Experimetrix Guidelines

September2008
1
Overviewfor Experimenters:
UniversityPsychology
Washington
Department
SubjectPool
for futurereference
in yourJaboratory
Pleasekeepthis manualaccessible
2008
RevisedSeptember
PleaseRead First
Thisguidebookcontainsa FAQ sectionat thebeginningwhichmaybe helpful lor many
students
as a quick look-upfor a questionyou mayhave. This is thenfollowedby a
morcin-depthdescription
ol theseguidehncs.
However,pleasemakesurethatyou readthesuidebookjn its entiretvbeforerunnins
anyparticipants.Theseguidelinesareimportanlto ensurethatyou arein compliance
with WU andHRPO-based
rulesandarespecihcallydesignedto makeeverythinggo
smoothly.Pleasenotethatfailureto adhereto theseguidelinesmay,in somecases,'
potentiallyresultin temporarysuspcnsion
to the subjectpool.lfyorr haveany
of access
questrons
lab who is familiar
with theseguidelines.In mostcasesthatpersonshouldbe ableto resolvethe question.
However,ifthey arenot ableto provideyou with an answer,pleasecontactDr. Lambert
al alambert@wustl.edu
September
2008
2
Outline
FAQ (Frequentlyaskedquestions)
Generalissues
Protecting
participants
' rights
ObtainingIogonsandpasswords
Dehricfino
lnrm q
PostingExperiments
on theWeb
Limitson Payments
of ShowingUp
lmportance
FIowto Cancela Session
participants
Scarce
Whomay issuecredit
Studiesthat canbe offeredfor creditor payment
UnderageparticiPants
Contactinformation
September
2008
3
FrequentlyAskedQuestions
and I needa logon
on Experimetrix
1. lwant to post an experiment
andpassword.Howdo lget that information?
Office)'
Whenyou receivedappravaltot thisproiectfrcmHRPA(HumanResearchP.roleclian
informed
consenl'
lhey sentyou a PDFdocument(withtheirslampof approval)conlaininglhe
ol the sludy,and the debriefing Simplyfotuard that PDF' in its entitety' lo Alan
description
and he will issuea logon and passwordin the next day
Lambeftat alambert@wustl.edu
orso.
ln thebody af your emailtaDr Lambertpleasemakesurelhatyau specify the faculty
spoiso. Pleasenolethallhis applieslo all gradualesludenlsas well as postdocs,as all
faculty.
department
memberof the psychoLogy
mustbe linkedlo a particular
experiments
2. ls therea limiton the amountof creditlcan offerper hour? What
aboutpayment?
can ollet up lo one (1) crcdilor 10 do ats
For onehaurof paflicipation,researchers
3. Can offer credit or payment?
Yes However,anygivensludenlcanreceiveeilhercrcdilor pay, bul not bolh
ll youare at{eringONLYcrcdil,or ONLYpayment,pleasemakelhat clearin you header'
4. I needto cancelan experiment.How do I do that?
below. Pleasenotethatthereare difterent
Seepage13 of the subjectpoolguidelines,
you
procedures
are canceling24 hoursaheadof time or not.
dependingon whelher
5. What happensif I forget to cancelthe study altogether,the student
shows up anyway,and finds that therewas no experimenterat my
lab? What would I do?
You should avoid these sorts of evenasat a/ cosas, This hasthe potential to fostel
resenlmentamangout students.Afler all, studenlsarc penalizedfot not showingup, and il is
reasonablefor lhem to expecl lhat someonewil be there when they arive. lf this happens'
pteaseemailDr.Lambedand he willtakeit fromlhere. Pleasenale Ihatthereare stiflpenalties
for labs lhal have multipleexperimenterno-showsand this may involve temporarysuspension
ofaccesslo lhe subjecI paol nal onlyfor yourproiect,but othetprojectsin lhe lab too
Seplember2O0B
4
6. I am runninga minimalriskstudywith no agerestrictions.What
shouldI do if an underage(< 18)studentshowsup for my study?
pleasemake surethalyou readp. 15 of the guidelinesbelow,
Thisis a bitcomplicated;
you
yaur
BEFORE
stafl
sludy.
7. I clearlyspecified"18 or older"in my headerbut an underage
studentshowedup anyway. What do I do?
Youpolitelylell themsorry,thatyoucannotrun lhem,andtheydo not creditor paymentlor
showingup- As longas thiswas clearlyspecifiedin lhe header,il is the studeni'sresponsibility
to readit.
Generaijssues
Seplember20Oe
5
As experimenters,
our needsare
- alwavs
"' " q-r\)
secondary
with the needto:
. respect
participants,
rights
o complywitli guidelines
of tle IRB andthesubject
pool
commrttee
(e.g.educational
benefit,r""iJ"""Jr;l
Yguropporrunity
to collect Uoy participants,
andto userhe
suojectpool,is a privilege,_O_".O
nota nght.
We wantto hearfrom you:
questions/concerns
aboutpoliciesare
encouraged.
September
2008
6
ProtectingParticipantsRights
Underwhatcircumstances
shouldI givefull creditro
Question:
participants
whowishlo disconlinue
experiment?
Answer:All circumstancesOneofthe goldenrulesofinformedconsentis thatassoonas theparticipantwall<s
in your lab door,he or shehasthc right to discontinue
participationin your studyat
anytime,andfor anyreason.In suchcasestheparticipantmustbe givenfult
credit.
Fs s ent rar ln s r e d l e n t 1s 0a l l e xDe n m e n ts:
Writteninformedconsent
Writtendebriefing
Reporlall unusualincidentsto your facultysupervisorimmediately.
are
ln general,giveparticipantsthebenefitofthe doubt. Participants
nothereto "serveYourneeds".
Seplember
2008
7
Obtaininglogonsandpasswords
(Revised
2008)
HIISC has)argelyswitcliedoverlo ilic i'tenret for manyaspecis
ofrhe revieNproccss,inclutiing
Dolillcalionthal your expe ll,lenthasbcerlapproved. Suchnotifioalion t),pjcally afirvesln the
form ofa PDF rvhichcontajntheslampofapprovalaDdthe datcofexpjraljon, llere rs oDe
example(l haveomitledsomepageshere.)
.: ; \\1iil',:,
I
J . : ! t n r ji: t I
nlt i
IEIq
rne b ,, trdr
14@Pa,rLo1!6!ftE
tqili
,, d!4,@
rEiEr
s h drlr i !.
i(
A1si4r,4*.Ed.Fb
t
ail
tle
i to AlanLambert{alair
!xt page).lfit doei;
andpasswbrdwithiri'la
clu
one as a
EXCEPTIoN:IFYoUDIDNoTREcIvENoTIFICATIoNFROMHRPOvIAEMAIL(AN!DHENCE
ruST LEAVETHEFORMSIN MY MAILBOX.
DONOTHAVEAPPROVAIIN PDFFOR]VD,
PLEASEDO LETME KNOWIF THISIS THECASE.
I'OWEVER,
VIA EMAIL'
AS]DE!ROM TI]AT CASE,PLEASESUBM]TALL REOUESTS
EXAMPLE
Seplember2008
I
DualMechanisms
ot CognitiveControl
Wlratare we trying to leam in lhis research?
the psychological
mechanisms
involved
in cognilive
Thissludyinlendsto investigale
control.
Wewantto examine
the mechanisms
of incentive
molivaion on preparalory
controland
whelhermolivalioninducesdifferenlialreacliveor proactiveconlrolprocesses.In otherwords,
goals?By having
howdoesreactlve
or proactive
conlrolhelpus prepare
for ourmotivated
participanls
pedormface/word
laskswilching
andmanipulating
stimulus
cuesbetween
varlalions
rn cognilive
controlmechanisms
reward/no
rewardcues,we hopeto djscover
is presenlor n01.
according
to whethera motivalor
Why is this study impodant to the generclpublic?
arethoughtio be imponanl
in enabling
theflexlbility,
Cognilive
conlrolprocesses
co'nplexity,
andsophistication
ol humancognilion
including
atlenlion,
acrossa widerangeof domains,
paradignrs
workingmemory,
episodic
memory,
anddeclsion
maklng.
Cuedlask-switching
have
lileralures
as a meansof;nvesligaling
becomepopularin bolhlhe behavioral
andneuroimaging
mechanisms
of cognjtive
control(Schaefer,
2006)Usinga commonsel ol taskparadigms,
we
hopelo learnmoreaboullhesemechanisrrs
of cognilive
controlin termsof behavioral
measures
diflerences
andage-relaled
changes.
andas a funclionof bolhindividual
Where can I learn more?
Braver,
T. S.,Reynolds,
D. 1.(2003)Neuralmechanisms
of
J. R.,andDonaldson,
transienl
cognitive
controlduringtaskswiichingNeuran,39,713andsuslained
726.
Schaefer,
A., Braver,
T. S., Reynolds,
T., andGray,J R.
J. R.,Burgess,
G. C.,Yarkoni,
(2006)Individual
in amygdala
difierences
activilypredictresponse
speedduring
workingmemory.Journalol Neuroscience,26,
1012O-10128)
Whatif I have questions later?
1{youhaveanyquestions,
reactions,
or concerns
regarding
thisexperimenl
lhatyouwouldlike
to sharewilhus,whetheriheyareaboutthecontent
of lhe experimeni
or howtheteslingwas
pleasecontaclus eilherby phoneor e-mailiAdamSavine(935,8547
administered,
), Todd
Braver(935-5143,lbraver@arlsci.wusll.edu)
. We willdo our bestto answeranyquestionsor
concerns
io VoUIsatisfaction.
Final caution and request
As youcanimagine,
if ourhypotheses
wereknownlo parlicipants
beforetheyhadfjnished
their
participaiion,
theirdatawouldbe lessinformalive
as to theutilityof thehypotheses
So,we ask
thatyou do nol giveout this sheetor shareits contentswithany otherstudents(evenjn Iater
semeslers)
September
2008
'10
Postinson theWeb
Facuitymembermustalwaysbe listedassupervisor.
Pleasebe honestwhen determiningnumberof creditsto be offered.
Setcreditsby modal,notmaximum,amountof timetakento actually
yourtask. If a minorityof participants
complete
mn over,givethem
credit,manually.Suchafter-the-fact
additional
adjustmenls
canonly be
doneupwards,
not downwards,
Header:"JoeFridayrule" Justthefacts.
(e.g."nalive
requirements
Excludingparticipants
on basisof language
Englishspeakers
only")shouldonl
suchasspeeded
tasksinvolvinglexicaldecisions. If
circumstances.
you arenot sure,pleaseconsultwith the subjectpool commjttee.
of "them" might give you
Excludingpeoplebecausea certainpercentage
"messier
results",or because
a higherpercentage
of "them"mightnot
yourinstructions,
reason.
is not a legilimate
understand
'xlJlalutJodxguo pelsod,{pnls,{ue:o3'epeur3q ueo altu slq} o}
suorldacxe o1q sluaruuadxoloJ Jnoq/0-S o1dn re;;o uec sraluaurrredxE
luelu,{ed uo slIIuIT
ii67 l'qu.,eloeg
Seplember
2008
12
Importanceof ShowingUp
As experimenter,
to showup,on time,for your
it is yourresponsibility
you
ownexpedment.Ifyou needto cancelanexperimental
session,
mustdo soonefull dayaheadof time, (seenextscreenfor detaiis.)
(cases
Pleasenotenewpolicyon no-shows
in which the participant
arriveson time,but the experimenter
simplylails to showup,
withoutproperlycancelingon time,)
First experimenterno-showin any givensemester;subjectpool
committeewill issuca warning.
Secondno show: Automatic suspensionofaccessto the pool lbr tlvo
weeks. Faculty lab is the unit ol analysis.
Additionalno-showsper semester
will resultin cumulative
penalties.
2008
SePtember
13
Fcll
How to Cancelan ExperimentalSession(revised
Are you
cancelingat
least24 hours
aheadof time?
Cancelsession
on website
Students
automatrcallY
tecelve
cancellation
notice from
Experjmetrix
?OOR\
lf parllcipantsshow up anlvav, they
do not gel credil.
Pleasedo noi ask or rmply thal
parlicipantsshould srgnup agarnlor
your study to get crcdit. TheYcan
sigrl up for any study,notlust yours
manuallY
Beforecanceling,
recordnameAND emailof
who have
anystudents
thatsession
up
for
signed
Cancelsession
on weosLle
If thc studentdocsn'tshowup, theydo not getcreditof course
I
h'sueihem full credit for
However,if the studerttDOES showup You!I].!!! man-uallY
lo coLlecl
you haveautomatically
forfeitedyouropportuntty
)'our stuiy (throughnebsite).
lor this sludyeitllernow' or an!'iimein thefuture Thrsls true
datairomilese partrcipants
a minorpenaltv1()vou for
evenifpadicipanisap;earwilling to do so' This polrcyconstitutcs
that
rhe
tlil. After is;uingihemcre'lrtplcaseemarl studentcxplaining
i"'ii"g i.
the'\'
drdnt
If
'.
up
""""'.i
showed
phvsrcaLlv
,'rgain,rhisalipresmes thatthev
i
i.,'*'"
"r"J.*a"
showup.no credrt.
September2008
14
What to do, and what not to do, whenthe going getstough (scarce
participants).
1. Considerpayingparticipants
if fundsareavailable.
2. Try to plan aheadbetterthe next time. Fall is much betterthan the Spring to run
expenments.
pleasedo not attemptto "beatthe system"by:
3. Out of fairnessto otherexperimenters,
a. issuinginformalrequestsor "spreadingthe word" in classesthatyour studyis "especiallyinteresting"or that
your friendsshouldsignup for your study.
iu class.We
lecturersin or outsideof our department
to havethemdistributeyour questionnaires
b. approaching
in classis a very temptingway to completeyour study,
realizethathavingstudentscompleteyour questionnaire
DO NOT APPROACHINSTRUCTORSTO HELP OUT YOUR
but this is patentlyunfair to otherexperimenters.
STUDY FOR ANY REASON.
September2008
15
Who may issuecredit
andrun sessions,
but they
RAs canpostexperiments
Undergraduate
leavethis duty for postshouldnot give creditsto participants-please
docs,graduatestudents,staff,or faculty.
September2008
16
Studiesthat canbe offeredfor creditor payment
Any "minimalrisk" studyapprovedby theHHSCcanbe offeredfor creditor
payment.
bytlte psychology
department
areDinimal risk. Many
Nea yaJJexperiments
conducted
procedures
(e.g.quesliomajres,
rcaclion
ir'rvolve
traditional
laboralory
ofthesestudies
time studjes)but canalsoiDcludestudiesinvolvingfMRI or othermedicalprocedures,
althouglthesearelesscommoD.As long asthe sludyis approvedat minimalrisk, il can
be postcdlbr credjtor paymenl.
risk:
As for studiesapprovedat greater-than-minimal
Thesestudjescannotbe offeredfor creditbut in manycasesihey canbe offered for
paymenl.Ilowever,you shoulddoublecheckwith theIIHSC for anyspecial
guid€linesthal maypertainto thalparticularstudy. Seealsoissueson thenext
pageregardingunderage
particjpants.
Seplember
2008
17
(under18)
participants
Underage
Whcnevcra snrdeDlarrivesto pa(icipate in your sludy, you sbouldask for hislhcr year in schoot,
askthe potenljalparticipant's
al)dthen.ifs/he is a first-ycarstudeDi,
lhc expcrinrcnler
s)rouJd
is a minor (under18), speciat
his/hcragc.This shouldbe a relativ€lyrareevcn1,bul if lhe sludeDt
procedures
needto be followedto proleclthejrrighls. llowever.dlfferenlplocedures
spply
depcndjng
on whetherthe studyjs morethanminimalor not.
L lfthc studvis nore thai minimalrisk
PerHHSC regulaljorrs,
nrinors(i e.,pelsonsrinder18) shouldnot be sjgningup for your strldyin
jndicarion
the first place. Such
shouldhave alreadybcenprovidcd in your cxperimenlcrheader
(e.g."no oneunder18"). Ifthe sftdentdjdn't sccthiswarning,andthey showup arlwa-v,
potilcly inform them ofthe silualion and explainwhy they can't receivccredil or pay.
2. Mr'nimalrisk studies
designed
to protectthe rightsofhumaDsubjccls,no datacaDbe
Due to Federalrcgulations
collectcdfrom the indjvidual for RESEARCII puryose$wilhout adlanccd palcnlal consenl,cven
you would
for mjnimalrisk research.'Ihus,Jfyou wanl lo collectdataaspartofyour rescarch.
necd lo oblain \]vrilleninformed consenl,in advaucc, from bolh parerrls. fhis can be done via
far or by rcgularrrail, br.rtas a practicalrnaller,ihjs is vinually impossjble
in mostcascs. (IJyou lvish to pursuethal roule. pleasechcck with the HHSC office first.)
Ilowever, as an allemative,it is permissiblc1ohave tbc personparticipatein your siudy as pan
of an cducalionalcxpeliencc(which it slioLrldbe anyway,foi everyone)bu1for legal reasonsyou
cannolcollect (r€tain)dala from lhem as part ofyour rcsearch.
Thus.you shouldfollow lhis procedurc:
a. Belore lhcy begjn,verbally explain lhc study in suchas a way so as to reasonablyparallel lhc
infomation contajncdin the informed consent. (Again, this is a ninimal risk study and so the
issueofinforrning them oftangib)e risk is moot.) However,the studcntshouldnot si$ the
infomed consenldocumenl.
b. llave them participater'nthe study as usual,and then debiefas usual.
c. Onc€ thc participantleaves,you shoulddestroyany datacollected. Ifyou ran your study on a
PC. and you can set your progrimr for "demo" mode,then this poinl is rnoot siDceno data is
collecledjn the firstplace.
2008
SeDtember
't8
ContactInformation
Technicalissueson usingthewebsite(e.g.how to issuecredit,etc):
wusll
edu
(LauraNesse)PsvchE{oartsci
emailthewebmaster
Please
Forpolicy questions:Emailthesubjectpool chair: Alan Lambert
edu)
(alambert@artsci.wustl.