REP FAQ:

What is REP?

The Research Experience Program (REP) is a voluntary part of the Psychology 1001 course. Other psychology classes also offer REP points, if the instructor chooses to offer this opportunity to his or her students.
Through this program, students learn more about the field of psychology by participating in University-approved research conducted by behavioral scientists. The purpose of REP is twofold:
1. To provide students with hands-on experience in the topics, goals, methods and ethical procedures of contemporary research in psychology
2. To sustain the extensive and nationally-recognized programs of research being conducted in the Psychology department.
Since REP participation is intended as educational enrichment, all researchers who participate in the REP program must structure their projects in a way that enables students to understand the methods and goals of the study. This means proper debriefing.
Since research participation is an educational opportunity outside of the work they complete in class, students who participate in research projects receive extra-credit points that can be applied to their final course grade.

Who is in charge of REP?

Kate Briggs, Coordinator of Psy 1001, khbriggs@umn.edu, N105 Elliott Hall, manages the REP program. Kate is also the person whom students will contact when they have concerns with REP researchers. Researchers should contact her with questions, issues and concerns about how to make REP as fair and useful.
Elleni Fellows, ebf@umn.edu, manages the on-line system. Go to Elleni if you have trouble with the on-line system.

How can I apply for REP points?

The deadline for REP applications is always the first Friday of the semester. This semester, Fall 2008, the application deadline is Friday, September 5. Applications are made on-line. Faculty sponsors will need to review and approve the study before projects become available for recruiting.
If you have participated in REP before, you will be able to obtain an on-line application with no further action.
If you have not participated in REP before, you will need to contact the REP administrator to get your name and x500 entered into the on-line system.

How do I allocate REP points?

Psychology 1001 students and students in other participating classes receive 1 REP point for each half-hour of research participation. Students may participate in as many hours of research as they wish. However, in Psy 1001, sections 2-30, only 15 REP points can be counted for course credit (that is, credit for 7.5 hours of research participation.) The instructor in each participating class sets the limit of extra-credit points that they offer.
For multi- part studies, you may wait to award points until the student has completed both parts (unless the scheduling problems are yours) but make it clear that if a student chooses to discontinue a study, they do so without penalty. In that case, you will need to give them partial points for the time they did spend. The student should confirm that they are discontinuing the study.
If a student shows up for a study and the researcher is absent, the student is awarded the number of points he or she would have earned for participating. The student does not need to complete the study to get points in this case. For this reason, researchers may want to think twice about last minute study cancellations and not want to have open study hours--the "just-stop-by-during-any-of-these-sessions" approach (aka "the open-spigot" approach) unless you can guarantee that a researcher will be present. I advise students to contact me when a researcher fails to show up.
(fyi, REP points are added to the total points a student earns on exams and in discussion sections after grade cut-offs have been made. REP points can make a difference of a letter grade for students who are near a grade cut-off.)

How do I recruit participants for REP?

USE THE INTERNET

The on-line REP system is used to advertise your study, sign up students and award points for participation. When REP points are distributed, you will be able to access the system to activate and describe your study. You will need to keep your session times and locations updated, and award points for student participation. When your study is completed, deactivate the system.

Advertise your study--You may post a a flyer with a description of your study on the REP board across from Elliott N119. Students need to contact you. You may not solicit student names and contact information on displays in public spaces. Be sure to include the location of your study and how to contact the researcher. See here for guidelines.
During the Fall and Spring semester, researchers can set up a sign-up station outside Willey 175 immediately before or after Psy 1001. Lectures occur MWF from 1:25-2:15. Recruiting students this way has the advantage that students can talk directly to persons involved in the research.
- Please provide students with the same written information as provided on the REP flyers--Study project number, title, researcher, description, dates and times. In addition, please provide students with reminder slips that include the project number, location, date and time as well as contact information in case a student has to reschedule.
- If you collect student ID numbers as you sign students up, you can 'create seats' for the student before your study. This will make it possible for students to see the time and place of your study, in case they forget.
Recruit students by coming to class (this is not an option for Psychology 1001 Fall/Spring day school but is for Psychology 1001 evening classes and other psychology courses). With the instructor’s permission, you can show up at the beginning or end of a class that offers REP points and tell students about your study.
During Fall and Spring semester, researchers can conduct studies in 175 Willey after the Psy 1001 lecture. Because this approach makes it easy for students to participate, researchers who can conduct studies in 175 Willey right after the Psy 1001 lecture typically have very high participation. This option is often in high demand: Researchers may be limited to three after-class sessions in 175 Willey for a single study. (However, in the unlikely event that one researcher has reserved 175 Willey for so many active studies that other researchers are unable to gain access at all, the first researcher will be asked to share.)
- To reserve an afternoon on the calendar, provide this information to the REP coordinator.
- You can view the calendar here.
- You can put up an overhead announcement before the Psy 1001 lecture on the day of your study to remind students of your study. For guidelines, click here.
PLEASE NOTE: Some well-organized research groups encourage students to put their names on a call-list for other studies by the same research group. In these cases, students who sign up and participate in one study are given an opportunity to sign up for other studies conducted by other researchers in the same lab. If you use this approach, be sure to remind the student that you obtained their name from one of these sign-up lists. Students in Fall and Spring semester Psy 1001 are told repeatedly that they take the initiative in setting up participation in research studies. No cold calls. In addition, studies should not occur late at night, on weekends or off campus.

When are REP deadlines?

In general, applications are due on the first Friday of Fall and Spring semester. Summer deadlines vary. Each semester’s specific deadlines are posted. Please attend to these deadlines. Because allocations are made promptly and commitments based on the total points requested, late applications are a problem for everyone. If you submit a late application points will be allocated when points become available--either at the midterm reallocation or right away, if the points have not been requested by other researchers.
You are expected to assign REP points on-line by the following dates for Fall 2008 semester:
- September 29
- October 20
- November 24
- December 8

What are IRB approval and training for IRB and HIPAA?

Before running a single subject, you must obtain ethical approval for your study from the IRB. This is true no matter how innocuous your study may seem or who you are using as your subjects.
You should apply for REP points at the start of the semester even though you are waiting for IRB approval of your study. However, you should not recruit from the REP pool before receiving IRB approval.
The IRB requires training before they will give approval for research. See the IRB website for training information and applications, here. You can obtain a copy of the Investigator 101 CD-Rom training from the Research Subjects' Protection program.
In addition, all researchers are required to complete HIPAA training. HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and requires researchers to implement processes with respect to protected health information as well as inform individuals about how we protect their information. You can find more about HIPAA, here. Khosi Nkosi will be assigning HIPAA training to all researchers. If you feel you should not take all 4 modules they can let Khosi know and the reason why.

How do I record REP points?

ALL REP points are awarded on-line and students in all REP-giving classes have access to this information as soon as points are awarded.
Each REP project should have a researcher or research assistants who will have access to the REP research site and will be responsible for keeping information up to date.
Students will not be awarded points if the data base does not have name-student ID match. If you cannot locate a student in the database, email the student and Kate Briggs (khbriggs@umn.edu) so that student can be added and receive points.

What classes participate in REP?

REP points can be offered to students in a wide variety of psychology courses. Psychology 1001 is the largest course that takes part in the REP program. Non-Psy 1001 Psychology courses that offer REP points will vary from term to term. REP researchers will be provided with the list of classes that are offering REP points when they receive their REP point allocations.
Click here to see a list of classes participating this term.

Where can I conduct REP studies?

Conduct studies in 175 Willey after the Psy 1001 lecture during the Fall and Spring semester--click here
You can locate rooms throughout campus and complete a request to reserve a room for your study at http://www.classroom.umn.edu/ (You’ll find this site by navigating through the faculty one-stop to the classroom management link.) You can also email ocmevent@umn.edu if you know the time and room number for the room you want to reserve.
Rooms in Elliott Hall (except N119 and N647) are scheduled through the main office. You can check availability at http://online.psych.umn.edu/. Click the menu for room scheduling.
Use the computer lab in 160 Elliott

When can I conduct REP studies?

Conduct your research during regular building hours on the University of Minnesota campus (8AM to ~ 9:00PM). When you call students to remind them of an event, call during regular calling hours (9AM to 9PM). Avoid scheduling events on weekends when Elliott Hall is locked. As much as is reasonable for experimental control, make sure that studies occur in 'public' labs and spaces.

How many REP points can I request per study?

Researchers should request one point of credit for each 30 minutes of student participation in a project. In Psy 1001, the current maximum request size per student is 15 points (7.5 hours.) If you need 100 participants for a 2 point (one hour) study, request 200 points.
Researchers need to carefully estimate the time required for project completion at the time of their application. Researchers who grossly overestimate the time that their session requires of the average student and who subsequently provide all students with point credits for time that most students do not spend in the session (e.g., awarding 4 credits for a study that takes 70 minutes, or 3 points, to complete) will be suspended from using the REP pool for one semester.
Please do not inflate your estimates of the number of points you need. Sometimes, cunning researchers request many more points than they need (like asking for 500 points when they need 300) because they figure their points will be cut back or that they can turn back points that they don’t use. Please don't do this. The REP allocation process works most fairly when all players provide accurate estimates of their needs. Requests for points and subsequent usage are calculated at the end of each term to ensure honest reporting.
Please stick within your REP allotment as much as possible. Sometimes that task can be tricky--for example, with online surveys, participants sometimes sign up so quickly that your points are used before you realize. Please do not turn students away if they have signed up in good faith, but do keep track of your numbers. Remember to switch the toggle to completed when you are no longer recruiting students.
Faculty may redistribute their allocation among projects according to their priorities.