“It didn’t feel like it was for us.”
It wasn’t that we’d done something “wrong,” it’s that we hadn’t done enough. Because while most human subjects research is grounded in good intentions, it’s easy to forget that ethics are lived, not just documented.
That was the feedback we heard during the early days of Viable Insights in a post-project debrief. (Talk about handling participant complaints!)
A participant had sat through the consent process, completed the intake form, and answered every interview question. But something still felt… off. The language was technically accurate, the IRB boxes were checked, and the team had years of experience. So what was missing?
When we don’t tailor our approach to the people in front of us, we risk making them feel like objects of research rather than participants in it.
Let’s talk about why customizing your approach to human subjects research is essential and how to do it in ways that are ethical, practical, and people-first.
Why You Should Customize Your Human Subjects Research Approach
We know the basics: secure informed consent, protect privacy, minimize harm. But if you stop there, you’re missing a big piece of what makes research actually ethical.
When we don’t take into account people’s lived experience, cultural context, and communication preferences, we unintentionally create barriers to trust and risk collecting incomplete or inaccurate data.
This is especially important when working with groups that are easy to overlook or mischaracterize. We wrote about this in 15 Vulnerable Populations That Are Easy to Overlook, where we explored how race, language, trauma, and disability shape someone’s relationship to research.
And it’s not just about ethics, it’s also about data quality. Research shows that tailoring recruitment and data collection approaches can reduce bias and increase participant engagement and retention (Yancey et al., 2006). Another study found that customizing communication materials based on cultural relevance increased comprehension and informed consent rates (Flory & Emanuel, 2004).
Put simply: customizing your approach results in better, more trustworthy outcomes.
How To Customize Your Research Approach Without Reinventing the Wheel
Customizing your approach doesn’t mean throwing out your existing materials or starting from scratch. It means being thoughtful and intentionally designing your process to align with the needs and preferences of your participants.
Here are five things you can adapt:
Language: Swap technical jargon for plain language. Offer translations or interpretation when needed, not just for compliance, but for true accessibility.
Format: Some participants may prefer visuals, others might need audio recordings, especially if they experience cognitive or literacy challenges.
Timing: Consent and participation shouldn’t feel rushed. Build in time for questions, pauses, or even delayed decision-making.
Trust-building: Partner with organizations or individuals who already have relationships in the community. This helps participants feel safe and respected.
Pacing and Context: Respect when people are ready—or not ready—to engage. Just because you’re on a timeline doesn’t mean they are.
We dig deeper into this in Protecting People in Research & Evaluation, our foundational course on working ethically with human subjects. We don’t just want people to check boxes; we want them to do this work with heart and rigor.
Centering Lived Experience In A Community Needs Assessment
When Goodwill Industries of Southern Arizona partnered with us, their goal was clear: get a deeper understanding of workforce development needs across the diverse regions they serve. But instead of relying solely on internal assumptions or legacy data, they wanted to go straight to the source—community members themselves.
Here’s what we customized:
- Co-created a community-wide survey with tailored language and outreach for different counties
- Designed participant recruitment materials, incentives, and a communication plan that met people where they were
- Conducted a range of methods—including a town hall, staff surveys, and interviews with partners—to capture multiple perspectives
- Collaborated on analysis, bringing in Goodwill’s team to help interpret findings and surface gaps in understanding
Instead of a static data dump, we delivered an immersive visual report, including an infographic-style executive summary designed for ongoing use in presentations, grant applications, and board conversations.
The insights uncovered in this needs assessment directly informed program adjustments, funding strategies, and long-term planning. More importantly, the approach modeled what it means to involve communities in shaping the workforce services intended to support them.
Doing The Work With Integrity
You don’t have to overhaul your process to be more ethical. You just have to start from a place of respect and curiosity.
Informed consent isn’t a form, it’s a practice and customizing your approach is a reflection of your values as a researcher. Because people aren’t just subjects. They’re our partners.