Psychology 100 Research Requirement

Dear Psych 100 Students:

             A Portion of your grade in Psychology 100 will require you to participate in ongoing psychological research. This participation involves the following: Students must obtain a total of Six (6) hours of Research Participant credit. A study lasting up to one hour earns one hour of credit. A study lasting more than one hour but less than or equal to two hours earns two hours of credit. (NOTE: These "credits" count toward the Psych 100 research requirement only. They have no relationship whatsoever to Hunter College course credit hours.)  You may also fulfill this requirement by reading psychological research articles and taking a short quiz for each article, which are online (http://huntercollege.sona-systems.com.).

             There are two major reasons for this research requirement: First, it provides our students and faculty with an organized participant pool to enable them to conduct psychological research at Hunter College. Second, it provides a valuable educational experience for our Psych 100 students by a) exposing them first hand to the techniques and procedures of psychological research, b) giving them an understanding of the function of research and the role of the researcher in psychology, and finally, c) offering them an opportunity to learn about their reactions in specific situations.

             ALL STUDIES IN WHICH YOU MAY PARTICIPATE HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION PROGRAM (HRPP)/CUNY UI-IRB.

             Below, you will see a list of commonly asked questions that students have raised about their research participation as well as more detailed information on participation. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.

 STUDENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

 1. You may refuse to participate in any particular study.

 2. You may withdraw from a study while in progress without penalty.

 3. You may request that the data you provide be destroyed and not used in any way. There is no penalty or loss of credit if your data are destroyed.

 4. It is the responsibility of the researcher to make the study an educational experience for you by providing information about the nature and purpose of your participation as soon as possible. A discussion of the results of the study will be available to you as soon as the data are all collected and analyzed.

 5. You have the option of reading a psychological research article and taking a short quiz on the article in place of participating in a study. (Several appropriate articles are on electronic reserve on the web). The reading of one article and taking one quiz is worth one hour of research credit.

 6. Your decision as to how to fulfill your research requirement (i.e., completing the pre-screen, research studies, or reading articles and taking quizzes, as an alternative) has no bearing on how you will be treated by the instructor.

  7. If you feel that your rights have been violated or that you wish to make any complaints for any reason, you may contact the administrator, Naitram Baboolall psychreq@hunter.cuny.edu (Rm 737B HN, 212-772-5612), or Dr. Danielle Berke (Rm 736HN, e-mail: db2800@hunter.cuny.edu, (212-396-6378).

Procedures for Meeting the Research Requirement

1.     Each researcher will post on the webpage (http://huntercollege.sona-systems.com)a list along with time slots, listing the type of research being conducted and the specific days and hours when participation will be needed. You must be 18 or older in order to participate in research. If you are under 18 you must complete the research requirement by choosing the option of reading psychological research articles and taking a quiz on each article you read.

2.     You should select a study that interests you and sign your name to a convenient time slot. Note that new studies are posted each week, especially during the first few weeks of the semester-if you do not find a study that interests you, check the webpage again every few days.  Be sure to make a note of the time and location so that you will not miss your appointment, and keep a record of the Investigator's phone number so that you can call if you need to cancel the appointment. Also keep a record of the code number associated with each study so that you can avoid signing up for the same study twice. Make sure if you sign up, please show up or you may be penalized for not showing up.

3.     NOTE: You may participate only once in any study. If you have already participated in an study, you must select different studies thereafter. (Some studies have two parts, and are conducted on two different days. If a study that you choose has two parts, attend both sessions and receive credit for both sessions.)

4.     You must arrive on time at the assigned room posted on the webpage. If you are late you may lose the chance to participate at that time.

5.     Please do not be a No-Show! Lateness or failure to keep your appointment may lead to considerable inconvenience for the investigator and other students. Students who repeatedly fail to make their scheduled appointments will be required to complete the alternative research experience described in the Students' Bill of Rights above.

 6. When a study is over, the investigator will provide each participant with a receipt to confirm his/her/their participation. In addition, the investigator will forward a list of all participants to the Participant Pool Administrator, who will ensure that students receive proper credit in their Psychology 100 class for their participation.

Research Requirement Questions and Answers

Here is a list of commonly asked questions that students have raised about the Psychology 100 Research Requirement, and their answers. Please keep this list handy throughout the semester.

 1.  Who participates in the research requirement?

All students enrolled in Psychology 100 participate to fulfill the course requirement. Students under 18 please select the option to complete this requirement by reading a completing quizzes about research articles.

 2.  Why is there a research requirement associated with Psychology 100?

At Hunter College, as at most educational institutions, psychology is taught as a science, and as such it progresses by means of empirical research (observing behavior). Participating in research offers students a critically important perspective on psychology and research, a perspective they cannot obtain by merely reading about it. For those interested in pursuing a psychology major, serving as a research participant provides the first glimpse of what psychologists actually do. Beyond this, the existence of a research participant pool makes it possible for many students and faculty at Hunter College to conduct original research. Psychology Departments at most colleges and universities have such requirements.

Your participation in research has a profound impact on the study you are taking part in, on the growth of scientific knowledge, and ultimately, on how this knowledge is applied in the real world. PLEASE TAKE YOUR PARTICIPATION SERIOUSLY. If you feel that you cannot participate fully and honestly in a research project, let the researcher know and reschedule your appointment or cancel.

 3.  How will students sign up for studies?

User name and password is sent after LATE REGISTRATION. Log onto the Psychology 100 Research Participation system at http://huntercollege.sona-systems.com.

Every Hunter College student has an email account from the Hunter College ICIT office. You will need to access this account. (If you have not yet accessed this account, go to 3rd floor HN to find out how you can access it.) This is the only way you can sign up for research studies. In order to sign up, you will receive an e-mail (sent to your Hunter College e-mail account) with a user name and password to log onto the website. With that information, go to the site mentioned above and log in.   After you have logged in, select the "All Studies" tab to find a brief description of the studies being conducted this semester, the code number of each study, who is eligible for participation in each study, the time and place at which the study is being run, and the phone number of the researcher. You will be able to sign up for available time slots by selecting "View Timeslots for This Study." Make sure to provide all requested information, such as e-mail and phone number.  BE SURE TO WRITE DOWN THE CODE NUMBER, DATE, TIME, AND LOCATION OF THE STUDY, AS WELL AS THE RESEARCHER'S NAME AND PHONE NUMBER.  You will need this information later to get to the study on time, as well as to notify the researcher if unable to attend.

 4.  When are studies posted?

New studies are posted throughout the semester. Because new studies are being approved by the campus Institutional Review Board on a continuous basis, additional studies may be posted on the SONA system at any time.  Please check the website regularly to find new research opportunities. Don't wait until the end of the semester to sign up for studies. This creates a tremendous crunch at the end of the semester, and results in fewer options for students.

 5.  What happens after you sign up for a study?

When you sign up for a study, make sure that you write down the date, time, place, code number, and the phone number of the researcher. You will also receive an email the day before reminding you about the study. Show up at the research site on time (but not more than five minutes early). If you are late, you may lose the chance to participate at that time. Make sure that you know the section number of your course and your instructor's name to ensure that you receive credit for your participation. In some cases, you may be asked to provide your phone number on the sign-up sheet so that you can receive a phone call from the researcher as a reminder the night before the study, but be sure to show up whether or not you have been contacted.

6.        What should a student do if he/she has signed up for a study but cannot attend the research session?  If you find that you cannot participate in research at the time you have indicated, it is your responsibility to call the researcher whose number appears on the webpage for the specific study you signed up for (not the administrator of the Research Requirement) at least 24 hours prior to the running of the study. If you can, you should also remove your name from the webpage so that another student can take your slot.

7.     What happens when a student fails to show up for a study for which he or she signs up?  As indicated in question 6, students may cancel their research appointment without any penalty, if they call the researcher at least 24 hours in advance of the appointment. The first time you fail to notify the researcher of your expected absence and do not show up, your name will be submitted to the administrators of the pool. The second time you fail to fulfill your responsibility to notify the researcher, you will lose the option of participating in research for the remainder of the semester, and will be required to read the articles and take the quizzes. If you do not cancel or show up for the studies, you will be penalized by having to participate in an additional hour of research (or do an additional article and quiz) for each additional appointment missed.

 8.  What happens if a researcher is not present at the research location when the study is set to begin?

While we do not expect this to be a common problem, it is conceivable that a researcher will not be present at the appointed time. Please wait at least fifteen minutes before leaving. If the researcher is more than fifteen minutes late, you have the right to full credit for an hour of research participation. Notify the administrator, Naitram Baboolall, ASAP, that you were present but the researcher was not.

 9.  How can a student be assured of receiving appropriate credit for research participation?

 Students can always log on to the SONA-systems (http://huntercollege.sona-systems.com.)and check. Your instructor can also view this info on the webpage; please ask your instructor to check for you if you are concerned.

 10.  What happens if, for practical or principled reasons, you do not wish to participate in psychological research?  While we hope and expect that the majority of students will learn from and enjoy participating in research, no student is forced to be a research participant. You may also fulfill the requirement by reading six brief psychological articles from among a group that has been selected as appropriate for Psychology 100 students, and passing (with a grade of 70) six short quizzes on the articles at the SONA website (http://huntercollege.sona-systems.com.)

 11.  Where do students find the designated psychological articles?

https://libguides.library.hunter.cuny.edu/er.php?b=c https://libguides.library.hunter.cuny.edu/er.php?course_id=33099

Several articles are already on electronic reserve at the Hunter College Library. Go to select "Electronic Reserve" and then view the reserve pages. From the pull-down menus, select "Instructor last name on the list below." and "Contains". Click on Instructor's ' name-- "Baboolall"-and click on "Search". Select your course number. When the copyright agreement box appears, type in the password-baboolall100 (using no spaces or capital letters), then click "Accept". Pick any one of the articles.

 12.  When are quizzes administered?

Quizzes on the psychological articles are administered on SONA, please log on and sign up and take the quizzes (http://huntercollege.sona-systems.com.).

 13.  What happens when a student fails to fulfill the research requirement by the end of the semester?  Students who fail to fulfill their research requirement by participating in research by the end of the semester (specifically by December 12, 2024) are encouraged to read the article(s) and take the quizzes in order to receive the credit towards your final grade in PSYCH 100. The final quiz will be offered on December 12, 2024. Your research requirement will count towards 5% of your final grade in PSYCH 100. If you do not fulfill the requirement by December 12, 2024, you will receive a zero towards that 5% of your final grade in PSYCH 100.

 14.  What should students do if they experience problems with any aspect of the research requirement?  All problems that you experience with the research requirement should be taken to the Research Participant Pool Administrator, Naitram Baboolall, in Rm. 737B HN (212-772-5612 psychreq@hunter.cuny.edu , or the Research Pool Faculty Supervisor, Professor Danielle Berke  (RM HN 736, e-mail: db2800@hunter.cuny.edu, phone: 212-396-6378). We will do everything we can to help you fulfill your requirement. Please do not take problems to your Psychology 100 instructors, the Psychology Department Chairperson, or the Psychology Department secretaries-only the above administrators can provide assistance on this matter.