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The Psychology Department believes strongly that investigative learning is central to your education in psychology. Accordingly, many of our courses require or provide opportunities for developing empirical skill. Directed Research provides an intensive research experience from beginning to end in one semester. Other courses include labs and projects that serve these goals as well. In all circumstances, when using human participants or animal subjects, prior approval must be given before conducting the research. The approval process assures that a project meets all ethical and legal standards before the project is begun. Research involving animal subjects is subject to review through the Macalester College Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). For more information and necessary forms, visit http://www.macalester.edu/acs/ .
Any investigation involving human participants will undergo a process of rigorous ethical review. This process is intended both to educate students about the ethical aspects of psychological research and to guarantee that all research conforms to the strictest codes of conduct dictated by the American Psychological Association.
This section contains the following: a description of the process that a researcher must undergo in order to gain approval for a research study; a summary of ways in which students may be compensated for their participation in research; a checklist for successfully applying for research using human participants in the Macalester College Psychology Department.
All the forms necessary for research involving human participants; including the Review Form for Proposed Research , and the Response Form for Proposed Research, are available on this page for download. All documents should be completed and submitted, along with any relevent research materials, to the Psychology Participant Pool Departmental Review committee for departmental approval.
1. Directed Research Projects:
Students should familiarize themselves with the ethical guidelines for research with human participants included in their packet; this is an integral part of the educational experience in this class. Each student will be responsible for preparing a Review Packet for his or her own study. The Review Packet will consist of the Review Form for Proposed Research, the Response Form for Proposed Research, copies of all questionnaires, detailed descriptions of stimuli for the experimental and control conditions, and all necessary debriefing protocols . These forms can be downloaded at the following web address:
http://www.macalester.edu/psychology/research/ .
In most circumstances, the review of the student's project will be conducted as an educational exercise within the Directed Research class. If there are concerns raised during the process, the student will then submit their Review Packet to the Departmental Review Committee (described below). Approved Directed Research Review Packets must be submitted to the Psychology Participation Pool Coordinator before data can be collected from human participants.
2. Honors projects, independent study research, and faculty research :
All students and faculty involved in research will prepare a Review Packet and submit it in a timely manner to the Departmental Review Committee for review. The Review Packet will consist of the Review Form for Proposed Research, the Response Form for Proposed Research, copies of all questionnaires, detailed descriptions of stimuli for the experimental and control conditions, and all necessary debriefing protocols .
This committee will consist of three faculty members, none of whom is involved in the project under review. The Committee may approve the project, request modifications, or reject the project. Students conducting their own research should work closely with their adviser(s) in assembling their packet for review. Record of the Departmental Review Committee's response must be filed with the Psychology Participant Pool Coordinator. The Committee must unanimously approve the final version of the project. Research must not be conducted until all relevant paperwork is submitted to the Psychology Participant Pool Coordinator.
In the event that the Departmental Review Committee has irreconcilable concerns about the project, the proposal will be forwarded to the entire Psychology Department for review. The Department may approve the project, request modifications, or reject the project. If there continues to be concern about the proposed research, the investigator will submit the proposal to the college-wide Institutional Review Board. It is the Department's expectation that this will be a relatively rare phenomenon, reserved primarily for projects with significant potential risks to participants (the College IRB will always be used for projects that involve extramural funding, see below).
Projects that continue beyond an academic year may undergo a streamlined process for renewal of approval after the first year. The researcher will prepare a brief addendum identifying any changes in the research protocol along with a copy of any previous Departmental Review Committee documents. It is expected that renewals will be routinely approved unless there are substantial changes in the protocol.
3. Research involving extramural funding and/or significant ethical concerns :
Projects that receive extramural funding and/or that involve significant ethical concerns will be forwarded to the college-wide Institutional Review Committee. Informational about the materials needed for this level of review are available from the Office of Institutional Research.
Student participation in Department-approved research may take the form of course research credit, a chance to win prizes, or direct payment, as described below:
• Course Research Credits via the Participant Pool . The primary vehicle for compensation is course research credit for Introductory Psychology. Each semester, Introductory Psychology students are required to fulfill a research requirement, and one option for satisfying this requirement is to participate in Department-approved studies. Participation credits are awarded in half-hour intervals according to the time spent engaged in the study.
• Lottery Tickets . Students who are not in the Participant Pool may be awarded lottery tickets in return for research participation at a rate of 1 ticket per 1/2 hour of research activity. At the end of the semester a lottery will be held to award prizes to the owners of the five randomly selected lottery tickets. These prizes will not exceed $150 in total value, nor $50 for any one prize.
• Direct Payment. Occasionally, faculty members or student researchers may wish to pay students directly to participate in their studies. This option will be exercised only when a very specific population is needed and requires approval by the Departmental Review Committee.
Perhaps the most valuable form of compensation is the thanks and good-will one receives for volunteering in a fellow student's research study and helping further our knowledge in the discipline. The Department strongly encourages students to participate in this fashion and urges researchers to seek volunteers whenever possible (unless volunteers would introduce an undesired selection bias).
- Attach copies of all questionnaires, detailed descriptions of stimuli for the experimental and control conditions, debriefing protocols, and any other relevant research materials to the Review Form for Proposed Research.
- Submit your completed Review Packet to the Psychology Participant Pool Departmental Review committee (or, if applicable, the Directed Research section) for review. The review process typically takes about a week, and research may not begin until the review process is complete. Therefore, researchers should anticipate submitting their materials at least a week before they intend to begin data collection.
Approved Review Packets will be forwarded to the Psychology Participation Pool Coordinator for archival purposes. Researchers will then receive an email from the Psychology Participant Pool Coordinator regarding their approved Review Packet. Researchers will also receive copies of their completed Review Form for Proposed Research and Response Form for Proposed Research through campus mail.
Review Packets that require modifications or do not pass review will be returned to the researcher through campus mail. Review Packets that require further review will continue the review process until a ‘Pass', ‘Pass Pending Modification', or ‘No Pass' status is achieved.
Revised October 2005
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