I guess I’m doing the wrong kind of research. Because most of my research deals with college students or post-college adults, I usually have to offer some kind of expensive incentive to encourage them to participate in my studies. In my current dissertation study, this includes offering a new digital voice recorder, college class credit, and maybe gift certificates.
But as I was reviewing my friend’s informed consent for working with 3rd graders, her PI mentions that each child will be offered a gift, like “a sparkly pencil.”
Man! That’s cheap! I wish I could recruit these college kids to participate with just sparkly pencils. Maybe I should try it and see if it works … 😉