Participation Points System

Participation Points System

Click here to log in to Participation Points System (for student participants, researchers, and instructors). 

Click here for a YouTube tutorial for student Participants.

Email address for Student Participants’ questions: psyc100@stfx.ca 

Click here for a YouTube tutorial for Researchers (honours students, research assistants, lab managers, and faculty)

Email address for Researchers’ questions: ekoch@stfx.ca

Student Information

Like most psychology departments, we invite psychology students to participate in ongoing research taking place within our department. Students can earn up to 5 bonus percentage points added to their final grade in Psychology 101/102/155 at the end of the term. Please read the information about the participant pool below. 

NEW: We are also allowing PSYC 291/292 students to participate as a pilot program. PSYC  291/292 students can earn up to 3 bonus percentage points added to their final grade at the end of the term.

If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding your rights or treatment as a research participant, you may contact the Participant Pool Coordinator at psyc100@stfx.ca. 

What is the Participation Points System? 

As part of their responsibilities at the University, professors and some of the senior students carry out research studies, and many of these studies call for humans as research participants. Like other universities, StFX has a Participant Pool that involves students in some Psychology classes. 

Students have the opportunity to earn a small number of bonus points in the course, in return for helping out the University and the Department by participating in research. You can earn up to 5 bonus points if you take part in the equivalent of 5 hours of studies. (PSYC 291/292 students may earn up to 3 bonus points.) The points that you earn are calculated based on the amount of your time that a study requires. For example, if you take part in an online study that takes up to 30 minutes of your time, you will earn half a bonus point (0.5) added to your final grade. If you participate in an online study that takes up to one hour of your time, you will earn one bonus point (1.0) added to your final grade. The number of points you will be able to earn depends both on how many studies you take part in and on how many participants that researchers need. Thus, you should be aware that you are not guaranteed to earn all 5 (or 3) bonus points. 

Many studies now take place online at your convenience, but some studies may take place in a classroom or lab. These in-person studies are called lab studies. For these studies, because you have to actually show up somewhere to participate, one hour of participation = 2 bonus points. (Lab studies that last 30 minutes or under will earn 1 point; studies that last more than 30 minutes will earn 2 points.) We appreciate that it takes a bit more time and effort to actually show up to a study, which is why lab studies are worth more. 

How to Sign up for Research Studies

At the beginning of the academic year, you will receive an email from the Participation Points System (run by Software called Sona Systems) with your login information. This system works for STFX email addresses only, so please keep an eye on your STFX email inbox. Step-by-step instructions are in this YouTube video.

While watching above video, please note the following:

• Skip to Section 2, as you will not be creating your own account.
• Ignore any information about Prescreening, which is not enabled in our System.

Advantages and Alternatives to Participating in our Research

There are a few advantages to participating in our research studies beyond receiving bonus points (extra credit). Participating in these studies gives you firsthand knowledge of what psychological research is. It will teach you about many of the topics that you will be studying in PSYC 101/102/155/291/292 this year. Many students also find participating in studies to be enjoyable. If you go on in the Psychology program, you may be required to design studies of your own, and this gives you an opportunity to see what Psychology studies are like, from the participant’s point of view. 

Participation is entirely voluntary; you are not required or obligated at all to take part if you don’t want to. If you do not wish to participate in the Participant Pool, contact the Participant Pool Coordinator, who will give you some assignments you can do for the bonus points instead. Very few people choose this option, though, because participating in research studies is a fun way to learn about Psychology, and participating is also a really easy way to earn bonus points (extra credit). 

Your Obligations as a Participant in Research Studies

When you sign up for a lab study, please show up! Always note the name and email address of the study’s researcher, so that if you need to cancel, you can (and should) contact the researcher directly. Alternatively, if you cancel within 24 hours, you can cancel your sign-up directly through the system. Remember, faculty and student researchers spend time preparing for your participation in the study and appreciate when you follow through on your scheduled appointments. 

Your Rights as a Participant in Research Studies

When you participate in a study, there will usually be an informed consent form for you to read and sign before you begin participating. Such consent forms indicate that the data you provide will be either confidential or completely anonymous. Participation is always voluntary (no one is ever compelled or forced to participate in any Psychology research), and you can always leave out any part of the procedure you do not want to do or any questions you do not want to answer. 

You can withdraw your participation for any reason at any point before or during the procedure – in other words, you can get up and leave any time you want, without even giving an explanation if you don’t want to. The consent form will also provide you with contact information for someone to reach out to if you have any concerns or comments about your experience while participating. Finally, as a research participant, in most cases you’ll be informed in advance about the purpose of the study, what you will be asked to do as a participant, and any risks that might be involved. 

All the research done at the University is reviewed by a committee of professors to make sure it follows the standards of ethical research practice. 

We hope that you learn from your experiences as a research participant and that your experiences are enjoyable.