Participant Motivation: A Critical Consideration

Landers and Behrend (2015) make a good argument that more consideration should be given to sampling strategies in light of the specific research question prior to data collection and that nonorganizational samples should not be automatically dismissed by journal editors and reviewers. Yet, the authors only briefly mention one particular issue that is also relevant to the validity of our research findings—participant motivation. Researchers should seek to better understand why individuals choose to participate in a study and what may be motivating the levels of effort they put forth in participating. Two critical questions include Are participants who they say they are (e.g., working adults)? And, are participants paying attention to the study instructions and questions and participating with effort? In this response, I expand on issues related to participant motivation and apply them to the sampling strategies discussed by Landers and Behrend (2015). I also provide suggestions for ways researchers may address these issues.