
Ohio State recruitment materials
Ohio State participant-facing documents
Materials containing Ohio State personnel, contact information, locations, or local language

These documents may also serve as examples or templates for participating sites to create their own site-specific versions.

The Local Site Documents page of the parent study should only contain documents approved for Ohio State's use.

Two acceptable approaches

Option 1: separate template and Ohio State version

Study-Related Documents: study-wide template or templates
Local Site Documents (parent study): Ohio State-specific version or versions
Participating Site Submission: the participating site's local version or versions

Option 2: the Ohio State version serves as the template

Study-Related Documents: no separate template submitted
Local Site Documents (parent study): Ohio State-specific version that also serves as the model for participating sites
Participating Site Submission: the participating site's local version or versions

Checklist before you upload

Before uploading a document, ask:

Does it belong in Study-Related Documents?

Not specific to Ohio State
Intended for study-wide use
Can be adapted by multiple sites

Does it belong in Local Site Documents (parent study)?

Specific to Ohio State
Contains Ohio State contacts, personnel, locations, or local language
Intended for use at the Ohio State site

Does it belong in a Participating Site Submission?

Specific to the participating site
Contains that site's contacts, personnel, locations, or local language
Will be used at that participating site

Common error to avoid

Submitting a study-wide template as an Ohio State Local Site Document. If the document is not specific to Ohio State, it should generally be submitted on the Study-Related Documents page. Approval of a study-wide template does not constitute approval of an Ohio State-specific version unless the Ohio State version has also been submitted and approved.

Article ID: 146
Created: September 1, 2026
Last Updated: September 1, 2026

Online URL: https://ohiostateresearch.knowledgebase.co/article/where-to-submit-documents-for-multi-site-studies-146.html