Involving Students

​Students are considered a special group of human subjects for special consideration due to the teacher-student relationship. Therefore, recruitment of students must be designed to minimize the possibility of undue influence and coercion. In general, potential participants should be solicited from a “broad base” of individuals meeting the conditions for study, rather than by personal solicitation of specific students. 

Strategies to minimize the potential influence of an investigator when recruiting his/her own students include recruitment through a third party, or by general announcements, postings or sign-up sheets, or other methods that require a student interested in participation to initiate contact with the investigator(s). This is to ensure voluntary participation.

To protect the privacy of an investigator's own students, additional safeguards should be considered to protect the confidentiality of the participants, including the prevention of stigma conditions. The extent to which personal information is made accessible to researchers should be disclosed to potential participants in the informed consent process.