Virtual Commons - Bridgewater State University

Poster: The Personal Touch: Verbal Delivery May Improve Perceptions of Research Participation

Moakley Atrium

BSU’s psychology department maintains a subject pool in which students participate in faculty/student sponsored studies as one way to earn credit toward their required research experience. Over the past decades, the value of research participation for participants has been questioned, yet there has been little in the way of empirical investigation. The current study addressed a gap in the literature by examining participant evaluations of their research experience in general, and the educational benefits of debriefing in particular. Subject pool participants were assigned to one of four debriefing conditions (basic written, basic verbal, elaborate written, elaborate verbal) and completed the Reactions to Research Participation Questionnaire. All groups reported that their research experience was worthwhile. There was a main effect for delivery (verbal or written) in that those who received the verbal debriefing reported more positive attitudes about their experience. Those who received the elaborate verbal debriefing responded most favorably.