Research Activity

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Research Activity Requirement

Psychology is rooted in the research findings of psychological scientists from around the world. Because of the centrality and importance of research to understanding psychology as a science, all students enrolled in sections of PSYC 1000 or PSYC 1060 are required to experience the research process first-hand, as a participant and/or consumer of research. This opportunity is designed to:

The research activity requirement also provides an essential source of participants for advanced students and faculty in the Department of Psychology  who are conducting scholarly research. As such, participation provides a genuine contribution on your part to the advancement of knowledge in psychology. The field cannot advance its understanding of human behavior and mental processes unless we have people like you help us by participating in our research studies.For all students enrolled in sections of PSYC 1000 or PSYC 1060, 5% of your final grade is based on your completing 5 credits worth of research-related activities. That is, 5% of your total course points will result from research activities and the remaining 95% from the regular exams, quizzes, and other assignments/activities documented in your course syllabus.

Some instructors have an all or nothing policy with respect to research activity credits – that is, if you do not earn all 5 of the required credits, then you get zero points from research activities. Other instructors will give you course points in proportion to the number of credits you have earned, up to 5% of the total course points. Check your syllabus to determine the method your instructor employs. Regardless, to fulfill this requirement, you must earn these credits by the deadlines noted below.

Completion Dates

Fall 2023

Spring 2024

Please note that you are required to complete 50% of the five-credit requirement (i.e., 2.5 credits) by the midpoint of the semester. If you only complete 1.0 credit before the midpoint the maximum amount of credits you can be awarded at the end of the semester is 3.5 (because you missed out on 1.5); however, you may complete more than 2.5 credits prior to the midpoint of the semester (e.g., you can earn all 5 of the required credits during the first two weeks of class).

This deadline is in place to encourage students not to wait until the end of the semester to try to earn all research credits. If students wait until the end of the semester to earn credits, there will not be enough opportunities to do so. We strongly recommend that you attempt to earn research credits across the semester by completing a variety of options (e.g., participating in research studies, taking quizzes for research articles you read, and/or taking quizzes for research studies in which you participated).

Under 18?

Students under the age of 18 may not be eligible to participate in many experiments. Subsequently, these students may read research articles and take the associated quizzes (Option #2) and/or read research articles and write a summary (Option #3).

Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)

Sona Systems

Additional Information About Earning Credits

Each hour of participation is worth 1 credit, 45-minutes of participation is worth .75 credit, 30 minutes of participation is worth .50 credit, and 15 minutes of participation is worth .25 credit.

Option #1: Participating In Research Studies & Similar Activities

• You can view available studies, sign up to participate, and track your credits on ecu.sona-systems.com.
• Amount of credit: Studies will be worth varying amounts of credit depending on how long they take. Each hour of participation is worth 1 credit, 45-minutes of participation is worth 0.75 credit, 30 minutes of participation is worth 0.5 credit, and 15 minutes of participation is worth 0.25 credit.
• Eligibility for studies: Before signing up for a study, be sure that you meet any eligibility requirements listed for that study. For instance, some studies may require that you be at least 18 years old to participate. In order to earn research credit, you must be eligible for research studies you sign up for.
• Signing up and showing up: When you sign up for a study on ecu.sonasystems.com be sure to write down: (1) the time and date when the study takes place, (2) the location of the study if not being conducted online, (3) the researcher’s name, and (4) the researcher’s e-mail address. It is very important for you to show up promptly at the scheduled time for face-to-face research.
• Cancelling: If you cannot attend a study that you have signed up for, go to ecu.sona-systems.com and cancel your appointment as soon as possible so that another student may sign up in your place. If it is less than 24 hours before your scheduled time, send an e-mail message to the researcher informing him/her that you will not be there for your appointment. Please note if you miss three or more appointments you will be prevented from earning credits from opportunities available via Sona Systems (i.e., Options 1 & 2), and will then have to complete the research participation requirement via Option #3.
• Research study-based quiz (optional): Credit may also be earned for some research studies in the form of an optional quiz based on educational information provided by the researcher for a study in which you have participated. Not all studies will provide this option. Each passing quiz grade (i.e., 70% or better) awards 0.25 credits. You are not required to take these quizzes. You can check to see if studies you participate in have the quiz option and sign up for the quiz as a separate study on ecu.sona-systems.com. Information about when (e.g., immediately following your participation in the study or later in the semester) and how (e.g., online or in-person) the quiz is administered will be provided on Sona Systems when you view the quiz details.
• If you are under age 18: If you are not able to find studies for which you are eligible due to your age, you may earn credits by completing the reading research articles and taking quizzes (Option #2) and/or reading research articles and writing summaries (Option #3).

Option #2: Reading Research Articles and Taking a Quiz

• Reading articles: The research articles relating to this option are listed at the bottom of this web page. The number to the left of the article is the “Quiz Number.” The research articles are in .pdf format, so you can download them and read them on your computer or you can open the file and print out the article. You must pass the article quiz to earn credit. Thus, it is critically important that you read the article before attempting to complete the quiz. You may want to take notes to help you understand the article as the quiz is open notes and you may look at the article as you are answering the questions.
• Amount of credit: You will be awarded 0.5 credit for each passing quiz grade (i.e., 70% or better).
• Signing up: After reading one of these articles you will need to log into ecu.sona-systems.com and sign up to take the associated quiz. Time slots are available under the Research Articles entry on ecu.sona-systems.com. When you sign up for a quiz, be sure to select the quiz the corresponds to the article you have read.
• Taking the quiz: The quiz will be administered online. You must score a 70% on the quiz to be awarded credit. If you take the wrong quiz it will still be graded. You may only attempt each quiz only once.
• Start-of-Semester Survey (SoSS): The intent of the SoSS is to familiarize you with the research participation management system (ecu.sona-systems.com). Any SoSS items that are answered incorrectly will result in feedback including the correct answer and its rationale. You can earn 0.5 credit if they acquire at least a 70% (i.e., 7 out of 10 questions), which is the same policy applied to the research article quizzes and educational summary-based quizzes. You will be allowed to take the SoSS until you pass it. The SoSS will be available during the first two weeks of classes.

Option #3: Reading Research Articles and Writing a Paper

• Please note: This option is only for (1) students who are under age 18, or (2) students who are over 18 but have repeatedly failed to keep appointments that they have made for Option #1, or (3) students who have failed more than 16% of the article quizzes and do not wish to participate in research-related activities. This is not an option that may be engaged in without permission from the Research Activity Coordinator (experimentrak@ecu.edu).
• Reading articles: The research articles relating to this option are listed at the bottom of this web page. The research articles are in pdf format, so you can download them and read them on your computer or you can open the file and print out the article.
• Writing a paper: After reading one of these articles you will need to write a three page double spaced summary of the research that was presented in the study. This is to be written in 12-point Times New Roman font with 1″ margins. Failure to follow these formatting requirements will result in no credit being awarded. Each research summary will be submitted to the Canvas plagiarism checker to ensure that they are the original work of the student submitting it. Any plagiarized work will not receive credit. Each passing paper is worth .5 credits.

If the above steps are not completed by the indicated deadline then your final grade in PSYC 1000/1060 will drop by up to 5%.

Need more help? Just send us an email: experimentrak@ecu.edu

Research Articles

Need help with reading a research article?

• Download the How to Read a Research Article Tutorial onto your computer.
• Open it in PowerPoint and view the slideshow. The tutorial only works in slideshow mode.
  • After opening the PowerPoint, select Slideshow from tool bar across the top. Then select From beginning on the far left underneath.
• It will show the article section by section and then present a brief description about the purpose of each section of the article.
• You can open the article file itself from within the PowerPoint. You can download it from here too.