How Can Faculty Researchers Avoid Undue Influence Of Student Subjects?

How Can Faculty Researchers Avoid Undue Influence Of Student Subjects?
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How Can Faculty Researchers Avoid Undue Influence Of Student Subjects? This article offers helpful advice on how academic institutions might instruct faculty researchers on how to avoid improperly influencing student subjects. 

Additionally, it covers how colleges may do a literature study on how to most effectively explain how coercion affects students and how they can defend themselves. 

Last but not least, it offers suggestions on how universities should assist teachers by providing training, education, mentorship, and other ways to lessen the burden of reporting any possible instances of undue influence or pressure that are raised by students.

A Synopsis The Problem

Graduate schools have increasingly depended on undergraduate students as participants in their research projects as institutions compete to recruit students who will pay high tuition rates (Piper & Schnepf). 

Even while these studies often help society and the economy, they might have negative effects on the students that take part.

Students who take part in research projects often obtain course credit as a result of their involvement. 

How can schools make sure that student participants are fully aware of the potential risks and how they might benefit from participating? 

It is crucial that universities support faculty in conducting important and valuable research that may help us understand how to improve human health or offer solutions to societal problems.

What actions should school authorities take if they become aware that a student is being subjected to coercion or undue influence while participating in a study? 

Even though instances like this only account for 1% to 2% of all compliance-related events, it is crucial to know how to avoid, spot, and handle them when they do (Norman, 2016).

Participants Who Are Daculty Researchers And Students?

The relationship of trust between the researcher and the participant is the most crucial aspect of any research project. 

In order for student volunteers to feel comfortable sharing sensitive material, faculty researchers must be able to establish a connection with them. 

This trust, however, is readily exploited if faculty members use their influence to force students into taking part in research or divulging private information.

This issue is made worse by the fact that graduate programs are depending more and more on undergraduates to participate in their research investigations as these institutions compete to attract tuition-paying students. 

In reality, taking part in a research project as an undergraduate student is often rewarded with course credit. 

These pupils are thus more likely to feel pressured to divulge information that they would ordinarily keep private or take part in research that they may not want to.

Graduate Students Are Particularly Susceptible To Coercion

In research projects, students are susceptible to pressure and improper influence for a number of reasons. 

They could first feel under pressure to engage if they want to get course credit. Second, a lot of students lack familiarity with the research process and may not know how to challenge the intentions of researchers or recognize possible hazards related to taking part in a study.

Third, it’s possible that students are not aware of their legal rights as study participants or how to assert those rights. 

Fourth, more students may trust their professors than researchers from other institutions since many of them have a feeling of attachment to them. 

Finally, some students may choose to follow the instructions of researchers rather than look uncooperative or difficult.

The Literature OnThe Best Ways To Communicate Student Participation Rights Should Be Reviewed By Schools

How should educational institutions react if they become aware that a student has been subjected to coercion or undue influence while participating in a study? 

The school’s first step is to read up on the best ways to explain student involvement rights. 

The institution should pay special attention to how to impart the following knowledge to students:

  1. The advantages and disadvantages of taking part in a research
  1. How to recognize the hazards of taking part in a research
  1. How to protect their legal rights as participants in research
  1. How to get in touch with the right people if they feel pressured or improperly persuaded into taking part in the research.

A Procedure For How To Respond To Complaints Of Coercion OR Undue Influence Should Be Established By Schools?

After informing students of their rights, it is crucial for the school to develop a process for handling accusations of coercion or undue influence. 

This procedure should comprise the following phases:

  • Receiving the complaint and logging it
  • Looking into the complaint
  • Reaching out to the study’s researcher(s)
  • Identifying the existence of coercion or improper influence
  • If coercion or undue influence is discovered, take the necessary action.

The Risks Of Coercion And Undue Influence Should Be Recognised By Researchers

Coercion and improper influence pose hazards to researchers, and they should be aware of these risks and take precautions to avoid them. Researchers in particular should:

How Can Faculty Researchers Avoid Undue Influence Of Student Subjects?
  1. Inform prospective research participants about the risks and advantages of participation.
  1. Describe how to spot possible dangers from taking part in the research.
  1. Inform participants in research about their legal rights and how to exercise them.

Indicate how to get in touch with the proper authorities if someone feels pressured or unfairly persuaded into taking part in the research.

  1. Give prospective participants a simple means to get in touch with the proper authorities if they think they are being pressured or improperly influenced into taking part in the research.
  1. Be conscious of how their own actions could be seen by prospective participants and how they might compel or unduly encourage someone to provide information.

Last Words


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  • April 17, 2023