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Psychology College of Social Sciences & Interdisciplinary Studies

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Conducting Research Guidelines

Students in the Sacramento State Psychology Department who conduct class projects for PSYC 102 or human subjects research must have their proposed methods reviewed and approved prior to recruiting participants and collecting data. PSYC 102 class projects are reviewed and approved by Psychology Department Research Review Committee. Student research conducted by graduate students (e.g., for theses, PSYC 294, 297, etc.) or undergraduate students (e.g., for PSYC 194, 197, etc.) must be approved by University IRB. Follow the instructions below for PSYC 102 class projects and student research.

PSYC 102 Research Projects

  1. Review the Researcher Conduct Guidelines.
  2. Use these templates to create a Consent Form and Debriefing Form.
  3. Have your instructor review and approve your project. *If using Qualtrics, configure your settings to ensure that participants successfully complete the survey by requiring a response to each question. This will prevent a participant from clicking through the survey without answering each question and not providing useful data.
  4. Assemble all your research materials.
    • Including all tests, surveys, vignettes, images, etc. that will be used in your study
    • For photos provide the source of the photo if in the public domain; if not in the public domain have individuals in the photos sign a waiver to have their images used for your research.
    • For videos, provide a URL where we can view them; if this is not possible then arrange to have a CD or DVD delivered to Dr. J.J. Qin, the Psychology Department Human Subjects Chair.
  5. Submit your materials to the Submission Portal by Friday April 4, 2026.
  6. Wait. The Human Subjects Chair will email you to let you know whether your project is approved or needs to be revised. The review process may take up to 10 days.
  7. Log in to an existing Sona account or create a new Sona account using this weblink SONA - Psychology Research. Once you are logged in, send a message to the listed Sona Administrator at the bottom of the research webpage with your request of being assigned the "Researcher" role for PSYC 102. If prompted, select the course title "PSYC 102."
  8. Set up your study in Sona if you are using the subject pool. Use the title, description, and other project information EXACTLY as submitted in your approved application. Any changes will need to be approved first!
  9. In Sona, send a message to the Sona administrator to obtain approval and include your approved number of hours in your message. After your request has been processed, add timeslots and run sessions.
  10. Assign credits to participants promptly after each session that completed the study to your standards.
  11. Deactivate the project in Sona - Psychology Research when no more sessions will be run.
  12. If you are not using the subject pool, you can begin recruiting participants once your proposal has been approved. Follow the procedures approved in your application.

Student Research (Non-PSYC 102 students)

Student researchers who conduct research projects that collect data from human participants must have their proposed methods reviewed and approved by Univeristy IRB before recruiting participants and beginning their projects.

Students planning on recruiting human participants from the Psychology Department's human participant pool should follow the steps below.

  1. Complete the CITI training module; Human Subjects Research: Undergraduate and Masters Students
  2. Submit your research proposal for review to the University's IRB. *If using Qualtrics, configure your settings to ensure that participants successfully complete the survey by requiring a response to each question. This will avoid a participant from clicking through the survey without answering each question and not providing useful data.
  3. After your research is approved by University IRB, complete this brief form to request participants from the subject pool.
  4. Log in to an existing Sona account or create a new Sona account using this weblink Sona - Psychology Research if you plan on using the Psychology Department's human participant pool. Once you are logged in, send a message to the listed Sona Administrator at the bottom of the research webpage with your request of being assigned the "Researcher" role.
  5. After obtaining the researcher role, use the title, description, approval code and other project information EXACTLY as shown in your approved application to set up your study. Any changes will need to be approved first! When you're study is ready in Sona and you have been allocated the approved number of hours, add timeslots and run sessions. The final day for participants to complete your study is the Friday before Finals Week.
  6. Assign credit to participants that completed your study appropriately promptly after each session.
  7. Deactivate your project in Sona - Psychology Research when no more sessions will be run.

Please note that researchers may not be allocated the total number of requested participants in a single semester. Researchers requesting large samples may need to collect data over several semesters.

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