Participant Triage

In-Lab Visit

All of our experiments will require participants to make an initial visit to our lab. Participants will enter room 342A, which is the small room adjacent to the primary testing room. The initial visit will involve a series of behavioral tests for which they will either get 1 credit or else receive a $10 gift card as compensation. If the participant is receiving a gift card, make sure you have it in-hand at the outset of the experiment. You will also need the gift card receipt log.

Consent

Participants must read the behavioral consent document and give verbal consent (we do not obtain written consent because our behavioral experiment poses minimal risk, and having written consent documents lying around only increases risk to participants' privacy). The consent document lists a series of tasks that the participant may be required to complete. Beside each task heading is a checkbox. The experimenter should check off the boxes corresponding to the tasks that the participant is to complete.

Database Entry

After having consented, the participant will use the computer in the testing room to connect to the lab website (http://ccnlab.buffalo.edu). There, (s)he will enrol as a new participant, and should make note of his/her assigned subject number. The subject number plus the participant's email address will be his/her login information. The enrolment screen requires the participant to provide demographic information and contact details and explicitly consent to be subsequently contacted for future experiments. If the participant is enrolling in the experiment as the first stage of an fMRI study, please explain to the participant:

Task Assignment

Initially, participants will have no tasks assigned. I have considered adding a default tasks feature to the lab website, but until I do so, there will be a short delay between when the participant enrols and when there are tasks for him/her to complete on the lab website. Upon enrolment, the experimenter should log into the lab website as an administrator and assign tasks to the new participant. It makes most sense for the experimenter to use a separate computer to do this (e.g., go to the next room, assign the tasks and then return to the testing room). The set of tasks assigned should agree with the tasks that were agreed to in the consent document.

Task Supervision

After tasks have been assigned, the experimenter should return to the participant and help them navigate the website to find the list of tasks to be completed. Each task will remain in the list until it has been completed. To select a task, the participant needs only click on the task entry in this list. Instructions for each task appear on each of the task pages (the intention is that it should be possible for the participant to complete each task independently), but the experimenter should aim to be present with the participant as (s)he completes each task to answer any questions that might arise.

Debriefing

After all tasks have been completed, participants must be given a debriefing form. If the participant is to be enrolled in a follow-up study (e.g., an fMRI scan) ensure that the participant has explicitly given permission to be contacted (this checkbox is at the bottom of the participant information page), and ensure that all contact information is correct. Explain to the participant:

Credit and Compensation

If the participant is receiving credit for participation, log into the SONA website system and assign credit as required ASAP. If the participant is receiving a gift card, give them the gift card after they sign for it.