Payment for research participation has raised ethical concerns, especially with respect to its
potential for coercion. We argue that characterising payment for research participation as
coercive is misguided, because offers of benefit cannot constitute coercion. In this article we
analyse the concept of coercion, refute mistaken conceptions of coercion and explain why
the offer of payment for research participation is never coercive but in some cases may
produce undue inducement.