Information for Ethics

This page is designed as an information resource to assist ethics committees in processing applications that include the use of getparticipants.com.

Getparticipants model

Getparticipants is a private company that does not conduct research. All data collected suits the purposes of typical website registration. Personal information is kept confidential except where an individual applies for a study. Our members data is not shared with any other parties. Getparticipants.com charges researchers for the use of the website with monthly subscriptions or pre paid participant credits.

Participants are not paid by us, and are not rewarded by us for their involvement in research. We are unable to differentiate between individuals who have applied for studies and those who have not. We are also unable to control who applies for research studies (beyond the automatic screening of the demographic criteria set by the researcher).

Research study prerequisites

It is required that individual studies have received appropriate ethical approval prior to advertising on Getparticipants.com. Details of ethical approval must be provided upon listing, and it is the responsibility of the researcher to ensure that appropriate approval for internet advertising has been obtained.

Implications for study listings

The researcher will be required to provide a brief name for the study (e.g. “back pain study” or “Exercise and appetite study”). This is unlikely to be the title that was associated with the study during the review process. Similarly, a brief summary or invitation for participants is required (e.g. "If you have a child aged 10 to 16 who you think may benefit from a nutritional plan and live in Auckland or Manakau then you're invited to be part of our nutrition for kids study"). The researcher is also required to provide a brief description of the requirements of participants, and may include advertisement/information text. We have created a listing form (Word 2007) to assist researchers with the approval of advertisement text, should this be required.

Note: The researcher may not include contact details anywhere on the listing (this includes uploaded information sheets). Individuals who are interested in participating may communicate with the researcher directly by using the questions feature on the listing.

Internet advertising

Getparticipants.com will often advertise to targeted groups of individuals that reflect those sought by current study listings. Such advertising methods are directed at promoting the website, and where appropriate, may link directly to a listing of interest.

Please feel free to contact us for more information.