Student participation is inextricably linked to most educational research and that related to various aspects of teaching and learning. This may involve a single student or many, depending on the focus and intent of the investigation.

Advantages of using students in research may include the fact that they are easily accessible, especially if you are the teacher and are using your students as research participants. There are a number of students in an educational institution, hence the opportunity to participate in relatively large-scale research projects. Researching with students in the same class or educational institution facilitates easy follow-up sessions. Students also bring varied perspectives and come from varied backgrounds, which could generate valuable data.

Despite these advantages, a key challenge is ‘fitting’ them. By this I mean not just getting your consent and promise to participate as an interviewee or respondent, but your actual participation. During the data collection sentence using students has participants there are 4 strategies that I employ in the process of pinning down.

Set Strategy 1: Link data collection to scheduled lessons.

A key feature of this strategy is incorporating interviews or distributing and completing questionnaires during the lessons I teach. I also enlist the help of colleagues to do the same at a convenient time during their classes/lectures. Using this strategy, I plan interviews before or after scheduled student conferences. This is especially useful when employing a focus group data collection method. I have found that students who prepare for or drop out of a lesson are in “learning mode” and seem mentally prepared to answer research-related questions. It is also important to keep these sessions within the advertised duration.

Determine Strategy 2: Link data collection to student availability.

Find out from prospective student participants what time is convenient and schedule the interview accordingly. This strategy is more important if they are not in your class and it also lowers the rate of dropouts or absences. This, however, must be accompanied by timely reminders. After setting and agreeing on the date and time, send a reminder a week or a few days before the actual event. Use emails, texts, calls, social media (as appropriate).

Fix strategy 3: Use an alternate format.

Given the ubiquitous nature of the Internet and online environments and the use of these by students, the use of an alternative format, for example, a survey monkey, or those integrated into the University’s Learning Management System or the Virtual Learning Environment, is a sure way to get them to actually participate in research, not just a promise to do so.

Set strategy 4: Reward participation.

Some participating students like to know ‘what’s in this for them’, so Strategy #4 is to offer an incentive, eg a gift certificate (if applicable). However, in some of my studies with participating students, they were willing to participate as long as I gave clear information about the time commitment, and some gave their time freely because they were contributing to some research they value.