Benefit

There are several types of benefit (advantage or profit) in qualitative research. Research may impart benefits to society by fulfilling humans' curiosity and desire for knowledge, fostering further research, and solving problems. Individual research participants may benefit directly through payment, altruism, personal empowerment, or a feeling that they have contributed to science.

The potential benefit of a particular study helps to inform the conditions under which the research may be done. In general, unfunded research does not have to demonstrate any prospective benefit, whereas funded research is generally accountable to government and private agencies. Such organizations engage in a process of scientific peer review to decide which research proposals and applicants merit funding. That is, funded researchers must demonstrate in advance the required methodological expertise, qualifications, and experience to carry out research that may benefit society or the goals of the granting body.

In research involving humans, ethics boards will usually invoke a risk or harm and benefits approach to establish that the potential benefits of a study are not outweighed by potential harms. If proposed research presents no more than minimal risk to human participants, [Page 60]an ethics board will usually not concern itself with prospective benefits. When research presents greater than minimal risk, an ethics board usually needs to establish that the research has sufficient scientific merit to benefit prospectively the scientific enterprise and society. Scientific merit is normally determined via a process of peer review.

Assessing the prospective benefits of a study is controversial because results cannot be known in advance. For example, Stanley Milgram's psychological experiments on obedience to authority have had far-reaching multidisciplinary application as well as profound contributions to the development of standards for ethical research.

As part of informed consent, research participants should receive information about reasonably foreseeable benefits derived from participation. Immediate benefits to participants include payment, therapy, or new information. Many people participate in research despite no clear benefit, other than to satisfy their curiosity or because they wish to interact with research professionals. It is acceptable to advise participants that not all benefits can be anticipated at the time of the research.

Paying research participants is also controversial. Some scholars argue that payments can coerce participants and undermine the informed consent process. Others argue that payment is not an inducement if an ethics board has ensured participant safety. Finally, some scholars argue that participants are often under-paid and therefore denied proper benefit. This is particularly true in qualitative research.

In summary, the primary benefit derived from research is the contribution to knowledge and ultimately to society. In the case of funded research, the degree of benefit that can be shown in a research proposal will often determine whether or not a study will be done. Research participants may benefit tangibly through payment or intangibly through feelings of altruism.