We just can't countenance that people doing non-funded research would be able to do whatever they want. By spelling out what is or isn't permitted in human research, Batist adds, the Tri-Council has also given Canadian researchers a written tool to prevent outside parties from persuading them to bend the rules. Those rules can be exceptionally handy in the emotionally charged environment of cancer care, where some patients would be willing to bend as many rules as it takes to be accepted as study subjects. As one of about 100 patients in the test centre this year, Morrissette considers himself fortunate that his stable health, despite his tumour, allowed him to take part in the cartilage testing, that he doesn't have to pay for the treatment and that he's regularly informed about the treatment's progress and side effects. Keeping subjects like Morrissette informed about what they're involved in, Batist says, is perhaps the most important aspect of the Tri-Council rules.
Any concealment crosses the line.
But I have to admit that I probably wouldn't have participated if these studies had not paid. Psychology professor Debbie Moskowitz, who is currently conducting a study on interpersonal behaviour, admits many people initially volunteer as human subjects as a way of making extra money. But since her studies can last up to several weeks, her subjects end up sticking through the study for more than the minimum wage honorarium. As researchers wait for computers to one day be sophisticated enough to replicate human characteristics for study, Moskowitz says they have no choice but to continue testing on humans. Research for people has to be done on people.