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Office of Human Research Ethics SOP 4501: The UNC-Chapel Hill Students and Employees as Research Subjects
1. The UNC-Chapel Hill Students and Employees as Research Subjects
1.1 Direct Appeal to Students, Employees or Trainees
Generally, researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill may not solicit by direct appeal to students, employees or trainees in that researcher’s department or class in an effort to recruit subjects for a study. Such direct and targeted solicitation (which should be distinguished from the dissemination of information such as is done in mass distribution emails) takes place within a power dynamic that could be construed as coercive by the potential subjects being solicited. The IRB should evaluate the proposed method of recruitment as it would be applied to students, employees or trainees to make sure that recruitment materials are not presented in a manner that could suggest that their decision regarding research participation could have an effect on their relationship with instructors, mentors or employers.
When the UNC-Chapel Hill students and/or employees are being recruited as potential subjects, investigators must ensure that there are additional safeguards for these subjects. The voluntary nature of their participation must be primary and without undue influence on their decision. Investigators must emphasize to subjects that neither their academic status or grades, or their employment, will be affected by their participation decision.
To minimize coercion, investigators should avoid, whenever possible, the use of their students and employees in procedures which are neither therapeutic nor diagnostic. In these latter situations, investigators should solicit subjects through means such as bulletin board notices, flyers, advertisements in newspapers, and announcements in classes or laboratories other than their own. When entering a classroom to recruit students and conduct research, e.g., administer a survey, investigators must do so at the end of the class period to allow non- participating students the option of leaving the classroom, thereby alleviating pressure to participate.
Contact Information
Policy Contact
Name: Kimberly Brownley
Title: Associate Director of Policy and Initiative
Unit: Office of Human Research Ethics (OHRE)
Email: kim_brownley@med.unc.edu