A research participant, also called a human subject or an experiment, trial, or study participant or subject, is a person who voluntarily participates in human subject research after giving informed consent to be the subject of the research.
A research participant is different from individuals who are not able to give informed consent, such as children, infants, and animals. Such individuals are preferentially referred to as subjects.
In accordance with modern norms of research ethics and with the Declaration of Helsinki, researchers who conduct human subject research should afford certain rights to research participants. Research participants should expect the following:
There are several standard themes in the choice of words (participant, subject, patient, control, respondent):
Social scientists have emphasized that word choice influences the way that researchers think of study participants and the respect that they have for them.
Payment for research participants is a controversial topic where experts have varying views.
In 1998 The BMJ adopted the policy of calling people "participants" rather than "subjects". The intent for this practice was to show more respect for people. Prior to this various other research organizations had considered making this switch.
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