Research Participation
Research participation (RP) is the laboratory component of your introductory psychology course. Scientific research is important in this field, as it is how knowledge is built and then later applied to practical day-to-day situations. The goal of RP is to introduce you to research in psychology: by taking part in studies from researchers in the Department of Psychology, you can learn first-hand about current research in this field, how studies are conducted, and what it is like to be a participant.
Experiential learning program helps UAlberta students dip a toe into the world of research
Katie Willis - 01 October 2020
Whether you are a first-year undergraduate student today or you studied introductory psychology at the University of Alberta decades ago, you likely got your first taste of the world of research in the Department of Psychology’s Research Participation (RP) program.
In order to ensure that everyone gets a chance to sign up and get started with their appointments, you will be limited to signing up for 3 RP credits until approximately halfway through the term. You can sign up for the remaining 2 credits during the last half of the semester. An email announcement will be sent out through eClass when the remaining 2 credits are available.
Researchers post new appointments throughout the term, but students are continually signing up for projects; as a result, there may not always be sessions available that you are eligible for and that fit with your schedule. In Fall and Winter term, your responses in the mass testing survey also affect the variety of appointments that you see in the RP system throughout the term. If you choose not to participate in mass testing, you can still participate in research studies but there may be fewer projects for you to choose from. Please do not be concerned if there is limited availability of appointments at any given time during the semester. New projects and sessions are frequently added to the RP system. If you check the RP system regularly (i.e., daily or every few days), you will be able to find sufficient appointments to earn your maximum RP credits before the last day of class.
When you sign up for a session, the credit for that appointment is AUTOMATICALLY added to your account. Your current credit status reflects all of the projects that you have signed up for (both previous and upcoming sessions). You will see NO CHANGE for an appointment on your "Check Your Credit Status" page unless you cancel the session or you do not participate.
After the deadline or start time of each RP session, the researcher will report student attendance for that appointment (i.e., which students were absent, late, or did not participate).
- If you attend a session and participate:
- The credit for the appointment will REMAIN on your account.
- You will NOT see a confirmation message in the RP system or receive a confirmation email.
- If you do not attend a session or you are late:
- An unexcused absence will be ADDED to your account.
- The credit for the appointment will be REMOVED from your account.
- If you ever participate in an appointment and the credit is incorrectly removed from your account, please email the RP Coordinator (rescred@ualberta.ca) and attach the consent and debriefing forms from your session as proof of participation.
***IMPORTANT – As a participant, it is your responsibility to save a copy (print, download, screenshot, photo, or hard copy) of the consent and debriefing forms from each appointment for your reference. Having a copy of these forms will allow you to keep track of which sessions you have completed, as you will NOT see a confirmation message in the RP system or receive a confirmation email. These forms also contain important information regarding the project that you can refer back to, such as researcher contact information. If you are unable to save a copy of the consent or debriefing forms (or if you forget to do so), we strongly recommend that you record the name/date/time of the appointment and a detailed description of the tasks that you completed.
The consent and debriefing forms that you save are for your own records; please do NOT send these forms to the RP Coordinator unless you receive an email requesting proof of participation. For example, if you were participating in an online appointment and there was a technical issue, the RP Coordinator may email you to ask if you had taken part in the session. In that case, you could reply and attach a copy of the consent and/or debriefing forms (along with screenshots or photos of any error messages) as proof of participation to ensure that you receive credit for that appointment. If you did not have a copy of the consent or debriefing forms, then you could reply with a detailed description of the tasks that you completed, as this information can also be used as proof of participation if required. If there is insufficient evidence that you participated in a session, then we cannot provide you with credit and the appointment may be marked as an unexcused absence.
For online projects, appointments may be one of two types:
- Appointments with a deadline:
- Most projects that do not require interaction with a researcher; e.g., a survey
- You must access the URL for the session through the RP system at any time before the deadline for the appointment
- Appointments with a start time:
- All projects that require interaction with a researcher; e.g., a Zoom call
- You must access the URL for the session through the RP system at the start time for the appointment
- If you are logged in to an online appointment with a start time but the researcher is not there, please wait for 10 minutes after the start time. If this situation (or another technical issue during any online appointment) occurs, please contact the RP Coordinator as soon as possible and provide your name, student ID number, appointment name/date/time, and the nature of the problem (including screenshots or photos of any error messages). We will investigate and assign credit as appropriate.
It is your responsibility to find each in-person appointment location a day or two before your session to avoid getting lost. Please arrive at your appointment 5 minutes before the start time. If you arrive at an in-person lab session after the researcher says that there is no further admittance to the study, then the credit for that session will be removed from your account and the appointment will be marked as an unexcused absence. The researcher’s decision is final when it comes to deciding if an individual has arrived too late to take part in the project. Traffic, weather, getting lost, etc. are not considered acceptable reasons for being late or for missing an appointment.
If you are on time for your in-person lab session but the researcher is not there, please wait for 10 minutes after the start time. If the researcher has not arrived after 10 minutes, please contact the RP Coordinator as soon as possible and provide your name, student ID number, and appointment name/date/time. We will investigate and assign credit as appropriate.
If you decide not to participate in the study activity after reading the consent form, you can choose to complete an alternate task to receive credit for the project. The alternate task will not take longer than the scheduled appointment. The alternate task usually involves reading a paper on a topic related to the research and then answering some questions. If you choose the alternate task, it must be completed during the session to the researcher’s satisfaction in order to receive RP credit.
If you read the consent form and decide not to participate in either the study or the alternate task, please exit the online project or leave the session and contact the RP Coordinator to cancel the appointment. You will not receive credit, but you will be able to sign up for a replacement session. If you agree to take part in the study but then decide during the appointment that you would not like to continue, you may stop responding and exit the online project or leave the session at any time without penalty.
If you need to cancel on the same day due to illness or an urgent matter, please email rescred@ualberta.ca (from your UAlberta email account) or leave a voicemail message at 780-492-5689. Be sure to leave your name, student ID number, appointment name/date/time, and reason for cancellation or else we will not be able to process your request. As long as you have provided sufficient information and contacted us before the appointment deadline or start time, your cancellation will be processed once the RP Coordinator is available.
You can cancel any appointment that you have signed up for as long as it is done before the deadline or start time of the appointment. This will allow you to sign up for a different appointment without penalty. For 2-session studies, if you do not participate in Session 1 or if you complete the alternate task in Session 1, you will not be able to participate in Session 2 and your Session 2 appointment will be cancelled.
Failure to cancel before missing (or being late for) your appointment will result in loss of credit for the study. If you do not attend (or are late for) a session, then the credit will be removed from your account and the appointment will be marked as an unexcused absence. You will be given ONE opportunity to make up an unexcused absence by signing up for a different appointment. The mass testing survey is an exception: if you sign up but then do not log in and start the survey, you will not receive credit but you can sign up for a different session in its place without penalty.
With one unexcused absence, you can still earn a maximum of 10% for RP. However, if you have two or more unexcused absences, you will not be able to earn the full 10% for RP:
| Number of unexcused absences | Maximum mark that you can earn for RP |
|---|---|
| 0 or 1 | 10% or 5 RP credits |
| 2 | 8% or 4 RP credits |
| 3 | 6% or 3 RP credits |
| 4 | 4% or 2 RP credits |
| 5 | 2% or 1 RP credit |
| 6 | 0% or 0 RP credits |
Even if you feel unwell (including cold/flu symptoms, headache, nausea, general malaise, etc.), it is your responsibility to cancel your appointment before the deadline or start time. Only an incapacitating medical illness or emergency, severe domestic affliction, or other similarly compelling reason will be considered an acceptable reason for missing an appointment without prior notice. If this is the case, you must inform the RP Coordinator within two working days following the missed appointment (or as soon as you are able).
If you find an error in your overall score for RP credits, please email the RP Coordinator as soon as possible. After the last day of class, you will have 3 DAYS to report credit discrepancies before final RP marks are sent to instructors. After the final scores are sent to instructors, the RP mark may be available to view on eClass (depending on your instructor’s policies).