Table 2 Interview schedule

1. Can you tell me how you felt when you were told that you were not eligible to participate in this study?

 • Prompts: ‘Can you tell me a bit more about each of these feelings’ and ‘Why you felt like that (for each emotion)’

2. Was the reasoning behind your ineligibility to participate easy for you to understand?

 • Prompt: If not, get the person to tell you a bit more re this.

3. Were there any eligibility criteria that you thought might be too limiting or unnecessary?

 • Prompt: ‘Were you concerned that you might not be eligible in advance of being told?’

4. Can you tell me about any past experiences you might have had in participating in research?

 • Did you find it a positive or negative experience?

 • Were you ever deemed ineligible for research before?

5. Has your experience of being ineligible for this study changed your perception or attitude toward research?

 • Prompt: If yes, ‘how so?’

6. Do you think you would be willing to participate in research in the future?

 • Prompt: If no, ‘why not?’

7. What did you think of the manner in which we advertised the COB-MS study?

8. What did you think of the manner in which we communicated your ineligibility?

 • ‘What do you think would be the best way to go about this in future research?’

9. We often find it difficult to recruit people to participate in research studies like this, so what advice would you give as to how we might best do this in the future?

 • Prompt: Ask them specific unto eligibility (e.g. How can eligibility criteria or programs like this be improved so that they can help recruitment to programs like this?)

10. Finally, we asked you earlier about your feelings regarding being recruited and later determined ineligible to take part in this research. What do you think of the value of making participants feel appreciated in being recruited to a program like this and how do you think that can be best achieved?