Purpose:

This page provides Guidance for making compensation payments to human subjects taking part in research. 

Who should read this Guidance:

  1. All faculty, staff, and students conducting research with human subjects
  2. The IRB committee member and chairs
  3. Research Integrity Staff

Principles:

  1. The amount of payment and the proposed method and timing of disbursement may not be coercive nor present undue influence.
    1. ​Proposed cash payments to participants must be appropriate for the study and the participant population.
    2. Any amount paid as a bonus for study completion must be reasonable and not so large as to unduly influence participants to stay in the study when they would have otherwise withdrawn. 
  2. All payment information must be described in the protocol form and in the consent form. In both the protocol form and the consent form, the description must include the amount, the timing, and the method of distributing the payment. Payment must be distributed as described in the consent form. 
  3. Payment may not be contingent upon completing the entire study; credit for payment must accrue as the study progresses. 
    1. The consent form must describe any conditions under which participants will receive partial compensation.
    2. The consent form must describe any conditions under which participants will receive no compensation. 
    3. If the conditions for payment are not described in the consent form, participants must receive full payment regardless of whether they complete the entire study. 
  4. Compensation may not include a coupon good for a discount on the purchase price of the product once it has been approved.
  5. Compensation may not be described as a “benefit” to participation in the consent form or protocol form. 
  6. If identifiable information must be collected as a prerequisite to compensation, this is described adequately and accurately during the informed consent process, and the protocol describes adequate measures to protect confidentiality.
  7. Any lottery or raffle proposed must conform to the requirements outlined in the Use of Lotteries, Raffles, and/or Drawings in Research policy.
  8. Study advertisements may not emphasize the payment or the amount to be paid (for example, by use of larger or bolder type)
  9. All payments to research participants must comply with the University Business and Travel Expense Policy. Incentive payments, including gift cards, may be allowable for research studies involving human subjects, but only after advance approval by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
  10. The Principal Investigator (PI) must maintain awareness of whether any research subject receives more than $600 in compensation from Lehigh within a single calendar year. The PI must keep records of payments and also ask each participant if they are being paid for involvement in other research studies at Lehigh University. If a participant is paid for involvement in multiple studies, the PI must inform Research Accounting of the annual amount paid to that participant for their study.