1. Undergraduate
  2. Participant Pool Information
  3. Participant Pool Information

Participant Pool Information

Why do we have a Participant Pool?

The Participant Pool is an essential component of the Department of Psychology’s teaching and research.  Its purpose is threefold:

  1. Enhance the learning opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students through providing opportunities for them to participate in the research process.

  2. Improve public understanding and support for psychological research.

  3. Support the research mission of the Department of Psychology.

Pedagogical Value of Research Participation

Research skills are what sets a university graduate apart in the modern labour force. As research participants, students develop knowledge, understanding, and values that underpin the development of these skills. The experience is meant to contribute to meeting the psychology program’s undergraduate learning outcomes, including disciplinary breadth and depth and methodological understanding.

Learning from experience can be fast and intuitive. In the context of research participation, however, learning likely benefits from expert guidance. Thus, we believe that researchers play a key role in facilitating student participants’ engagement and growth. They enhance the pedagogical value of research participation by encouraging reflection and directing student participants’ attention to key research elements.

Who does the Participant Pool serve?

Student participants, researchers, and instructors are the three groups of stakeholders that the Participant Pool serves. The functioning of the pool requires that the interests of each group are respected and each group meets the expectations of the other groups.

Participants

Expect to:

  • Be treated as learners
  • Be fairly compensated for their research participation
  • Have their dignity respected and their questions answered to their satisfaction (see TCPS 2)

Are expected to:

  • Be respectful in their behaviour and communication with researchers
  • Monitor and ensure the accuracy of their research participation credits

Researchers

Expect to:

  • Have fair access to the participant pool

Are expected to:

  • Be professional and respectful of participants following the ethical guidelines out in TCPS 2
  • Support the learning experience of participants
  • Provide an alternative to research participation for students to earn extra credit that fosters positive attitudes toward research and supports the objectives of the Pool
  • Only use the participant pool for studies approved by the Participant Pool Officer

Instructors

Expect to:

  • Be free to choose whether to offer research participation for extra credit (Psyc 200-level courses)
  • Receive information about the extra credits earned by their students in a timely manner after the conclusion of classes

Are expected to:

  • Inform students about the pedagogical objectives associated with research participation
  • Inform students about how to participate in the pool

Information for Students

Information for Researchers