The Influence of Prior Experience on Research Participants' Perspectives: A Research Agenda

A small preliminary study of 15 teachers who had participated in education research in England examined the effects of prior experience as research participants on why they participated and how they perceived the methodology and ethics of the research. Nine participants were research novices, while six were research experienced. The latter group were found to be more perceptive and critical of the ethics of the research and focused on the research purposes and adequacy of the methods. The findings are discussed in the context of how a future research agenda might be informed by an understanding of participants' prior research experience. This study has particular relevance to research where participants are likely to have had prior experience or contact as participants (e.g., subject pools, participants in longitudinal studies).