Department of Psychology at Illinois State University
Children’s Research Laboratory
Procedures Approved by the Department: January 31, 2005
Our secure database contains contact information for children, adolescents, and families who have indicated a desire to learn more about research projects related to development. In addition, the database contains information concerning correspondence with families (e.g., date of entry in pool, date of subsequent contact with family). The database does NOT contain private, sensitive, or diagnostic information, such as Social Security numbers, socioeconomic status, racial or ethnic information, disability status, or performance measures. A faculty member of the Department of Psychology Research Committee serves as the administrative custodian of the child participant pool to ensure that the approved procedures are followed and to oversee the maintenance of the pool information.
Research projects must follow IRB-approved methods of contacting potential participants, scheduling appointments, securing informed consent and assent, carrying out the research, and debriefing.
In addition to Institutional Review Board approval, projects using the Department of Psychology Child Research Participant Pool must adhere to the following procedures. Once a project has been approved by the IRB, a copy of the letter of approval must be presented to the administrative custodian of the Child Research Participant Pool in order to register the project. In addition, the Child Research Participant Pool Usage Request Form must be submitted (the form can be completed online before it is printed and signed), outlining plans for pool usage (e.g., number, age, and gender of potential child or family participants to be contacted; study name; contact information for the primary investigator and the researcher who will coordinate participant contact).
Requests must be made and handled when classes are in session. The administrative custodian will provide the requested contact information within one week of the request. If the request cannot be met within this time frame, the administrative custodian will notify the primary investigator regarding the timeline.
In general, the administrative custodian will provide contact information for up to 30 potential participants in a given age range or up to 90 participants total on a given request. The custodian will repeat requests as needed when additional potential participants are available. This limit is meant to ensure that families are contacted and updated contact information returned to the custodian in a timely manner.
Researchers are required to return all contact information to the administrative custodian within one month from the date received, unless granted an extension by the administrative custodian. The administrative custodian will then update family contact information as needed and document contact by the researcher. Researchers should discuss pool usage for large projects with the administrative custodian.
The administrative custodian will coordinate pool usage to ensure that children are contacted no more than three times per year. If scheduling conflicts arise, the pool administrator, in consultation with the Research Committee and the primary investigators using the pool, will make decisions concerning usage.
