As a student researcher, there are certain policies and procedures that you must follow. There are also several forms that you must use, which can be downloaded from this site. The following guidelines have been developed to assist you in conducting your study proficiently.

Prior to Collecting Your Data

Step1: Obtain an IRB approval number from your instructor/research supervisor.

Step 2: Complete a Study Information Form— except for the study number.

Step 3: Give the completed Study Information Form to the Psychology Department Program Associate, Ms. Judy Kubera (CSH 151), and retain one copy of this form for your records. Ms. Kubera will assign your study a number. Once assigned, this number should be recorded on all forms pertaining to your study.

Step 4: Reserve a room for your study.

a. Determine the specific dates and times that you will be collecting data.

b. Have the Psychology Department Program Associate reserve a room for these dates and times. Please do not attempt to reserve a room without consulting Ms. Kubera.

Step 5: Complete and distribute the Sign-Up Sheet(s).

a. Record the dates, times, and location of your study on the Sign-Up Sheet Cover Form.

The information appearing on this form should correspond exactly to the information appearing on your Study Information Form (i.e., the study name, study number, course name, etc.).

b. Record your study's name, number, and location on the Sign-Up Sheet(s), make as many copies as needed, then attach these copies to the Sign-Up Sheet Cover Form.

c. Consult the Class Schedule (outside the Psychology Department main office) to identify psychology professors who teach classes in which students are likely to receive credit for participating in research. Typically, professors teaching General Psychology award extra credit for research participation.

d. Contact these professors, in person, several days in advance of collecting data to arrange for the circulation of your Sign-Up Sheet(s). Do not leave sign-up sheets in professor's mailboxes.

You are responsible for directly handing your Sign-Up Sheet to a professor—and for picking it up after it has circulated. Please do not ask one professor to pass along your sign-up sheet to another.

In the event that you arrange for several professors to circulate sign-up sheets simultaneously— that is, if you prepare a separate sign-up sheet for each of several sections of General Psychology— do not record the same dates and times on more than one sheet.

e. Remember, you are responsible for picking up your sign-up sheets from professors.

f. Post a copy of your completed Study Information Form on the bulletin board next to the Social Behavior Lab (Room 156A) under "Current Studies." This will prompt participants to the date, time, and location of the study they need to attend. Contact participants one day prior to your study to remind them of their scheduled participation. Please remove your Study Information Form from the bulletin board when your study has concluded.

Step 6: Complete the Consent Form Cover Sheet and the Consent Reporting Form

a. Consent Form Cover Sheet: Make certain that the information on this cover sheet corresponds to the information appearing on your Study Information Form. The study name, number, course name, etc., should be the same.

b. Consent Reporting Form: Make as many copies as needed, then staple these copies to the back of the Consent Form Cover Sheet.

Notably, in some studies, individual consent forms are used instead of the Consent Reporting Form. For purposes of awarding extra credit, student researchers must still keep track of participants. Please discuss the method that you will use to document participation in your study, with your research supervisor.

While Collecting Your Data

At the beginning of the session, have each participant read the participation guidelines presented on the Consent Form Cover Sheet. To ensure that participants receive credit, instruct them to legibly sign and print their name on the Consent Reporting Form and indicate their course number, section number, and most importantly, the name of their psychology instructor teaching the course for which they will be receiving the extra credit. Have the students refer to the Psychology Faculty Class Schedule, if necessary. It is both the participants' and the researchers' responsibility to make sure this information is complete and legible. If the data is not clear, students will not receive credit for participating, which will inadvertently influence the results of your study.

Please keep extra copies of the Consent Form Cover Sheet on hand as some participants may request a copy. 

After Collecting Your Data

After your study is complete, transcribe all information (except the date the students participated in the study) from the Consent Reporting Form(s) (or individual Consent Forms) to the Student Research Excel Spreadsheet using the format provided. If the electronic version is not complete and accurate, your research supervisor will be notified and you may be required to copy your spreadsheet to a flash drive and make an appointment with your supervisor to compare the hard copy of your Consent Reporting Form(s) to the Student Research Excel Spreadsheet, for accuracy. If an instructor teaches more than one section of a course, list the students' names under the appropriate section. This is your study and you will be expected to complete it proficiently. Send your Excel spreadsheet to the Psychology Department D2L dropbox, with your study's number in the subject line, to Ms. Judy Kubera (judy.kubera@uwrf.edu), the Program Associate in the Psychology Department's main office. Please deliver your hard copy of the Consent Reporting Form(s) to Ms. Kubera the same day that you email your spreadsheet. Your spreadsheet data will not be processed until the original Consent Reporting Form(s) is submitted. The absolute deadline for receipt of the consent forms is April 20, 2012 (two weeks preceding the last day of classes).