All experiments at ELFE follow these three guidelines
(1) You will never be deceived or lied to. The instructions explaining how the experiment works and how you are paid are true. We will never lie to you at the ELFE laboratory.
(2) Your participation is voluntary. In order to use your data for research, for on-site experiment you need to stay in the room for the entire experiment. For online experiments, you will stay connected to the Zoom meeting for the entire experiment. However, your participation is voluntary and if you need to leave the room or meeting due to an unforeseen event, you may do so at any time. If you choose to leave before the experiment is over, for on-site experiments you will only be paid £10 and nothing that you have earned during the experiment. If the experiment is online and you leave early, you will earn nothing.
(3) You will be paid within 12 hours through a bank transfer for most experiments, although some in-person experiments may be paid in cash, in private, at the end of the experiment. If you participate in an experiment, you are guaranteed a minimum payment of £10. You will have the opportunity to earn more money during the experiment. You are only entitled to these additional earnings if you complete the entire experiment.
Here is what you can expect as a participant.
Our experiments involve reading some instructions and then making choices, mostly on a computer screen. Your payment for the experiment will depend on your choice, chance, and the choices of other participants. This will be explained for each experiment at the start of the session.
Every time there is a new experiment, a certain number of students in the subject pool will get an invitation email. Only the invited students can participate in the experiment. We run many different experiments at ELFE and, in most cases, each student will only be allowed to participate in a particular experiment once.
If you get an email inviting you to participate in a particular experiment, you have to click on the link to confirm your presence to be able to take part in the experiment. By doing so, you indicate your commitment to show up on time and participate. The web-based system does not let you sign up for an experiment unless you first received an invitation email.
For on-site experiments:
When arriving at the lab you will be asked to show your student ID. You must show your student ID from UCL or a nearby university to be allowed to participate. No food or drinks are allowed in the lab. Mobile phones must be turned off prior to entering the lab.
Every participant who is invited to an experiment, confirms his/her presence, and shows up on time with a valid student ID will at least be compensated with a £10 payment.
For online experiments:
Online sessions will be held over Zoom. You will receive an email containing a link to a Zoom meeting approximately 1 hour before the scheduled session start time. Please arrive in the Zoom waiting room 5-15 minutes prior to the scheduled session start time.
Every participant who is invited to an experiment, confirms his/her presence, shows up on time, and completes the online experiment will be compensated with a £10 completion payment.
Additional payments may also be earned depending on the particular session, the choices made by you and other participants in the session, and factors determined randomly by the computer or by chance. Receipt of these additional payments is conditional upon completion of the entire experiment session. If you withdraw during the study or are withdrawn by the research team, then you will still receive £10 as compensation for showing up on time. Your payment is made privately, and you will be asked to show your student ID and sign a payment receipt used for accounting purposes in on-site experiments. Online experiments will be paid through a bank transfer within 24 hours after the end of the experiment. The only form of compensation is the monetary payment. Participation in an experiment does not yield any course credit.
We typically invite more people than there are places for in an experiment. Participants who show up in a timely manner are admitted into the experiment on a first come first serve basis. Sometimes, participants may be given £10 as compensation for showing up on time and asked to leave the experiment for various reasons. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding when such circumstances arise. All confirmed subjects who turn up on time with a valid student ID and are turned away by us will receive a £10 payment.
The length depends on the type of experiment. Some experiments last only 30 minutes, while others may last a couple hours. The invitation for a particular experiment will provide the length of the experiment. In almost all cases, you can be sure to be finished by the announced ending time. It is exceptionally rare that an experiment at ELFE will go over the allotted time.
Experiments may be cancelled by the ELFE team at any time due to various reasons such as the lack of a required number of participants or technical difficulties. Please note that subjects will not receive the £10 payment for an experiment that is cancelled before it begins.
All experiments are different and we cannot discuss the specifics of an experiment until you are in the lab ready to participate. Because experiments differ, we will never be able to discuss any information about anticipated earnings of any experiment before you are in the lab, or in the Zoom meeting, ready to participate.
Rules to follow as a participant.
You must bring a valid student ID with you to the experiment in order to participate.
In order to participate in experiments conducted by the ELFE, you have to first register online. You can register HERE.
Please register using your academic email address (e.g. @ucl.ac.uk) and do not use another email address (e.g. Gmail). You are not permitted to register on the system more than once. We will exclude subjects that do this. If you register and forget your details, click the "Login reminder" link. If your email address has changed, then email us to update your details. By registering for experiments you're giving us permission to contact you when we are looking for participants for our experiments.
Each experiment will start with instructions. Participants who do not follow the instructions will be asked to leave and will not be paid for their participation in the experiment. Subjects who do not follow instructions will be excluded from participating in future experiments.
If you sign up to participate for a particular experiment and do not show up (or show up too late), you will be excluded from receiving invitations for further experiments. Please email the lab immediately when you realize that you cannot make an experiment that you signed up for.
Every so often, we may change these rules. Updated rules will always be posted on the ELFE website.
For questions please contact elfe@centreforfinance.org.
