RECRUITING PARTICIPANTS
1. Be prepared to meet people who do not trust research.

Some people have heard bad things about research. For example, many people know about unethical research in the Tuskegee syphilis experiments. Some of the other stories people have heard are true and some of them are not.

People are concerned about many things. People get upset when they think that researchers take advantage of people of color, or that researchers take information and give nothing back. People worry that researchers lie about how they will use personal information. Some people also worry that when the research is over they will lose some of the services they receive.

We have strict ethical standards for research. Research involving people must be approved by an ethics board called an Institutional Review Board (IRB). There are penalties for breaking the rules. Depending on the situation, projects can be shut down and researchers can lose their jobs. (Click here for more information.)

Be prepared to explain to research participants that there are rules protecting people who participate in research.

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