University of Windsor - Psychology - Undergraduate - Graduate

Psychology

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Department of Psychology
173 Chrysler Hall South
401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4
Phone: (519) 253-3000 Ext. 2217
Fax: (519) 973-7021
Office Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Department Head
Dr. Sandra Paivio
Ext. 2232
Email: paivio@uwindsor.ca

Undergraduate Academic Advisor:
Joanna Hessen
Ext. 2216 CHS Room 166
Office Hours: Thursday 9:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Email: psychology@uwindsor.ca Undergraduate FAQs

Last Updated: December 8, 2009

Department of Psychology

Information for Course Instructors

Psychology Research Participant Pool

The Psychology Department Research Participant Pool is a collective resource for the use of departmental researchers. The pool works as follows: at the start of each term, instructors offer optional bonus points (maximum of 3) in their courses. Students register in the participant pool system, and indicate the courses that they are taking. Researchers post studies to the system or sometimes (with approval) contact participants directly to recruit student participants. Once students have completed the study, the researcher posts points to the system. At the end of the term, instructors are sent a list of students who earned points in their course.

We greatly appreciate if you are willing to offer bonus marks in your course. To offer bonus marks in your course to students for research participation, please email psycpool@uwindsor.ca on or before December 18, 2010, 5pm. All sections of 115 and 116 are automatically included to offer 3 bonus marks.

If you do choose to offer bonus points, please note that alternative assignments must also be provided in your course in lieu of pool participation. Below are details.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Bonus Marks and Alternate Assignments

1. Per department policy, one bonus point = one hour of research participation = 1% added to the final grade in the course.

2. The bonus mark system is 0.5 credit = 30 minutes of participation. Thus, students in 115 and 116 take part in 3 hours of research to earn 3 credits, and other instructors can determine the number of credits they wish to offer (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 or 3). 1 bonus mark equals 1% added to the final grade in the course.

3. Per ethical guidelines, instructors who offer bonus marks must also offer an alternate assignment. This is necessary to accommodate students who choose not to take part in studies, or who are unable to enroll in sufficient studies to earn their full complement of marks.

Alternate assignments should be meaningful tasks which take about the same amount of time as it would take to participate in a study.

Summarizing unassigned sections of textbooks or applying knowledge to a focused, novel problem are examples of effective assignments. These can be quickly reviewed to ensure that students put in reasonable effort before assigning the bonus mark.

5. Alternate assignments should be worth about 1 credit apiece. Offering large "block" assignments worth multiple points is NOT an acceptable alternative assignment and undermines the purpose of the pool.

6. The points allocated to research bonus marks should be able to be earned through research participation, alternate assignments, or both. However,

double credit for doing both is

not

appropriate (i.e. If your course has the option of earning 3 bonus points, students cannot be credited more than 3 bonus points regardless of how many research studies and bonus assignments they complete.)

We would appreciate if you would draw students’ attention to this information, and also thank students for their ongoing involvement. Please direct them to the participant manual under “Participant Pool” on the psychology department’s website. Any efforts to point out the advantages of bonus marks to students are appreciated.

Details about the pool are available in the participant and researcher manuals on the departmental web site.

Throughout the term, as questions and/or issues arise, please send all queries to psycpool@uwindsor.ca.

Please add the following information to the outline for all courses offering bonus points:

Psychology Department Research Participant Pool, Winter 2010

The Psychology Department Research Participant Pool provides an opportunity for students to learn about research in psychology by participating in studies conducted by faculty, graduate students, and honours students. The pool works as follows: at the start of each term, instructors offer points in their courses. Students register in the participant pool system, and indicate the courses that they are taking. Researchers post studies to the system or sometimes contact participants directly to recruit student participants. Once completing the study, the researcher posts points to the system. At the end of the term, instructors are sent a list of students who earned points in their course. Courses vary in the number of bonus marks they offer (from 1 to 3). Instructors also offer an alternate assignment which you can complete, in case you do not wish to take part in studies or if you are unable to earn a sufficient number of credits from studies. Each point earned is worth 1% towards your final course grade. For a course which allows you to earn 3 bonus points, you can have up to 3% added to your final grade; this is potentially enough for an entire grade change (for example, from 67%, C+ to 70%, B-).

You are encouraged to register in the system during the registration period at the beginning of the term. Registration does not mean you must take part in studies, but leaves you the option of doing so later. You must SELF-REGISTER for the Participant Pool BEFORE 11:30pm, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 20, 2010, by accessing the following web site and following the instructions there: http://uwindsor.sona-systems.com/. If you have registered in the system in a prior term, you MUST log in to your account during this time period and complete the demographic screening and course selection to re-activate your account. The sooner you register, the sooner you may be invited to earn bonus points.

Experiments will be visible in the system from Wed, Jan 7, 2010 through Fri., Apr 9, 2010. You must finalize assignment of points earned to courses in the system by midnight, Saturday Apr 10, 2010. Students taking part in studies are expected to be familiar with the participant pool policy manual, available on the pool website, or available on the Psychology website (www.uwindsor.ca/psychology) under the heading Participant Pool, Overview. If you have any questions or concerns about your involvement in the participant pool during the term, please email psycpool@uwindsor.ca.