When a Participant is in the Lab

It is lab policy that there should always be two lab members present in the lab when a participant is there. So when you book a participant, be sure that you have a volunteer or other helper to be there as well, or confirm that another lab member will be working in the lab at that time.

Always treat your research participants with the utmost respect — as an honoured guest to the lab. While pariticpants may "get something" out of the exprience (course credit, money, that warm fuzzy feeling of helping create new knowledge for humanity), ultimately they are volunteering their time and you should respect this. Even if your participants are peers (e.g., other undergraduate students, possibly even people you know), you should still act in a professional manner when they are coming to the lab for a research study.

This starts with your communications when people contact you with interest in participating. Your initial contacts should involve template emails that are part of the REB protocol, but to the extent that you need to go "off script" to respond to questions, or when talking on the phone, aim to be friendly, polite, and outgoing. Especailly for potential participants from outside the university, you are representing our lab, department, and ultimately the university.

When a participant arrives for a study, don't leave them waiting. Ensure you are where you said you will meet them, ideally slightly before the agreed-upon time. Make sure you've given yourself adequate time to prepare so that you are able to be present and polite, not brethless and flustered. Introduce yourself, and bring them to the lab. Try to make polite chit-chat as you go (e.g., talk about the weather, what courses you're taking, etc.).

When someone arrives at the lab, welcome them and show them where they can put their belongings — coats, backpacks, etc. should stay in the foyer room (where there are hooks and cubbies). Bring them to where you will conduct the informed consent procedure. Offer them water, coffee, or tea.

Often after the consent process and any questionanires or other paperwork, but before you start the experiment (or start putting on the EEG cap), ask your participant if they need to use the restroom. Better now than when they're plugged into teh EEG system!

Continue to be polite throughout the experimental procedure. In particular, many new experimenters get quite involved in the experimental procedures (especially if any problems arise), and forget that there is a human being sitting there volunteering their time, who probably doesn't know what is going on. So, throughout the procedure keep telling your participant what's going on (in general terms). If you need someone to wait for any length of time while you do something, fix a problem, etc., don't just leave them hanging — let them know what's going on, and maybe offer them a beverage and/or snack.

Monitor your participant throughout the study. That is, keep an eye on any responses they are (supposed to be) making, to ensure they are performing the task properly. For EEG studies, keep an eye on the EEG data to ensure that there are no signs of excessive movement, blinks, fatigure, high imedance, bad electrodes, etc.. Even if everything is going smoothly, don't forget to check in on your participant during the experiment, ask how they're doing, and given them the opportunity for beverage or snacks.

When the experiment is finished, get your participant out as efficiently as possible — e.g., open the EEG room door right away, get them unhooked, etc.. Things that can wait until the particiant leaves (e.g., transferring data, cleaning electrodes) should be done after the participant leaves.

Be sure to thank the participant for their time and ask them if they have any questions. If an EEG study, give them the opportunity to wash their hair. If it's a paid study, give them their cash and get them to sign a receipt.

Finally, be sure to guide participants out of the secure hallway — don't just point them towards the door and hope they find their way out. We don't want random people wandering lost (or just nosy) around the secure areas of the building.