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IELab Policies Procedures
This document includes an overview of procedures for conducting experiments using the IELab facilities. This summary also includes links to further documents the experimenter may find useful. (pdf version)
If you have additional questions regarding using the IELab for research experiments, contact Professor James Walker, walkerj@indiana.edu.
Human Subjects Approval
Before experiments are conducted, approval must be obtained from the Indiana University, Human Subjects Committee (hereafter HSC), located in Carmichael Center, Suite L03.
Note: HSC requires that all co-researchers involved in a project must be included as co-investigators on application forms. Further, all individuals involved in lab activities must have competed the "on-line" test administered by HSC.
The IELab does not permit experiments involving deception.
Recruiting Subjects
The IELab maintains a computerized data base of IU students who have volunteered to participate in decision making experiments with cash payoffs. See specifics below for using the data base.
In addition, different working groups in the past have used alternative procedures for recruiting subjects. For example, in addition to using the data base, researchers from Economics have recruited subjects from economics classes. Researchers from Psychology have used a subject "sign-up" mechanism, coordinated by their department.
Note: If you recruit subjects outside of the lab data base, it is a lab policy that these subjects have the opportunity to voluntarily "sign-up" for the lab data base at the end of the experiment in which they participate.
If you are conducting experiments that include a group context, be sure and recruit alternates. Some subjects who volunteer will not show up.
Example: For an experiment with 3 groups of 4 subjects, most researchers would tend to recruit 12 subjects and an additional 2 to 3 alternates. Recruiting is often done a few days before the experiments, followed by a reminder email to subjects who have been confirmed as being in the experiment.
It is useful to have a "sign-up sheet" similar to the one provided as a links.
When recruiting, it is important to remind the subjects by volunteering, it is important that they fulfill this commitment; otherwise the experiment may have to be postponed.
Most researchers tend to pay $5 to subjects for showing up on time, $10 to alternates if they are not used, and an average total payment of approximately $25-$30 per subject.
As a general rule, do not tell subjects the amount you expect them to make. However, it helps to give a range, something like $15 to $40. This is type of information will be required by HSC to appear on the experiment consent form.
Paying Subjects
Generally, most experiments conducted in the IELab will include cash payoffs. However, we realize there are instances in which pre-tests or some research experiments may include non-cash incentives, such as extra-credit.
Researchers should keep in mind that subjects recruited from the "subject management system" data base below, volunteered with an expectation of cash payoffs. Do not use the subject management system for recruiting subjects for experiments with non-cash payoffs.
Subject payments should be made in cash and in private. Use a record sheet similar to the one that is included as a link on this page.
Make a copy of the record sheet for your files. You will need to submit the original for reimbursement purposes.
Obtaining the cash for your experiments is your responsibility. The process depends on the particular research group (or faculty member) with whom you are working. Be sure you have sufficient cash to pay subjects for the maximum amount they could earn, in currency and coins.
Experiment Documentation
Keep a log of each experiment that you run. A copy of the experiment log should be given to Fern Bennett and the entered in the lab data base, as described below.
Subject Data Base
The IELab maintains a data base of subjects who have volunteered to participate in experiments in the lab. For additional information and access to the online recruitment tool, contact the IE Lab (ielab@indiana.edu).
Example classroom flyer for informing students of the opportunity to participate in experiments in the IELab.
Security Procedures
The IE Lab uses an electronic alarm system and security procedures to ensure the safety of experimenters and participants, as well as the integrity of the lab equipment.
All researchers, research assistants and instructors are individually responsible for knowing and following the lab security procedures whenever they use the IE Lab. Failure to comply can result in suspension of lab privileges.
Security topics covered in this section:
- Keys - accessing the lab
- Alarm System - disarming the alarm when entering the lab; arming it when leaving
- Undergraduate Research Assistants – supervision and privileges
Keys
The IE Lab is protected by two key systems-electronic and physical. The electronic key (ID card) unlocks the entry door into the lab, giving access to the IE Lab's lobby, or waiting room. The physical key unlocks the inner doors of the lab, giving access to the computer rooms.
Electronic Keys
All researchers, research assistants, and instructors must register their Indiana University issued ID card with the IE Lab in order to receive a personalized 4-digit security code. The code serves three important functions:
1) The code enables your ID card to open the lab's entry door when swiped in the electronic card reader.
2) It is your personalized password for disarming/arming the lab alarm system when you enter and exit the lab.
3) It allows the IE Lab to monitor who enters the lab (for security purposes and for monitoring lab usage).
Physical Keys
Physical keys 1) are limited in number, 2) quite expensive to replace; door locks must be changed if a key is lost, and 3) give direct access to the computer labs.
For this reason, only faculty, graduate students, and IE Lab administrators may receive a physical key. Undergraduate research assistants cannot receive a physical key, unless under special circumstances reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the IE Lab Directors (see policies for Undergraduate Research Assistants, below).
Alarm System
The IE Lab is protected by a motion-sensing, electronic alarm system. All researchers, research assistants, and instructors are individually responsible for disarming the alarm when they enter the lab and arming the alarm when they exit (if they are the last person in the lab).
Failure to properly disarm the alarm upon entry automatically notifies local police, at the expensive of community safety and the IE Lab. Failure to arm the alarm before leaving the lab jeopardizes lab security.
How to Disarm the Alarm when You Enter the Lab
When you enter the lab (WH220), you have 45 seconds to disarm the alarm by entering your personalized 4-digit code given to you at registration. The instructions for disarming the alarm will be given to you when you register.
How to Arm the Alarm when you Leave the Lab
Before you exit the lab, check all rooms for occupants. If you are the last researcher, assistant, or instructor in the room, you are responsible for making certain no one else is in the IE Lab and for arming the alarm before you leave. Also, please lock all interior doors and check that the blind at the entry window is closed.
To set the alarm, the entry door must be closed. Enter your personalized 4-digit code as instructed. You then have 45 seconds to exit.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
The IE Lab supports the involvement of undergraduate research assistants (URAs) in data collection, for research and educational purposes, when they are properly trained and supervised on IE Lab security protocol and recognized Human Subjects/IRB ethical standards.
Special policies apply to 1) how URAs may access the lab and 2) URA training and supervision.
Accessing the Lab
As with other lab users, approved undergraduate research assistants (URAs) must register their university ID card with the IE Lab to receive a personalized 4-digit security code—doing so allows them to access the IE Lab lobby by themselves. However, the IE Lab does not permit URAs to have physical keys (By default, faculty advisors and graduate-student supervisors are not permitted to lend their physical keys to URAs). It is the responsibility of the URA's faculty advisor to make the necessary arrangements so that either the faculty advisor or one of the advisor's approved graduate student supervisors can use his/or physical key to open the reserved computer room door when the URA needs to access a computer lab for data collection or other relevant activity.*
- * Undergraduates may be given a physical key only under special circumstances. Doing so requires pre-approval from the IE Lab Directors and demonstrable supervision by an approved faculty advisor and/or graduate-student supervisor.
Initial Training and Long-Term Supervision
The IE Lab has established two important supervisory measures for URAs to ensure that all URAs maintain high standards of security and the ethical treatment of human participants in research throughout their tenure of accessing the lab.
1) Initial Training. Each URA must receive at least two weeks of direct supervision when beginning to work in the IE Lab. The supervisor must attend every session in which the undergraduate is involved during those initial weeks of using the lab.
2) Monthly Check-ups. Once a month thereafter, the URA's supervisor must check the performance of each URA. This check-up must occur in the IE Lab and span a session in its entirety (from entry to exit).
Such supervision should focus on security and ethical protocol; however, we also envision these trainings and check-ups as educational opportunities to help fresh and deepen undergraduate appreciation for the professional administration of research in a laboratory setting.
- * Completion of the Initial Training and Monthly Check-ups must be documented and put on file with the IE Lab administration.
*Such training and supervision is to be carried out by the URAs faculty advisor and/or approved graduate-student supervisor.
Reserve Time in the Lab
As described below, the IE Lab uses a priority system involving three criteria to better ensure that the limited available time/space in the lab is allocated in a fair and efficient manner: 1) A beginning-of-semester deadline, 2) Constraints on the total number of weekly hours requested, and 3) A project priority system. Please review these IE Lab policies completely and carefully before submitting your reservation request (A link to the reservation request cover page is provided at the bottom of this webpage).
I. Beginning-of-Semester Deadline
II. Constraints on Weekly Hours Requested
Applicants may request to reserve as many hours in the lab per week (weekly hours) as they desire. However, by default, only the first six hours requested will be given high priority.
Requests for more than six hour per week will be given secondary priority, therefore:
1) They will be assigned to timeslots after all high priority hours have been scheduled in a given scheduling period (i.e., at the beginning of the semester or on a rolling basis). With the exception of special cases, secondary hours will only be fulfilled if enough timeslots are available.
2) We encourage individuals who successfully reserved more than 6 weekly hours earlier in the semester to relinquish some of their secondary hours/timeslots to needy individuals if asked to do so by an applicant or the IE Lab.
Examples by Scheduling Period
- Beginning of Semester. If an applicant requests 12 weekly hours during the initial scheduling period, then the first six hours (high priority) will be assigned timeslots. The remaining six hours (secondary priority) will be assigned after all other applicants during this scheduling period have had their high priority hours assigned.
- Rolling Basis. If an applicant requests 12 weekly hours after the beginning-of-semester deadline, the first six hours (high priority) will be assigned to any timeslots that are still available. Moreover, the applicant may ask people with existing reservations to relinquish some of their secondary hours/timeslots to accommodate their high-priority hours. The applicant's remaining six hours will receive secondary priority.
III. Priority System for Allocating Contested Timeslots
The IE Lab considers the priority of the research project or educational activity to assign timeslots when multiple applicants request the same timeslot during a scheduling period (i.e., the beginning of the semester or during rolling-basis scheduling).
Our expectation is that the IE Lab will be used primarily for research (data collection) and secondarily for educational activities, which ideally pertain to instruction in experimental methods. Thus, note that different standards apply to reservations made for research versus education.
Research
When more than one applicant requests the same timeslot to conduct research (or space/time in the lab is limited) during a given scheduling period, priority will be given to applicants and their projects in the following order:
1st Priority
Faculty, Funding. Projects by Indiana University faculty who either 1) are currently helping offset the costs of IE Lab infrastructure and maintenance through direct funding or 2) have done so within the past three years.
2nd Priority
Graduate, Sponsored by a Funding Faculty. Graduate student research projects that are advised by a faculty member who helps fund the IE Lab (or has done so within the past three years). Dissertation and thesis projects receive higher priority than non-dissertation or thesis projects.
3rd Priority
Faculty, Non-Funding. Projects by Indiana University faculty who do not currently help fund the IE Lab (and have not done so within the past three years).
4th Priority
Graduate, Sponsored by a Non-Funding Faculty.
5th Priority
Undergraduate. Undergraduate projects must be accompanied by significant and demonstrable faculty sponsorship, training, and supervision. Such reservation requests will be approved by the IE Lab Director on a case-by-case basis.
Education
The IE Lab is especially suited for educational activities pertaining to experimental research (e.g., experimental methods).
We understand that educational events already operate under special constraints (e.g., meeting times for courses are scheduled by the registrar). Approval of reservations for educational purposes will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Thus, instructors who wish to reserve time in the lab for their course or educational event should contact the IE Lab Director to discuss their needs before submitting a reservation request.
IV. Reservation Request Application Cover Page
- Reservation Request Cover Pagepdf / Word
To make a reservation request, download the Reservation Request Cover Page, and e-mail your completed application to ielab@indiana.edu
Are you Submitting your Application after the Beginning-of-Semester Deadline?
For reservation requests submitted on a rolling basis, please check these calendars to see what lab rooms and days/times are still available before you submit your application.
Recall, research reservations are to be made for projects, where a "project" is defined by having a unique Human Subjects/IRB approval number.
Example
Research programs that involve multiple experimental designs and/or experimenters, but are approved under one Human Subjects/IRB number will be treated like a single project when timeslots and lab space are allocated.
Acknowledgements and IELab Support
Continued external and internal support for the lab is extremely important. Please acknowledge the lab and the lab account number in all working papers and publications. Suggested Wording: We gratefully acknowledge support from the Center for the Study of Institutions, Population, and Environmental Change at Indiana University through National Science Foundation grant BCS-0215738.
The IELab does not require researchers to provide lab funding support for using the lab facilities. However, we ask that all faculty using the facility (and graduate students who are seeking external support) to include in lab support in external grant proposals. These funds will be used for maintaining staff support and equipment. A "rule of thumb" suggestion is to request funding on the order of $50 per hour of anticipated lab use.
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