Research Participants Group (RPG)

There are two ways to fulfill your requirement: You may choose the Research Participation Option, or the Research Report Option. You can use any combination of these two methods to complete your credit requirement.

 

The Research Experiment Participation Option

0.5 credits for each half hour, or part thereof, of active participation in a University research experiment.

Participation in all experiments is strictly voluntary. (See Research Report alternative below.) The research participation experience provides insight into the research process and gives future researchers a better understanding of research from the perspective of the participant.

You will be informed of the experimental procedures at the start of every experimental session, and provided that you agree to participate, you will earn 0.5 credits for each half hour, or part thereof, of active research participation. In order to ensure that a high level of ethical standards for research procedures are met, all of the experiments offered through the psychology department research participant group must have been reviewed and approved by the university Social and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board.

To participate, follow this procedure:

  1. If you are under 18 years of age, you will not be able to sign up for experiments and hence you may not take part in the experiment participation option. Once you turn 18 however, your account will be activated and you will be eligible to choose to the Research Participation Option.
  2. Experiment participation begins in the 3rd week of classes (2nd week for summer sessions). The Psychology Department uses an online, web-based system (Experimetrix) to allow you to schedule experiments in which to participate. It is your responsibility to use this system correctly. You need to ensure that you are listed for the right course and section on the website, and that you choose to schedule experiments at the times you can actually attend. All credit assignments for the research participation option are done through this system. To get started, you will need to do the following:

    1. Activate your UB Email Account – You will need to activate your UB Email account in order to begin participation. All experiment related emails will be sent to your UB account
    2. Activate your RPG Account and make sure that you have selected the correct PSY 101 course and section on the RPG website so that the experiment credit you earn will be reflected in your grade.
    3. Sign up for Experiments – The Experimetrix sign-up page is where you can schedule all experimental sessions.

After you begin participating in experiments, you will need to keep track of your credit balance. Your credit balance can be examined by logging into the RPG system. Your current balance will be displayed near the top of the web page after you login to your profile. Additionally, students may wish to keep paper copies of these records. During mass testing you will receive and experimental participation log that you can maintain. This record sheet might be your only proof of experiment participation in case a credit has not been assigned to you. Additional sheets may be obtained outside 283 Park Hall or you can download and print them here: Experiment Participation Log.

Mass Testing. This refers to filling out responses to a number of questions so that experimenters can select appropriate individuals and invite them to participate. All PSY 101 students can earn 1.0 research credits by participating in the mass testing class during the 3rd week of the semester (2nd week for summer sessions). Simply attend class during the mass testing session and complete the questionnaire to gain your Mass Testing credit. If you are not 18 at the time of mass testing, you can gain 1.0 research credit simply by submitting in a blank answer sheet with your name and ID.

 

The Research Report Option

1 credit for each report. Completing reports requires answering a series of questions about a research article. Step-by-step instructions will guide you through the process from selecting an article to writing the actual report. You must follow the directions and answer all the questions in order to get credit. These instructions can be found outside 283 Park Hall or by following this link: Step-by-Step Research Report Instructions. Also, complete the Research Summary Checklist to make sure you did everything correctly: Research Summary Checklist.

 

Research Participant Group Policies

  1. Be punctual for experiments. Experimenters often cannot accommodate late-arriving participants. We suggest you print out the confirming email message you receive for each scheduled experiment, as it will contain the date, time, experiment number and location for your appointment. Many students tend to mix up the experiment number and room number. Make sure you know exactly where you are supposed to be and when!
  2. Lateness or Absences. If you are late or fail to show up for an experiment, it will be counted as an absence unless you have appropriate documentation. There is no penalty for being absent.
  3. Appointment Cancellation. If you find you cannot make a scheduled appointment to participate in an experiment, you must cancel your scheduled session on the RPG system before 24 hours of the scheduled start-time of the session. The session will be counted as an absence if the student does not cancel 24 hours before the appointment and subsequently does not show up to the experiment.
  4. Experimental Credit Bonus: If you reach the end of the semester and show up, on time, for any and all experiments, then you will be awarded a ONE-CREDIT BONUS. This means that if you complete 8 credits by the end of the semester, either by showing up on time to all your appointments and/or doing research reports (which do not allow the option to be absent), you will get the last credit as a bonus (bringing you up to the 9 required credits). In short, if you have perfect attendance at your experiments and/or write research summaries, you only have to earn 8 credits.
  5. Experimenter Lateness. If you arrive on time for your scheduled appointment and there is no experimenter, wait for at least 10 minutes past the appointment time. You will be given 0.5 credits for any appointment that is missed by the experimenter, cancelled by the experimenter less than 24 hours prior, or that fails to occur due to technical problems. If an Experimenter misses the appointment, wait at least 48 hours for credit to be assigned before reporting a problem.
  6. Credit Assignment and Receipts. Participants earn 0.5 research credits for each half hour (or part thereof) of participation. Experiments are scheduled through the web and experimental credits and absences are assigned through the web as well. Credits earned from Research Reports will not be reflected in the student’s credit balance on the Experimetrix website.

To obtain a copy of the Research Participation Requirement handout that contains a printer-friendly version of detailed RPG procedures, click on the following link: Research Participation Requirement.