- November 14, 2017
The Eye Opener: Being a human experiment to pay the bills
“…compensation for participation in a study depends on what funding a project gets.”
By Marianna Lozowska & Skyler Ash, Published on Nov. 14, 2017
Nadar Chaves Dos Santos shows his ID to the receptionist, sits down and waits until someone summons him into a room with a round table. Other people are already sitting down. A woman comes in and begins asking him questions about his favourite frozen pizza. She quizzes him on brands, trying to get specific answers about the products. Talking about pizza goes on for hours, until finally, Chaves Dos Santos can taste a bite of a mystery slice. He has a slice of cheese, and a slice of pepperoni and bacon. Usually he orders his pizza with chicken or pepperoni, with extra BBQ sauce. But these were pretty good. And he got paid for it. “I don’t even know much [about the research], I just know I ate pizza,” Chaves Dos Santos jokes over the phone.
Before starting his job at a pet store, Chaves Dos Santos, a 21-year-old criminology student at the University of Ottawa, used to make money by participating in focus groups for products and advertisements. Chaves Dos Santos has been in nearly 10 research studies, each following a similar routine. His mom would find out about different studies and ask him and his brother if they wanted to participate…
Full article available at The Eye Opener