Dear Cinmwemwe: compensation should be stated in the protocol, before it is analized by an IRB. To evaluate compensation you have to think whether the research subjects should come to the facility in different times, whether these moments will or not be at the same time of medical consultation, how much time they should stay at the facility (for rexample, breakfast time, lunch time, etc.), if they will have to travel, if the participation in the study implies the subjects will have to lose working time of their own, etc. Expenses should take account of all this but shouldn't be a great amount of money in a way it'll be considered and incentive to take part on the study.

Hope this is useful for you.

Cheers! Susie.

To get a good cross-section of participants in terms of class/income, especially people who are time/money poor —say parents — need to be compensated for time and travel or other out of pocket expenses demanded by participating. In many Australian projects I have been involved with we have given participants $50 or $100 gift vouchers to use at a range of stores, including supermarkets. Some participants have refused such compensation, which has enabled us to conduct more lengthy written surveys, interviews or focus groups. Often my research has involved asking people to divulge details about experiences of disadvantage. Expecting them to volunteer and cover the expenses of partaking in such research is a bit of an insult and won't get 'buy in'. We always try to go to the paryicipants, or to a place that will inconvenience them as little in terms of time and travel costs. IIf your intervention means follow up you would be particularly wise to include reasonable compensation because you risk losing participants half-way through which will limit/jeopardise the research results and prove costly at many levels. The way we approached potential interviewees was to include the following sentence after making the request and before adding more details: 'Interviewees receive a $75 supermarket gift voucher in appreciation of their contribution to our research.'

Compensation is standard in a research studies because it speaks to acknowledgment of human dignity- that those who work should be compensated for time and effort in research in the same manner they are compensated for work within our nation.I have compensated young teens based on the average hourly wage  they might receive babysitting or having a part-time job in a store or restaurant and it was really important to acknowledge that they provide data/information that are criticalto understanding the problem under investigation and need to be compensated just as adults are.

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Payment might be OK. But think also of reimbursing their costs (travelling), show them respect, treat them as experts, serve them a drink and finger food (after the interviewing). Take notes on what your respondents talk about at the after-interview stage.

There can definitely be a cultural aspect to this. In Western societies, people are used to being paid for their time and effort, but that may violate norms of "giving" in other settings.

You also want to consider how the participants relate to the topic. If they are simply members of the "general population," then paying them is more appropriate, compared to situations where the participants have a strong emotional involvement with the topic. For example, I have worked with family members who were caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease, and many of them would have been offended if I gave them money for sharing their experiences.

One thing that is sometimes appropriate is to give gift cards (or their equivalent such as prepaid phone cards) instead of cash -- where such cards are widely used. Usually this involves having two or three kinds of cards and letting people choose. For some reason which I personally don't understand, this is often considered more polite than giving actual money.

Empathy and respect are more important than money. But money, depending on the cultural context, can be a metaphor of these. So be sensitive to the field in which you are working before taking a decision.

Paying them with cash for their work done might have ethical compromise; rather reimbursing their costs (travelling), treating them with respect and giving participants gift (such as prepaid phone cards) or gifts that might be useful for the participant in context to the cultural norms of the community instead of cash