Psych Pool has two, parallel goals; 1. To facilitate recruitment of research participants by Department of Psychology researchers, and 2. To enhance student education by facilitating participating in psychology research. 

Participant Policies

Participation in most research projects is open to all UMKC students, faculty and staff, but varies depending on the study. Individual study descriptions will indicate eligibility requirements. Participation in research by those who are under 18 years of age is permitted for a smaller pool of studies. Anyone younger than 18 years must have a parent or other legal guardian sign a parental consent form available from the researcher leading the study.

Credits and Compensation

• Participation credits are assigned in half-hour increments. Participants receive one credit for each hour of research participation and half a credit for each half hour.
• Many studies offer compensation. Read the description of each study carefully. For studies that offer course credit, check with your instructor to ensure that this experiment is appropriate and applicable for credit.

Cancellations: You can log into Psych Pool to cancel a research appointment. Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours before the scheduled start time. 
 
Disputes: If you feel you have been treated unfairly by an experimenter, you may petition the faculty coordinator to resolve the dispute by emailing the Psych Pool administrator. 

Researcher Policies

Any faculty or student researcher in the psychology program may use Psych Pool. Students registering to use Psych Pool are required to list the name and contact information of their faculty sponsor.

If you would like your study to be posted on the bulletin board outside the psychology office, please send the Psych Pool administrator information about the study.

Policies

• All researchers using Psych Pool must complete training in human subjects research, as required by the UMKC Institutional Review Board (IRB). They must also be listed on the appropriate IRB protocol for the study listed.
• Faculty and student researchers must obtain a username and password from the Psych Pool administrator prior to setting up a new study and recruiting participants.
• Participants who fail to show up for a scheduled session should be listed as a no-show (unless they have an acceptable excuse, in which case you may, at your own discretion, cancel their session instead). Note that participants with more than one no-show may be removed from the Psych Pool for the remainder of that semester.
• If you fail to show up to a session, or cancel with the subject with less than 24-hours notice, then you must assign them the same credit they would have received had they participated.
• It is the responsibility of the researcher to assign research credit promptly upon completion of each session. This must be done within 24 hours of the end of the session. (If we can hold them to a 24-hour cancellation deadline, they should be able to hold us to a 24-hour credit deadline.)

Institutional Review Board

All studies listed in the Psych Pool must have current approval from an IRB at UMKC. Upon expiration or lapse of IRB approval, the experiment will be made inactive. IRB renewal will be required before the study can be re-activated. For more information about adding use of the Psych Pool to IRB protocols, contact the Psych Pool administrator.

• All personnel involved in the study (faculty sponsors and student investigators) should be listed in that study’s IRB protocol.
• When you submit your IRB protocol, you should include in the “Recruitment Process” section text that indicates you will be using the Psych Pool as well as the text of the study description you will be using.
• Sample text: Participants will be recruited using the online research participant recruitment system. The study will be given the following title: "This is my study’s descriptive title."
• The text will appear in the system to describe this study: You are invited to participate in a research study in the UMKC Department of Psychology investigating [what?]. This study will take place in the UMKC Department of Psychology, located at 4825 Troost, Room [which?], and is open to [whom?]. Participation in this study will take [how long?]. During this time you will [do what?].
• You may also want to include something like the following in the “Compensation” section: Participants recruited from Department of Psychology courses may, at the discretion of the instructor, receive extra course credit for participating in this study. Participants who sign up using the online recruitment system will be credited using that system. (Instructors may print lists of students who participated at the end of the semester.)
• For existing protocols that don’t currently include these provisions, an amendment should be submitted and approved prior to use of the Psych Pool. (If you have already indicated that you will use the online system, but did not include the description, this may usually be submitted as a minor revision to the IRB administrator.)

Exemptions

Some projects where data is not being used for research may be exempt from IRB oversight, for example those collected for training or teaching purposes. If this is the case, then the researcher/instructor must apply to the IRB for an exemption.

• No project will be listed without specific IRB approval or exemption. 
• After you set up your study in the online system (including both the IRB protocol number and the date this protocol expires), you should take a printout of your IRB protocol approval letter to the Department of Psychology office. Only after this is done will your study be made available to participants.
• Please review the policies for participants prior to using the Psych Pool. 

Instructor Policies

Use of Psych Pool is open to any instructor teaching a course at UMKC. Generally, the pool will be used for courses that either require research participation or offer extra credit for research participation. It allows the instructor to easily determine the number of participation credits earned by each student.

Research credits are assessed in one-hour increments, such that one credit equals one hour of research participation (although half credits may also be assessed).

All experiments listed in the Psych Pool are being done under the supervision of UMKC Department of Psychology faculty and have been verified to have been approved by a UMKC IRB.

Policies

• Instructors must apply with the Psych Pool administrator to be granted access.
• If you offer alternatives to research participation, you may use Psych Pool to help students keep track of those points.
• All courses will be inactivated at the end of each semester and must be re-submitted at the start of the next semester. (This may be done any time following the last day of exams for the previous semester.)
• Please review the policies for participants prior to using Psych Pool.