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OSR: Research Participant Pool Working Policy
   
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One of the goals of General Psychology (PSYC 104, 105) is to familiarize the students with the process by which information is gathered and developed in the field of Psychology.  To meet this goal, the following shall be the policy of the Department of Psychology:

  1. General requirement for research participants
    1. Students in PSYC 104 shall, as a portion of their grade (to be specified by the course instructor, but approximately 10%), participate in one of the following two options.  Extra credit may be offered for completion of more than the specified number of research credits, if the instructor of PSYC 104 so desires.
      1. Option I: Participate in a specific number of hours of research, with each our of research participation being equal to one research credit.

      2. Option II: Read a specific number of research articles drawn from professional journals in Psychology, and submit 2-3 page, typed discussions for each of the articles.  Each research article shall be equal to one research credit.
    2. Students in PSYC 105 may, as specified by the course instructor in consultation with the Research Participant Pool Coordinator, offer extra credit for participation in either of the following options.
      1. Option I: Participation in research.

      2. Option II: Reading research articles drawn from professional journals in Psychology, and submitting 2-3 page, typed discussions for each of the articles.
    3. Documents describing these requirements shall be prepared by the Research Participant Coordinator, and distributed to students in PSYC 104 or 105.
  2. Number of hours of research
    1. The number of research credits required per quarter shall be established on a quarter by quarter basis, by the Research Participant Coordinator, based on the:
      1. Number of participants expected in the Research Participant Pool,
      2. Number of experimenters planning on using the Research Participant Pool during the quarter, and
      3. Number of hours needed per study, for the studies expected during the quarter.
    2. b) The number of research hours required per quarter shall in no case be less than 2, or more than 5.
      1. If less than two hours are expected to be needed per student per quarter, the instructor of PSYC 104/105 may choose to give extra credit for students who wish to participate in the departmental research that does occur during the quarter.
      2. If more than five hours are expected to be needed during the quarter, five hours will be required, extra credit may be offered to students who wish to participate in more than five hours of research, and the Research Participant Coordinator may choose not to approve some studies.  In this case, the following list of priorities will determine which studies are approved.
        1. Research conducted by Department of Psychology faculty
        2. Research conducted by Department of Psychology Honors students, working on Senior Honors Projects, and students in PSYC 454 (Advanced Experimental Psychology) working on class projects
        3. Research conducted by faculty from other departments and schools at La Sierra University
        4. Research conducted by Students from the Department of Psychology working under faculty supervision
        5. Research conducted by faculty and students from institutions other than La Sierra University
    3. If a participant fails to meet a research appointment, or arrives late, this shall result in a demerit of 1 hour (i.e. an additional hour of participation shall be required to fulfill the requirement).
    4. Some studies may require more than one session.  When this is specified (on the sign-up sheet), the student shall be required to attend all sessions to receive credit.
  3. Permission to use the Research Participant Pool
    1. Permission to use the Research Participant Pool shall be granted on a quarterly basis.
    2. Permission shall be granted by the Research Participant Coordinator, based upon the number of participants available that quarter, and the priorities listed in 2.b.ii above.
      1. In all cases, prior IRB approval is required prior to permission to use the Research Participant Pool.
      2. In all cases, a copy of a debriefing handout to be given to participants, or else an outline of the debriefing that will be orally presented to participants, must be presented to the Research Participant Coordinator prior to approval.
        1. This debriefing shall inform participants of the nature of the research in which they were involved.
        2. The debriefing shall give participants an opportunity to ask questions about the nature of the study, either by giving them a phone number and address, or an opportunity for oral questions.
      3. In cases of research conducted by individuals outside of La Sierra University, the research must be approved by the faculty in the Department of Psychology.
  4. Sign-up sheets
    1. In a central location in the department, the Research Participant Coordinator shall maintain a sign-up board, on which experimenters may place sign-up sheets.
    2. These sign-up sheets, designed by the Research Participant Pool Coordinator, shall contain as a minimum:
      1. The name of the research study
      2. The name of the experimenter(s), and of a faculty sponsor (when applicable)
      3. A phone number to call, if the participant must cancel an appointment
      4. A brief description of the study
  5. Pre-testing
    1. On occasion, the Research Participant Coordinator may coordinate pre-testing, in which an entire class of PSYC 104 or PSYC 105 may participate in one session.
      1. Students will be given research participation credit, based upon the length of time required for the pre-testing.
      2. The pre-testing may consist of:
    2. Actual pre-testing, in which participants may be called back for further testing later in the quarter.  It is the responsibility of the Research Participant Pool Coordinator to ensure the anonymity of participants.
    3. Short questionnaire-based studies.
    4. It will be the responsibility of the Research Participant Pool Coordinator to make arrangements for pre-testing with individual instructors of PSYC 104 or 105.  The instructors of these classes may or may not choose to allow their class to participate in pre-testing.
  6. Record-keeping
    1. It is the responsibility of the Research Participant Pool Coordinator to keep all records related to participation in research studies, and critiques written of journal articles.
    2. The research participation coordinator shall provide to the instructors of PSYC 104/105 printouts of the number of research credits each student has, approximately two weeks before the quarter is over, and a final listing by Wednesday of Finals Week.
    3. Experimenters should give to the Research Participant Pool Coordinator a list of participants, and of individuals who failed to meet their appointment times, within one day of the completion of a session in which participants were given research credit.  The Research Participant Pool Coordinator shall, in all but the last week of the quarter, mail a notice to students failing to meet their appointments, notifying them of their need to complete one additional hour of research credit in order to fulfill their research requirement.  This notification shall be mailed within one week of the time a student misses her or his appointment.
  
 

 

 

 
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