Psychology Research Pool

All students in PSY 2012 - General Psychology are required to participate in the PRP. Your instructor will include the required number of ArgoPoints (i.e., research credits) in the syllabus, so please check your syllabus for specific information for your class. Your instructor may also offer additional ArgoPoints for extra credit. All studies will offer an alternative assignment should you not wish to participate in research.

For psychology students in other classes, your instructor may offer the PRP as an extra credit opportunity. Check your course syllabus to see if the PRP is included in your course. The amount of extra credit will vary depending on your course instructor.

There may be other studies that also offer a small incentive for participating. If you participate in a study that offers both, you must choose one. You cannot earn both ArgoPoints and the small incentive for any one study and you cannot participate in any study more than once.

The amount of ArgoPoints that can be applied to any one course will be included on the course syllabus. This will vary from instructor to instructor, so be sure to check each syllabus carefully.

The amount of ArgoPoints that can be applied to any one course will be included on the course syllabus. This will vary from instructor to instructor, so be sure to check each syllabus carefully. Each ArgoPoint can be used for multiple courses. For example, if you have 2 classes that offer up to 3 ArgoPoints as extra credit, you can earn 3 ArgoPoints total to apply to BOTH classes. At the time that you participate in a research study or submit an alternative assignment, you will indicate the course to which you want to apply the ArgoPoints you earn. You can change your decision and apply them to a different course later in Sona or by contacting spbsprp@uwf.edu. ArgoPoints may not be carried over to a new semester or term.

Step 1: Each of the listed alternative assignments corresponds to a specific on-campus study or an online survey; You can only complete the on-campus/online survey study OR the alternative assignment that corresponds to it, you CANNOT do both. For example, you may have wanted to participate in Study X, but there were no available time slots that fit your schedule. You still need ArgoPoints, so instead, you go to the Alternative Assignment for Study X.

Step 2: Write an article summary for the article. Remember, the article associated with each study is very specific- you cannot just pick an article that looks interesting to you. Follow these guidelines when writing your papers:

1. Include a cover page that includes your full name, your instructor’s name, course name and meeting times, the authors of the article, and the title of the article.
2. Two (2) typed, double-spaced pages, NOT including the cover page. Please use a 12-pt standard font (e.g., Times New Roman) and 1-inch margins. Any other format will not be accepted. 
3. In the paper, you should include labeled sections that address the following:
   
   1. Introduction/Research Question
      1. What is the problem the researcher(s) is/are addressing? What is the importance/practical implication of the research problem?
      2. What have other researchers found regarding the research problem (include 1-2 examples)?
      3. What are the author(s) hypotheses or expected results?
   2. Methods/Procedure
      1. Describe the procedure used in the experiment: Who were the participants and what were they asked to do?
      2. What were the variables and how were they measured?
      3. Do the variables/measurements used adequately address the author(s) research question? Why or why not?
   3. Results/Conclusion  Note: you do not need to fully understand the results, focus on the big picture.
      1. What were the main results? Did the findings support the hypotheses and purpose?
      2. What are the implications of the results (in terms of our understanding of psychology/people, or those affected by the problem, if any)?
      3. What weaknesses or shortcomings of the research were discussed?
   4. Overall Assessment
      1. What is your overall assessment of the study (touch on a few of the following): Was it well-researched and conducted? Easy to read? Practical? Do you agree with the major points/premises? Did an idea/finding impress you, or was there something you found concerning the results? Is this a topic you would read more about?
4. The paper must be written IN YOUR OWN WORDS. No direct quotes will be accepted. Any papers that use direct language from the article will be returned to you and you will be asked to rewrite the paper before you will receive any ArgoPoints. Any other forms of academic misconduct such as resubmitting old essays for credit again or turning in someone else's work as your own in order to obtain credit will not be accepted. Offenses of academic misconduct will be reported to the Dean of Students following the procedures of the Academic Misconduct Policy. 

Step 3: Email your summary to the PRP Coordinator at spbsprp@uwf.edu no later than 5:00 pm on the specified deadline. Once the paper is received and verified as correct, you will be awarded ArgoPoints for completing the assignment. One paper is worth two ArgoPoints.

Remember: participating in the Alternative Assignment will exclude you from participation in the corresponding on-campus study and vice versa.

In the rare case that a student may be obtaining ArgoPoints in a dishonest manner (e.g., having a roommate complete the study or paper for him/her) or consistently plagiarizes in the alternative writing assignment, the student will lose all ArgoPoints and the offense will be forwarded to the Dean of Students following the procedures of the Academic Misconduct Policy.

Should you choose to participate in research, you have a responsibility to show up at your scheduled time and to follow the directions of the investigator to the best of your ability. If you have to cancel an appointment, please do so as early as possible. Each student who fails to attend a scheduled appointment takes the place of a student that could have attended. You will not earn ArgoPoints if you arrive late (or not at all), however, you will not lose ArgoPoints either.

If you need to cancel participation in a research study, you should contact the investigator as early as possible. Information on how to contact the investigator is posted with each study on SONA. If you are unable to reach the investigator, you should contact the main office of the Psychology Department at 850.474.2363 or the PRP Coordinator at spbsprp@uwf.edu and tell them what study you are scheduled for. Only contact the main office or the Coordinator as a last resort. You should provide the investigator with as much advanced notice as possible to allow other students to fill your time.

During the course of the study, you reserve the right to discontinue your participation at any time without penalty. Your time in the study will be rounded up to the nearest half hour and ArgoPoints will be awarded accordingly.

Log in to your account on SONA to view this information. It is recommended that each student keep track of his/her own participation by listing the name of the study, the date of participation, and the course/instructor for which the extra credit was requested. In the event of any discrepancy or disagreement, you are responsible for providing the debriefing form from the study. So be sure to keep your debriefing form!

Instructors will receive a list of students who participated in the PRP before finals week. This should give you two weeks to ensure your points are accurate for each course. If there are any discrepancies regarding which studies you attended, you will be asked to provide your copy of the debriefing form from the study you participated in so do not lose your debriefing form.

You can participate, but you will not receive extra credit. You may still receive the small incentive if the study offers one.

Wait at least 10 minutes for the investigator to arrive. If an investigator does not show up and has not cancelled, contact the PRP coordinator (spbsprp@uwf.edu) as soon as possible after the missed appointment. The PRP coordinator will obtain necessary information from you and, if it is verified, you will receive full ArgoPoint value for attempting to participate. Failure to contact the PRP coordinator immediately will result in no ArgoPoints. If an investigator cancels your appointment with more than 24 hours notice, you will not earn any ArgoPoints. You will need to reschedule. If an investigator cancels your appointment with less than 24 hours notice, you will earn 1 ArgoPoint, regardless of the number of points the study is worth. For most studies, you will be allowed to reschedule.

Yes. The PRP Coordinator can reassign your points to apply them to a different class than you had previously selected.

You can add multiple classes to your account by holding the ctrl key (for pc) or the command key (for mac) when selecting. If you are unable to do so, the PRP Coordinator can add it for you.

The Coordinator can resend your information to you, send an email to: spbsprp@uwf.edu

Do not sign up for a second account. Email the coordinator, and your account information can be corrected.