JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

The rise of online research methods for recruitment and data collection following the COVID-19 pandemic has coincided with a growing threat to research integrity: imposter participants who falsify experiences to participate in paid studies. This viewpoint article provides a summary of the contemporary evidence on combatting imposter participants and proposes universal, evidence-based guidelines. Case reports and scoping reviews examining this threat are numerous, and some recommend guidelines for various study designs. Few studies have examined prevalence, financial implications and personal impacts. Imposter participants pose a persistent, evolving threat to online research. Responsibility cannot rest with individual researchers alone. Guidelines along with investment in institutional supports are urgently needed to safeguard data integrity and maintain public trust in research. Our recommended guidelines target each part of the research eco-system: 1) publishers, editors and checklist authors; 2) national funding and ethics bodies; 3) universities and other research institutions; and 4) researchers and study teams.