Paying / Compensating Subjects
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Introduction
Paying individuals to participate in research has been a controversial issue within the IRB community for many years; however, there are few regulatory guidelines to address this issue.
Researcher Considerations
- Compensation must not be large enough to be considered coercive. Unfortunately, there are no set standards for what amount is considered coercive.
- Researchers and the IRB must consider the subject pool’s socioeconomics while reviewing protocols involving payment for research participation.
- If possible, prorate compensation based on participation.
- Compensation must not be contingent upon completion of study procedures. Even if the subject decides to withdraw from the study, he/she must be compensated, at least partially, based on the study procedures he/she has completed.
IRB Considerations
Considerations for compensation will be made on an individual (per study) basis by the IRB.
Institutional Review Board’s are charged with the responsibility to review both the amount and method of payment to ensure that neither are coercive or present undue influence to participate or to continue participation. The VT IRB will consider the following issues regarding compensation during review of research:
- Amount of payment (payment = monetary, extra credit, gift certificates, objects, etc.);
- Method of payment;
- The inclusion of compensation within study advertisements or invitation forms;
- For long-term studies or studies requesting subjects to participate in several study procedures, the IRB will require prorating compensation. Compensation should be prorated based on duration of study participation. The IRB does allow for the payment of "a small proportion as an incentive for completion of the study," provided that such incentive is not coercive;
- The IRB will ensure that payment is not contingent on the participant completing the study procedures. In other words, even if the subject decides to withdraw from the study, he/she must be compensated, at least partially, based on what study procedures he/she has completed; and
- Subject pool’s socioeconomics.
Lotteries
If using a lottery method, the following information should be distributed to research participants (i.e., within consent document, invitation letter or script):
- The potential odds and amount for winning;
- Individual responsible for drawing the winner; and
- Individual responsible for observing the drawing, to ensure that the results are not biased.
Virginia Tech Policies & Procedures
VT has specific policies and procedures for selecting and paying human subjects participants. Visit the Controller’s Office website at http://www.controller.vt.edu/Procedures/index.html for a description of these policies and procedures [Policy # 23715c, Human Subject Selection & Payment]
