In order to be fair to all who use the lab resources lab room reservation time has been broken down into two categories:

• Residual hours: This refers to the block of time one week from the current date (ex: 9/1-9/8).
• Non-residual hours: Refers to the block of time two+ weeks from the current date (ex: 9/9/11 - 9/9/12) These hours are deducted per room, but are not deducted for after-,before-, or weekend-hours reservations.

All Business school faculty members are allotted 100 non-residual hours per semester and all Business school post-doctoral researchers are allotted 50 hours per semester. Please note that non-residual hours are shared amongst all researchers working underneath a given faculty member or post-doc. When scheduling lab space in advance please be considerate of your colleagues. As of 05/12 both residual and non-residual hours can only be used for a maximum of 24 hours per week, per room. This means that reservations for a specific room (say, B205) cannot exceed 24 hours within one exact week (Monday-Monday, Tuesday-Tuesday, etc.).

An up-to-date spreadsheet of non-residual hours is available here.
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If you are using your own personal research assistants, keep in mind that they are considered to be reflections of you in the lab. Because of this it is in your best interest to go over lab policies and procedures with them, as any violations they make may result in a loss of your lab privileges. To make this process easier you may direct your RAs to the "Research Assistants" section of this website, which will tell them everything they need to know about working with lab resources. It is lab policy that all those using the Behavioral Lab have SONA accounts to facilitate communication, so be sure to have your RA request a “researcher” account on SONA. Instructions on how to do this are listed here.
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If your study attracts walk-in participants, great! However, be sure to always sign the participant up for a timeslot on SONA before proceeding to run them in the study. This has to be done for several reasons:

• The participant may not have a SONA account, in which case one must be created for them (with a .edu email address).
• The participant may have had his or her account deactivated.
• The participant may have signed up for another study and mistakenly went to the wrong room.
• Participation records must be kept up-to-date and accurate.
• The participant will be able to sign up for your study again unless you have them coded as Participated for a timeslot.

This policy is very important in keeping our records up to date, effectively discouraging no-shows, and keeping our facilities and members safe.
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While getting participants to sign up for studies is one of the priorities of the lab, we insist on having a standard response to late participants for all researchers. Most of the studies conducted in the lab are very time-sensitive and a single late participant can throw off the entire experiment, so we ask that all researchers prepare to give participants no-shows on SONA if they arrive more than 5-10 minutes late for their timeslot without prior notification. By consistently adhering to this standard we can better ensure that participants will arrive on time for studies.
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The lab has adopted a “carrot and stick” policy in an attempt to reduce the number of participant "Unexcused No-Shows" during a semester. The “carrot” refers to the selection of participants with zero 'unexcused no-shows' at the end of the semester to be entered into a raffle for a prize. The “stick” refers to the practice of sending participants warning emails after three unexcused no-shows, then deactivating their SONA account for the semester after five unexcused no-shows. Because of this, it is crucial to correctly code “No-Shows” in SONA. If you are unsure of how to code a no-show please see our SONA system page. In order to properly reward participants the lab also asks that timeslots be appropriately credited the day of the experiment or at the very least by the end of the same week.
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If you need to cancel a time slot inform the lab coordinator as soon as possible. By doing this you free up lab space for other researchers who would be happy to use it, and in case any participants do not receive the cancellation notice they can be informed accordingly.
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To make sure our machines are running well there are monthly data wipes of the computers. Starting January 15th, 2010, all non-administrative accounts will have everything erased from the computers. Please be sure to retrieve and store any important data prior to the monthly wipes.
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Because the policies and procedures are vital in keeping the lab running without conflicts, violations of our policies and abuse of our facilities will be taken very seriously. Make sure you review the information listed on this website and if any questions arise email the lab coordinator. Penalties for not following lab policies can range anywhere from restricted use of lab facilities to the loss of lab privileges for an entire semester.
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The lab rooms are a resource shared by a number of different people. Please be considerate and keep the spaces clean and safe.

• Be sure to keep the lab doors closed and locked when you are not present in the room or are leaving for the day.
• Do not give out lab room keys or the access code to room 304 to anyone unless you have the permission of the lab coordinator.
• Do not bring food or drinks into the lab rooms.
• Clean up all research materials and garbage before you leave the room.
• When finished, shut off all lights in the lab space and make sure the door is closed and locked. If you are the last person to use the room for the day shut down all computers.

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• No software may be added to lab computers without discussing it first with the lab coordinator. If you would like to install software, give the lab coordinator and ITG a reasonable amount of time to make the installations.
• Log off of all computers when you are finished using them. If you do not log off you may “lock up” the computers, meaning that only you or an administrator will be able to access the machine unless it is rebooted.

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It is helpful for researchers to be consistent in their interactions with participants in order to minimize the amount of frustration or miscommunication participants experience.

• If you advertise that a study is running for a given period you are required to stay in the lab for the duration of that period.
• If you advertise certain study requirements or rewards, you must provide those rewards and reinforce those requirements.
• Average payment for a half hour study is $7.00; average payment for an hour study is $15.00. Please do not attempt to “steal” participants from other researchers by upping your payments extravagantly.
• If you reserve a room for a period of time but know that you are only going to use a fraction of it (say 10/20 computer terminals in room 304) you may choose to inform the lab coordinator, who will let other researchers know they can coordinate with you to share the lab space for that period of time. This is entirely voluntary.

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