Incentives

The incentives offered for participation should be equitable and commensurate with risks taken by the subject. Researchers should consider the time and trouble involved for a person to participate in the study. For example, the incentive offered to fill out a questionnaire would be substantially less that the incentive for a sleep study. In the sleep study a subject must travel to the sleep center and spend the night there. During the night, they are awakened and then asked to go back to sleep. This procedure may occur more than once. It is doubtful that anyone would go through such a procedure for a few dollars.

Another aspect of incentives is that they cannot be coercive. For example, offering economically disadvantaged people large amounts of money for their blood or tissues is not ethical. Researchers must consider these factors and always think of the participant's best interest when developing research incentives, especially when he or she is vulnerable in some way.

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