Research Participation Mass Testing Information

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NOTE: Mass Testing is not available during spring and summer terms.

Researchers at the U of A began mass testing as early as the 1950’s to construct personality measures using student samples.  So if your parents went to the U of A and attended introductory psychology, they probably participated in mass testing.

The mass testing survey is only available for a limited time – starting at the time of your research participation orientation for your class section and running for one week – exact dates for your class section are posted on the "Announcements and Signup" page in the credit signup system. Mass testing can be done by students each term that it is offered. (Note: This is the only project that can be repeated.)

The Purpose of Mass Testing

The Mass Testing Survey is conducted in the Fall and Winter terms in Psychology 104/105, and serves a number of purposes.

1. Researchers are able to track changes in student characteristics over time, and relate such changes to other psychological and social variables.
   
2. Researchers are able to pre-test materials for future research.
   
3. By participating, you can earn one credit toward the research participation component of your PSYCO 104 or 105 class.
   
4. Mass testing allows researchers to identify students with certain psychological characteristics and then make those students eligible to participate in research projects that are concerned with those characteristics.

Your Participation

Your participation involves answering a number of questions concerning your background, attitudes, feelings, and experiences. The entire survey should not take longer than 60 minutes to complete, depending on how quickly you proceed.

Your Rights

Your decision to participate in mass testing is entirely voluntary, and you may decide to withdraw from the survey at any time. You may also choose to not take part in the mass testing survey, but in this case you will not receive a mass testing credit.  As with any research study conducted in the Department of Psychology, your responses to the survey questions will be seen only by the particular investigators who compiled them. This information will be treated as strictly confidential by each investigator. However, if any particular questionnaire, or individual question, is disturbing, or makes you feel uncomfortable, you may feel free just to pass it by. You will still receive credit for participating even if you choose not to answer a particular set of questions or if you decide to withdraw part way through the mass testing survey.

Benefits and Risks

Benefits - In choosing to participate in mass testing, you may become eligible to participate in more research studies throughout the term, which would give you more flexibility in fulfilling the research participation requirements for your PSYCO 104 or 105 course.

Risks - There are no foreseeable risks in participating.

Technical Information

The Mass Testing Survey is comprised of several sections. Each section will be saved upon proceeding to the next section and you will not be able to return to a section once you have moved on. Should your computer lock up or crash before you have finished the survey, upon re-entering you will be need to answer the first set of questions again (Demographic and Background Information) and then you will be forwarded to the beginning of the part that you were completing when you encountered the problem. Your mass testing credit will appear in your "Credit Status" within the Research Participation system shortly after all classes have finished the survey (usually the end of the first full week of the following month).