Psychology Department Policy on Research Participation by PSYC 1101 Students
Psychologists learn about behavior, thoughts and feelings by conducting research. By participating in psychological research, you help other psychology students and researchers learn more about people's thoughts and behavior. You also benefit by gaining a better perspective regarding psychological research. For these reasons, the psychology department expects that you and all students enrolled in PSYC 1101 (Introduction to Psychology) to participate in at least three 50-minute research projects. The department allows instructors to substitute library or other assignments for students who desire an alternative means of meeting the research requirement, but any assignment must be done while experiments are being conducted (turned in no later than one week before the end of the semester). Students who are not adults fill the research requirement by completing the alternative research assignment described by their instructor.
Participation in a study generally earns one credit (for a 50 minute session). You may also earn a maximum of three extra credits in addition to the three required credits. To do this, you must participate in three additional experiments (or alternative assignments arranged with your instructor). Each experiment lasting less than 50 minutes is worth one credit. Occasionally an experiment may run over 50 minutes or require a return visit; for such experiments you will receive one extra credit for every 50 minutes of your time. For example, if your experiment lasts 60 minutes, it will be worth two credits; if it lasts 110 minutes, it will be worth 3 credits, etc. Consult your particular course syllabus for the exact policy for your class.
Procedures for Volunteering for Research
1. Researchers periodically will post studies on the experiment management system. Each participant must log onto the system and create an account in order to sign up for studies. For further information on using the experiment management system, see the attached handout. You may participate in a particular study only once!
2. If you meet the qualifications for a study and wish to participate, you may sign up for the study using the Experiment Management System.
3. Be sure to write down the experiment number, and the date, time, and location of your appointment, in a calendar. Your schedule of experiments is also available through the My Schedule/Credits option from the toolbar in the Experiment Management System.
It is very important that you keep your appointment because signing up for an appointment; by not keeping it, deprives other students of the opportunity to participate in the study. If you sign up for experiment, but are unable to attend, you must your cancel appointment using the Experiment Management System (through the My Schedule/Credits option). If you do not cancel your appointment for an experiment for which you are unable to attend, you will be considered to have missed your appointment. Each missed appointment will lose one extra credit. That is, one credit will be deducted from your total of extra credits. You may "make-up" these extra credit points by completing an additional experiment for each missed appointment. For example, if you attend four 50-minute experiments but miss one experiment, you will have credit for three experiments (4 - 1 = 3). Doing an additional experiment to make up for your missed appointment would give you four credits (5 - 1 = 4). Three credits would meet the research requirement, and the fourth credit would be counted as extra credit toward your grade.
4. Please go to the right place at the right time. If you are more than 5 minutes late for your appointment, you will be considered to have missed your appointment.
5. When you arrive for your study, the researcher will ask you to sign your name on an attendance roster, and to list the date and time of the experiment.
You can use the SONA system to keep informed of the total number of credits you earned, minus the credits lost for missed appointments. For the following two weeks you have the opportunity to discuss possible errors in the report with the experimenter whose experiment you performed. Do this by contacting the experimenter during her/his posted office hours. Remember: in order to do this you must keep a record of your experiments and the dates on which you performed them.
Rights of the Student
All research projects are conducted according to the Ethical Principles of the American Psychological Association.
1. Before participating in a study, you will receive enough information to decide whether or not to participate. (For example, if an aversive stimulus were to be used, this information would be provided.)
2. You may withdraw from a study at any time without penalty after attending the study and hearing about it.
3. After participating in the research, you will receive an explanation from the researcher about the purpose of the study and the role that you played in it. This may be done immediately following your participation, or it may be sent to your campus Post Office box.
4. If you feel that your rights have been violated, or that you have been treated unfairly or in any other way harmed by participating in the research, you should register a complaint with one of the following people:
(a) Dr. John Murray, Psychology Department Chair, 478-5539; or
(b) the GSU Institutional Review Board Coordinator, 478-5465.