(This page is for members of the broader community who wish to participate in research. If you are a UOttawa student and are participating in research as a part of a psychology or research methods course, see the ISPR Student Pool webpage. Students are of course also welcome to participate with the community pool.)
At its core, the ISPR Community Pool is a system that puts researchers in touch with all the people who would like to participate in research. In practical terms, we maintain a database that holds some basic information about people who have stated that they are interested in participating in research. If you sign up, you will receive invitations to participate in studies, though you are of course under no obligation to participate in any particular study. When enrolling in the pool, you can choose to give only the most basic of contact information, or you may choose to also take a longer ‘prescreen’ which asks a number of questions about your personal background and experiences. This information is used to help match people with studies looking for specific kinds of participants, such as those of a certain age or who have had certain life experiences. When you are a good match with a particular study you may receive a direct invitation for that study.
Everyone that signs up for the database will also receive a monthly message that outlines all the research opportunities available through the pool. This message will include any news about the Pool, and a link to the list of all of the studies that are currently looking for participants. The study list page also includes everything you need to know about signing up to participate. You are free to unsubscribe from the Pool at any time.
You are also free to participate without signing up to receive messages from us. Just follow the link above for 'currently available studies'.
You can always see currently active studies in the ISPR Community Pool at the Currently Available Studies page. From the perspective of participants, studies are usually interesting and pleasant. As you will see in the list, there is quite a variety of opportunities for participation available. Some studies can be completed in just a few minutes online from your computer while others are conducted in person on the University of Ottawa campus and a few other sites around the Ottawa city centre. Most studies consist of only a single session, while a few have several sessions spaced out over longer periods of time. The majority are on a purely volunteer basis though a few studies offer some type of direct compensation. Study descriptions will always be clear up front about what is being asked in terms of your time and effort. Ethics and confidentiality concerns are very important to us, and are discussed further on the ISPR main page.
Researchers from across the School of Psychology and our partners at the Brain and Mind Institute conduct research on all aspects of human cognition, physiology, and behaviour. This research includes such areas as child development, cognition, neuroscience, linguistics, personality, motivation, and mental health. To explore the range of research that may be available through the Pool, see the research pages for the School of Psychology and the Brain and Mind Institute.
