Students as Subjects

Several issues must be addressed when considering the use of students as subjects in research.

Students may be minors, and must therefore be given appropriate protection. (In Massachusetts, the legal age of consent is 18).

Care must be taken to ensure that coercion is not present or perceived when instructors inform students in their classes of studies they may enroll in.

Investigators must recognize that, when a pedagogical change is introduced into an academic course for research purposes, the research aspect of this joint teaching research enterprise should be recognized as such.