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Running an Experiment: Administrative | |
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The psychology department keeps the Book Of Experiments (BOE) in the East lounge (the one with our mailboxes). Before running an experiment you must submit a consent form, which briefly describes the risks and requirements on subjects, to the BOE. You must also submit a feedback or debriefing form, which describes what you are measuring and why. This form will also serve as a debriefing for the subjects who participate in your experiment. Examples of these two documents can be reached here: Feedback for Participants, and Consent Form. (That link is a PDF of the consent form, this is the editable RTF version.)
Don't forget to put copies of the consent form and debriefing form on the server in the relevant "X Support" folder.
The reason for BOE is so that your experiment can receive IRB approval. Mike Byrne has generic IRB approval for most of the types of HCI related experiments that we conduct. Check with Mike to make sure your experiment falls under this--if not, you'll need a slightly different consent form. After putting your documents in the BOE, and taking the next available experiment number (you can tell by looking at the submission right before yours), you should send Mike Watkins an email alerting him that you have put an experiment in the BOE, watkins@rice.edu. He will check it over for IRB soundness and initial it usually within a day or two.
At this point you go to Sandra Wang and tell her that you have an experiment that Mike Watkins has signed off on. She will then give you a new experiment number and a password for that number, allowing you to sign onto the departments experimental scheduling and credit assigning system, experimentrix.com. (Note that not all experiments use experimetrix; if you're paying subjects you need to find them elsewhere.)
The Experimentrix web site can be reached off or the department’s web page, under experiment scheduling. The site is fairly self explanatory, but a few tips might help. First off, change your password the first time you log on, and be sure to remember it. Experimentrix allows subjects and experimenters to view all other psychology experiments and when they are running. If possible try to find time slots that are not too crowded already. The site also allows you to describe criterion you might have for participants, eg. they must be able to type, or they did not participate in experiment 70. You can also set lead times which ensure that you have ample warning of when a student signs up for one of your times. Be sure to take advantage of running as many subjects as possible in each time slot, by making enough sign up slots available, and closing other times once a few students have signed up. This is a good way to see which times are popular, and maximize your time. One last tip is to make sure you check the “Display experiment to subjects” box, or no one will be able to sign up.
Scheduling the CHIL subjects lab is done on the eMac in the CHIL analysis lab, which is named "White Dwarf". Log in as "Experimenter" (password should be "chilexp"), then open the iCal application and click on the day you wish to schedule. Sign up for lab time, being careful to leave a little leeway between when you start and when another experimenter finishes. When your scheduled time comes put a sign on the outside of the CHIL subject lab, to let subjects know that they are in the right place.
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Last modified 2007.06.07