Reciprocity, moral accounting work and the limitations of the concept of altruism: motives for participation in a UK epidemiological cohort study
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Bell, Kirsten
Day, Sophie
Elliott, Paul
Ward, Helen
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The assumption that research participation should be altruistically motivated is an underlying tenet of contemporary research ethics. In recent years, there has also been growing empirical interest in the role of altruism in non-clinical research, based on a desire to improve study recruitment and retention rates in longitudinal studies, observational studies and biobanks. Drawing on a survey with 241 respondents taking part in a UK epidemiological cohort study examining police health, and follow-up interviews with 23 participants, we illustrate the complexities of classifying participants' motivations for taking part in research based on typologies of altruism and self-interest. Participants in our study consistently highlighted the value of the free health checks they received as part of the study, although they simultaneously saw their participation as supporting the police community. However, a complicating factor was the influence of altruistic discourse on participants’ responses, and the moral accounting work that questions about motivations for research participation required. We argue that reciprocity is a superior conceptual frame for understanding research participation because it does not introduce a dichotomy between self and other, and enables fuller consideration of the ethical obligations and commitments of research relationships.
Date Issued
2025-12-01
Date Acceptance
2025-10-16
Citation
Social Science and Medicine, 2025, 387
ISSN
0277-9536
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Social Science and Medicine
Volume
387
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/41151116
PII: S0277-9536(25)01030-5
Subjects
Altruism
Biomedical Social Sciences
HEALTH
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
MOTIVATIONS
Participation in research
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Qualitative
Reciprocity
Science & Technology
Social Sciences
Social Sciences, Biomedical
UK
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
118699
Date Publish Online
2025-10-25