Reciprocity, moral accounting work and the limitations of the concept of altruism: motives for participation in a UK epidemiological cohort study

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.