Online Workshop: Why People Say Yes (or No): The Psychology of Trial Participation

About the workshop

This online workshop applies behavioural science to the real-world decisions people make about taking part in research. You’ll be introduced to fast, automatic thinking (System 1) and slow, deliberate thinking (System 2) and use them to map key decision points across the recruitment journey. You’ll identify what can drive early awareness and interest in research, and what supports a confident, well-informed decision at consent, so the recruitment pathway can be designed to be both effective and ethically robust.

The workshop includes short reflective exercises to increase awareness of how unconscious bias, assumptions, and “snap judgements” can influence the behaviour of research staff. You will leave with practical actions to help move unconscious bias into conscious awareness to help support informed, inclusive research design.

Limited spaces, register below:

By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

• Identify common cognitive biases and where they can show up in recruitment and consent pathways.
• Recognise how cultural and social influences can affect decision-making. 
• Explore your own decision-making defaults and use simple techniques to bring fast judgments into awareness.
• Apply behavioural science to design clearer, more motivating participant communications (e.g., recruitment adverts).

Preparation and what to expect

Most activities are individual reflection and applied work guided by our resource pack, with optional chat sharing.

Before you join (5–10 minutes):

Have the pack open or printed (sent by email).

Please come with a current or recent study in mind (including your target population and a high-level recruitment approach) to anchor the activities

What you will leave with

2–3 behaviour-based strategies to test in your study

Bias “pause points” to strengthen inclusive decision-making

A map of System 1 vs System 2 moments in your recruitment pathway

About the trainer:

Cherish Boxall, founder of Engage Intelligently, and recipient of two consecutive NIHR Fellowships, brings a behavioural-science lens to over 15 years of experience securing competitive research funding and delivering clinical trials. She specialises in translating evidence on inclusion and participant behaviour into practical, effective strategies. Expect real-world examples, actionable takeaways, and plenty of time throughout the session for your questions.

Who should attend?

Research and staff affiliated with Barts, Birmingham, Cambridge, Moorfields, Oxford, and Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centres who want to strengthen inclusive recruitment and retention.

If you have any questions with regards to this training, please contact: Mili Kalia (Oxford BRC’s EDI Manager), Email: Mili.Kalia@ouh.nhs.uk    

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This is the third session in our Spring online series of Inclusivity Training for Health and Care Researchers. Please note, we are repeating this series in the Summer Term.

We’ve collaborating with five other NIHR Biomedical Research Centres: Oxford Health, Barts, Birmingham, Cambridge, Moorfields, to bring you a series of engaging online training sessions with experts and researchers to help embed inclusion in your research

Full Spring Series poster below – more to follow in Summer Term.

These sessions are for research staff affiliated with the following Biomedical Research Centres: Barts, Birmingham, Cambridge, Moorfields, Oxford and Oxford Health

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