Inclusion criteria narrow down specifically which participants will be targeted. One essential criterion is:
Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study
In addition, there may be others, such as:
? Either male or female, aged 18 years or above
? In the community clinic awaiting a routine dental check-up
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria ensure that people with conflicting health conditions or other issues do not enter the study. This section should start with the following statement:
The participant may not enter the study if ANY of the following apply:
This should then be followed by a list of criteria, such as:
? A language barrier or dementia that prevents participants from being able to provide informed consent
? Severely impaired sight or hearing (to the level that would affect their ability to participate in the intervention)
? Attendance in other activities that might compromise the research (e.g. if the intervention involves participation in a weekly choir, participants who are already members of weekly choirs may be excluded)
? Other participant demographics, medications, or activities that may conflict with the research study
It is important when controlling essential variables within the study to strike a balance between being robust and being overly exclusive to the point that not enough participants will be eligible to take part.