“General Psychology” (PSY 1180)
The general psychology courses at SPU require students to participate in original research or to write about original research.
Note: If you are under 18, federal and University regulations require parental permission before you can participate in any research. If you have questions, contact Dr. Brittany Tausen, Director of Undergraduate Research.
Things to Keep in Mind as a Student Research Participant
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Complaints. Normally, research studies are satisfactory experiences for both the participants and the researcher. However, you are free to withdraw from the research study at any time, and you will receive credit for the time you were present. If you feel the procedures were out of line, write a description of the complaint and the name of the study, and submit your complaint to Dr. Brittany Tausen.
- Failure to be met. If you sign up for a research study but are not met by the researcher, you have the right to the credit your participation would have earned. You must arrive 10 minutes early and wait at least 15 minutes past the time the study was supposed to begin. To receive credit, you must contact Dr. Tausen with the name of the study and the time and date the researcher failed to meet you. We will verify with the researcher that you were not met, and upon confirming this you will be informed that credit has been awarded.
- Researcher responsibilities. Researchers must provide you with some type of informed consent before your participation, and an explanation of the purpose and results of the study at the end of your participation. Sometimes results are not available until the end of the quarter, but the researchers should be able to tell you how to obtain them. The researchers will keep in strict confidence the data you provide for them. They are not allowed to release information identifying you in any way without first obtaining specific permission from you.
- Participant responsibilities. It is your responsibility to be on time to the research studies you sign up for. It is also your responsibility to be in the right place. If you make a mistake in recording the time of the study, or the waiting area, you will not receive credit when you miss the study.
- Special information for General Psychology students. Rather than participating in studies for credit, you may instead write short summary papers of articles in Annual Editions in Psychology, placed on course reserve each quarter at the SPU Library.
Other Psychology Courses
Some psychology courses provide opportunities for students to be participants in psychology research as part of their course assignments or for extra credit. Your instructor will describe the assignments or how the extra credit points will be allocated, and will provide other options to earn credit if you do not wish to participate in research.