Signing Up For Studies
To sign up to participate in a study find the study you would like to participate in (see Viewing Studies in this documentation) and click on the study name for more information. You will see a list of any special restrictions or eligibility requirements, as well as a contact person if you have questions about the study. If the study has a principal investigator listed, you can click their name to view full contact information. In most cases, it is preferred that you contact the individual listed as the researcher if you have specific questions.
Some restrictions are automatically enforced by the system. If the study has certain pre-requisites or disqualifiers (studies you must not have participated in to participate in this study), those may be listed, as well as a note about whether you meet those eligibility requirements. If you have signed up for a study with another study listed as a disqualifier study, then you will be prevented from signing up for the disqualifier study.
The study may have other restrictions listed as Eligibility Requirements. An example of an eligibility requirement is “Left-handed people only.” If listed, the system does not enforce this restriction. However, you should only sign up for the study if you meet this restriction. If you sign up for the study and you do not meet the restrictions, you will likely not receive credit for the study and could face a penalty.
If the study is not an online study, then the sign-up and cancellation deadlines for the study will be listed. Those deadlines are based on the date of each timeslot.
If you are viewing a study that you have signed up for in the past and have already participated in, then you will not see the list of timeslots for the study.
Some studies require a special password (known as an Invitation Code) to sign up. In this case, it will be noted. The researcher should have given you this invitation code. It is not the same as the password you use to log in to the system. You will need to enter the invitation code just before you click the Sign Up button to sign up for a timeslot.
You may sign up for a timeslot only up until a certain time before that timeslot is scheduled to occur. The system will not show a Sign Up button for timeslots that are too late to sign up for. If you sign up for a timeslot and already have another sign-up in the system that conflicts with that appointment time, the system will warn you of the scheduling conflict, both on the confirmation page and after the sign-up is completed, though it will not prevent the sign-up.
Once you have determined you meet all the requirements, click on View Timeslots for This Study and you will see a list of available timeslots. For lab studies, you can choose between a list view and monthly calendar view using the option in the top right corner of the page. Choose a timeslot that is convenient for you, and click Sign Up.
After you click Sign Up, you will see information displayed confirming the time and location of the study you plan to participate in, and you can then choose to complete your sign-up. You may receive an email confirmation as well, depending on how your system is configured. You are now signed up for the study. To cancel your sign-up, see Canceling a Sign-Up in this documentation.