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Consistent with an overall concern that no research subject should be coerced, researchers should take particular precautions to avoid the unintentional or subliminal coercion that may occur when a potential research subject is also a student. For this reason, researchers should avoid using their own students as research subjects. Researchers who wish to use their own students should be able to provide a good scientific reason, rather than convenience, for selecting those students as research subjects. The research project should be relevant to the topic of the class, and participation should be part of the learning experience for the students.
In instances where investigators can provide a good reason for using their own students in their research, the IRB generally requires that someone other than the investigator (instructor) obtain informed consent and collect the data. When this is not possible, the IRB will consider other methods for obtaining consent and collecting data that would not reveal to the instructor whether or not a student participated in the research project until after final grades have been determined. The students should be informed of what these procedures are in the Informed Consent Document. Below are a few situations specific to the recruitment of students for research projects.