Some people considered assisted dying to be an ''incredibly controversial'' subject, but others said it simply involved ''their right to autonomy'', she said.
The subject of assisted dying was of growing national interest, partly because Act New Zealand MP David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill had been drawn from the ballot and was likely to be discussed in Parliament at a later stage.
His proposed legislation would allow people with a terminal illness or a grievous and irremediable medical condition the option of requesting medical aid in dying if they are assessed by two doctors as meeting the criteria.
Miss Young has worked for the past five years as a researcher in the department of general practice and rural health at Otago's Dunedin School of Medicine.
Her study aimed to add to knowledge about the ''contentious issue of assisted dying''.
She was seeking 10-15 volunteers who were approaching the end of life, ''because it's important to hear their views on this complex subject''.
She wanted to talk to people who had been diagnosed with ''terminal, incurable, progressive or degenerative illness'', who had less than 12 months' life expectancy, and who wanted to share their story and thoughts on assisted dying with her.
Her research was not taking sides but sought to make an ''open inquiry into the perspectives of people with a terminal, incurable, degenerative or progressive illness'' about assisted dying.
She began her PhD study this year after closely following related debates, including those arising from the Lecretia Seales case in 2015.
Ms Seales, a late Wellington lawyer who had been terminally ill with a brain tumour, had unsuccessfully sought through the High Court to challenge New Zealand law for her right to die, with the help of her GP.
With the exception of people like Ms Seales, Miss Young had found the views of people approaching the end of life were ''startlingly absent'' from the debate about proposed legislation.
But people with shortened life expectancy were an ''important group to talk to'' and were ''in the best position to know how they feel about assisted dying''.
* Contact Jessica at: endoflifechoicestudy@otago.ac.nz
