In an effort to increase the availability of participants for research while at the same time trying to make the job of participation rather more interesting it has been decided to develop a psychology participant pool based on the practices of the University of Melbourne.  Students enrolled in HP502 (Introduction to Psychology) will now have 5% of their unit assessment devoted to either 5 hours of participation in research projects offered through the Psychology Participant Pool scheme, or, alternatively, the completion of a 1000 word essay on a designated topic.  It is hoped that this will provide a significant incentive to participate but we must ensure that the means of obtaining the 5% are fair, provide every opportunity for students to gain something beyond marks, and, above all, do not veer towards exploitation.  For these reasons a series of procedures have been devised that should ensure recruitment is orderly, participation is recorded, and ethical processes for research are followed

ELIGIBILITY
The following requirements govern eligibility to utilise the participant pool

• The research is being carried out by Psychology staff, themselves, or staff as chief investigators
• The research has Ethics Approval
• No additional incentives are offered to participants

• The project must only be advertised on the Psychology Participant Pool notice board on the 2nd floor of H Building.
• At the end of each experimental session you, or a designated researcher, must complete and sign the Student's Participation Slip.  This slip is the student's property to be submitted as official verification of satisfactory completion of his or her participation.
• You must also complete the Participation Summary Form which will comprise a list of the student numbers of all who have participated, and submit this by week 16 of the semester to the Pool Co-ordinator.
• You should use no more hours than those allocated to you by the co-ordinator. Additional hours may be approved upon application to the co-ordinator. Those who exceed their allocation may not be offered participant pool access in future.
• Note that advertising of experiments should not occur in psychology lectures or laboratory classes. Students will be regularly encouraged to peruse the noticeboard.
• Full debriefing is obligatory.  Debriefing must involve a full written description of the study on the Participant Pool Notice Board posted as soon as possible following completion of the study.  Ideally, debriefing should involve direct and personal communication, either immediately after participation or, when this is not possible, at some later date or through a personal letter.

PROCEDURE
There are two forms to be completed and submitted to the Pool Co-ordinator:

• Application Form.  This form requires you to provide details on the nature of the project and the demands that are to be made of participants.
• Participant Pool Advertisement.  This consists of a short description of the study that would allow students to make an informed choice between studies.  This advertisement will be placed on the participant pool notice board when the application has been accepted.