Overview of the Research Requirement

As a student enrolled in Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 110), you must satisfy a research requirement in order to receive a grade in the course. The goal of this requirement is to help familiarize you with psychological research.

What is the Research Requirement?

While the requirement must be completed, it is not designed to be overly time-consuming. In completing the research requirement, you have a choice:

This website provides you with the basic elements for completing the research requirement. Specific instructions, useful documents, and important web links for both options are available through the following links:

Option 1: Participation | Option 2: Library Research

What Impact Does the Requirement Have on Your Grade?

Satisfaction of this requirement will not affect the grade you earn in the course (e.g., A, B, C, or D). That is, neither participation in research nor summarizing a research study counts toward your grade -- this is not part of your grade nor is it extra credit. It is simply a requirement that must be completed as part of the course.

Rather, your completion (or non-completion) determines whether any grade is recorded. Students who successfully complete the requirement will be given the course grade that has been determined by their instructors. For example, if you have earned an A in the course according to your instructor's standards, then you will be given an A when you complete this requirement.

By departmental policy, students who do not complete the requirement will receive an incomplete (I) in the course. Those who may find themselves in this situation have one semester to complete the requirement by writing a review article (see Option 2 below) or the Incomplete will automatically be changed to a grade of F by the registrar. The only exception is those who would not pass their course anyway -- they will have the F recorded immediately.

Students who are retaking the course are exempt from the requirement if they can provide proof they have satisfied the requirement before. If you previously satisfied the requirement, you must contact the Human Subjects Pool (HSP) coordinator (see below).

Who Do You Contact if You Have Questions about the Requirement?

Please note that these guidelines have been determined by departmental policy; they have not been set by your instructor. Therefore, your instructor -- who is the appropriate contact for all other aspects of your course -- is probably not the best contact regarding this requirement.

The best source of information about this requirement is this web site (http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/cw/hsp/). This site contains detailed instructions, useful and required documents, and important web links for both options.

Finally, specific questions or concerns about any aspect of this requirement that are not clearly stated at this research requirement web site should be directed to: