Federal regulations do not distinguish between self-experimentation and the participation of other human subjects in research. If you participate in your own research, you are an enrolled subject. The IRB reviews self-experimentation research for the following reasons:

  1. Protecting researchers from unwarranted risks, and
  2. Allowing a neutral third party to raise concerns, if any, regarding the credibility of resulting data

Applications involving self-experimentation should explain how consent will be obtained from all research participants, including the researcher-participant.

Adapted from Johns Hopkins Medicine and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Sample researcher-participant consent form (University of Wisconsin-Madison).