Hi everyone,

I am planning to conduct some research in schools with students in year 10 (14/15 years old) and year 12 (16/17 years old) and I'm getting tangled up in the thorny issue of incentives. I plan to offer refreshments in the sessions, and have been considering offering a prize draw for cash or a voucher as well. I can't get the funding to be able to offer something to every participant, and whatever I do offer must not be so large as to be an inducement.

Does anyone have an advice on what incentives they have used with students in school, that have been ok from an ethics point of view, and effective in terms of recruitment?

Also, if you use a 'prize draw', are there any legal or age issues to consider?

All advice gratefully received! Thanks.

Some of my colleagues recently did some research with secondary school pupils. They entered them into a prize draw for a tablet or something similar, and that went well. I think high street or Amazon vouchers might be preferable over cash (from an ethical perspective - as that restricts what can be bought).

I think the key question here is whether it will actually be effective.

Depending on the set-up (e.g. if they get to miss class to participate), an incentive may not even be needed.

Decent refreshments can often be very effective!!

Thanks Tudor_Queen and Thesisfun, that's really helpful!

I had this issue (participants aged 16-19) but I recruited with no mention of incentives. It was a longitudinal study, and towards the end, I provided them with an Amazon voucher and certificate which they had no idea they'd be getting and that was fine- this was not always the plan though, as our ethics committee doesn't tend to pass applications which offer incentives.

In regards to refreshments, check with the school first. The institutions I worked with would not allow me to give snacks, just bottled water for health and safety reasons. This meant me and my partner had a lot of snacks to get through during my first week of data collection! haha

Thanks Zutterfly, good tip on checking with the schools as to what you're allowed to offer!

Will post an update on how it went...

Please do - it'll be useful to know.

I received ethical approval to offer refreshments, and a draw with a prize of cinema vouchers. The refreshments are going down well with the students - sweets and chocolate! In terms of getting in to schools in the first place, getting in touch with Psychology teachers has been helpful, as some see taking part in some real research as an opportunity to underpin the students' learning of research methods. There are a few other 'things I wish I'd known when I started' which I'll be happy to share with anyone who's doing something similar.

This is useful to know. I'm now working with children and nurseries but it still applies.