• Question: Describe your typical participant in your research. (How old are they? Male or female? Etc.)

    Asked by Abigail to Jack, Gem, Jermaine, Michelle, Steve on 14 Jun 2017.
    • Photo: Jermaine Ravalier

      Jermaine Ravalier answered on 14 Jun 2017:

      I work with everyone in my research, as long as they’re employed (usually in a public service organisation such as teachers, social workers, police, or the NHS). So I have no restrictions other than this…

    • Photo: Michelle Jamieson

      Michelle Jamieson answered on 14 Jun 2017:

      A typical participant for me is usually female, ranging from 18 – 60, deals with some sort of serious mental health condition, and from a hard to reach group (e.g. Roma ect).

    • Photo: Steven Brown

      Steven Brown answered on 14 Jun 2017:

      That’s a good question. In psychology we often use large samples and then draw conclusions based on the ‘average’. My samples typically have more females than males, and the age range is broad but normally the average would be early 20s. Research at Universities often relies on students to take part, for convenience. This usually means that the samples have quite a lot of younger people. This works for me as my music research is interested in young people.

      My main role just now looking at cancer focuses on people with Prostate Cancer, which tends to occur in males who are in their 50s/60s, or older. They live in and around Glasgow, Scotland.

    • Photo: Jack barton

      Jack barton answered on 14 Jun 2017:

      I work with a wide range of different participants which differ depending on the study I’m running at the time and the question I am asking. My interest in sleep disturbance as a risk factor for hallucinations and delusions involves a broad range of ages, backgrounds, and (as far as possible) an even split between male and female participants. Typically psychological research will involve student populations as they are easily available but I am trying to sample as broad a population as possible (e.g. 18-60 years old, student and non-student, employed and unemployed). This isn’t always a simple thing to achieve though!

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