Voluntary Participation

Basic Requirements

The essential qualities of “voluntariness” include the following:

• The subject has a choice to participate.
• The choice is made without coercion.
• The choice is made without undue influence.
• The subject has foreknowledge of risks or benefits.

For a choice to occur, subjects must be of age and have the mental capacity to make such decisions. When this assumption cannot be upheld, this decision is left to the subjects' parents or legal guardians. For general-interest telephone surveys this prerogative may be largely implied, whereas in other situations it may have to be stated very precisely. The research director has the obligation to provide this choice at [Page 953]the outset, and the subject enjoys the prerogative to withdraw after data collection has begun.

Coercion refers to a threat that some type of harm will come to the research subject unless he or she participates. Such coercion might include an overt threat of violence, injury to reputation, or implied damage to career status. It may be important in some settings to take special precautions to ensure that participants do not perceive that they will face some retaliation from authority figures if they decline to participate.

Undue influence refers to excessive, improper, or immoral benefits. A frequent point of attention is cash incentives. To avoid undue influence, an incentive must be nominal, or so small that the subject can afford to refuse. This consideration is especially important when the indigent or children are the focus of data collection. The concept of voluntariness encompasses the realization that participants may perceive that persons in authority will reward their participation. Therefore, in some situations it may be necessary to take steps to dispel this explicitly.

For participation to be voluntary, subjects must have foreknowledge of likely risks and benefits of participation and of their option to withdraw from participation at any time. Subjects should have the opportunity to consider how the collected data will be used, whether confidentiality is being protected, who is sponsoring the research, how long they are expected to participate, and what costs or benefits they may expect from participation, refusal, or withdrawal. This means that information provided to subjects is without deceit about the project.

Some Exceptions

These requirements apply to research and should not be confused with taking tests, completing forms for employment, or filling out applications for public benefits.

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