Researcher Information

The Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education (EMS) offers graduates and undergraduates the opportunity to earn course credit by participating in educational research experiments or by completing article summaries. Below are the guidelines for EMS Researchers who wish to use the subject pool for their experiments. Please remember that this subject pool is limited to EMS faculty and the students under their supervision. If you have questions, contact the EMS subject pool coordinator ems.subjectpool@unlv.edu.

Researcher and experiment requirements

Researcher guidelines

  • All studies using this subject pool must be posted to the [SONA System] so they can be shared with potential student participants and so participation credit can be accounted for correctly.
  • Participants must sign a consent form and receive a copy of the consent form.
  • Assignment of credits must occur within 24 hours of completion of the study according to the following standards:
    • 30 minutes = 0.5 credits
    • 60 minutes = 1 credit
  • Participants can dropout of a study at any point, If they do, please assign full credit.
  • If the experimenter is a “no-show,” participants get full credit.
  • If the participant is a “no-show,” they do not receive any credit. Per IRB rules, you cannot assign a credit penalty.
  • Participants can be debriefed at the conclusion of the experiment.
  • Credits must be posted by midnight (pacific) on Friday of the last week of classes (not final exam week).
  • If it takes more than one semester to collect your data, please notify the subject pool coordinator at the beginning of each semester.
  • Upon completion of the experiment, you may debrief participants as to the purpose of the study, the expected results, the general setup of the experiment, etc. to enhance their learning experience.

How to use the subject pool

  • Contact the subject pool coordinator (ems.subjectpool@unlv.edu) to request a [SONA System] account.
  • Once you log in to the SONA System site:
    • Click Add a New Study
    • Fill in all of the requested information (except the IRB code)
      • NOTE: You MUST provide the IRB letter stating the study has been approved to the subject pool coordinator in order to gain access.
    • List the duration of the study in intervals of 30 minutes, so that it is consistent with the number of credits it’s worth (e.g., if your experiment lasts 45 minutes and is worth 1 credit, please round up to 60 minutes, if your experiment last 30-minutes it is worth .50 of 1-credit)
  • (Optional) Arrange for the subject pool coordinator to visit your class to answer questions and to encourage students to participate.
    • Researchers should not make visits to classrooms and are discouraged from contacting instructors to promote their study or to collect data in class.
      • Remember that students may feel pressure to participate in a promoted study, they may think that the instructor is endorsing that study.
  • The subject pool coordinator will send reminder emails to students.
  • Ensure all participants receive a copy of the consent form. Keep the signed copy for your records and provide them with a blank one.

Cancelling a research appointment

If you are unable to attend an appointment:

  • Log into the [SONA System website]
  • Navigate to My Studies and view the appointments for your research
    • If no one has signed up for the time slot, cancel the appointment
    • If a subject has signed up, email them as soon as possible (double click on their names) and then remove their appointments (note: the email address disappears once you remove the appointment, so be sure to email before removal)
      • If possible, have someone meet the subjects (in case they did not get the email) or at least post a note on the door of the room in which the study was scheduled.
      • If you cannot provide at least 12 hours notice, then you must assign full credit.

Have questions?

Researchers can contact the EMS subject pool coordinator at ems.subjectpool@unlv.edu or the faculty director of the subject pool [email] with questions.