ANU Psychology Research Participant Recruitment System: How to Use It and Earn Credit

10 March 2026 12 min read

The Research Participation System (RPS) of the Australian National University (ANU) Psychology program is an institutionalised arrangement through which students take part in psychology research and earn course credit. According to the Experiment Participation Guide published by the ANU Research School of Psychology in 2024, more than 200 experiments are posted on the RPS platform every year, spanning subfields including cognitive, social, clinical and developmental psychology. Participating in experiments not only gives students first-hand experience of research methodology, but is also a compulsory or bonus component of assessment in several psychology courses (such as PSYC1003 and PSYC2001). The system runs on the SONA Systems platform: students log in with their ANU single sign-on credentials, book experiments and accumulate credit. According to the 2023 Australian Psychology Education Quality Report (Australian Psychology Accreditation Council, APAC), around 85% of psychology undergraduate courses nationwide require or encourage students to take part in experiments, and ANU’s RPS is one of the most highly institutionalised examples.

Logging In and Setting Up Your Account

The RPS can be accessed from the “Research Participation” page on the ANU Research School of Psychology website. Students log in with their university-issued unified student account (uID) and password. On first login, the system asks users to complete a short Participant Information Questionnaire covering basic demographic variables such as age, gender, native language and handedness, plus screening questions such as whether they are currently taking psychiatric medication. The questionnaire data is used by researchers to screen participants and, under the ANU Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) 2022 procedures, all data is stored in anonymised form and kept for only 12 months after the research project is completed. After logging in, students can view the list of currently available experiments on the “Study Sign-Up” page. Each experiment shows its duration (usually 15 to 60 minutes), location (such as the psychology building labs or an online link) and the credit points on offer (usually 0.5 to 2 credits).

Types of Experiments and Credit Conversion Rules

On-Campus Laboratory Experiments

Laboratory experiments are the most common form on the RPS, usually run in the Psychology Building (Building 39) at the Acton campus. These experiments involve cognitive tasks (such as the Stroop test or working memory span tasks), behavioural observation (such as cooperative game tasks) or physiological measurement (such as eye tracking or skin conductance response). Credit points are set according to each experiment’s duration and complexity: experiments under 30 minutes are usually worth 0.5 credits, those lasting 30 to 60 minutes are worth 1 credit, and some longitudinal studies requiring follow-up visits can accumulate up to 2 credits. According to the ANU Research School of Psychology 2023 Course Handbook, in a standard 6-unit undergraduate course (such as PSYC2001), experiment participation can account for at most 5% of the total grade — a maximum of 3 experiment credits.

Online Survey Experiments

Online survey experiments run on Qualtrics or PsychoPy and can be completed on campus or off campus, but must be submitted before the experiment’s deadline. These experiments are usually worth fewer credits (0.25 to 0.5 credits) because they take less time (about 10 to 20 minutes) and do not require a researcher to be present. The advantage of online experiments is scheduling flexibility, which makes them especially suitable for students studying at other campuses or remotely. According to the ANU 2022 Annual Report on Student Experiment Participation, online experiments have a completion rate of about 78% — slightly below the 92% for laboratory experiments — but still attract about 40% of all participations.

Earning Credit and How It Ties to Courses

The core mechanism for earning credit is the linking of experiment credits to specific courses. After a student takes part in an experiment, the system automatically confirms participation within 48 hours and credits the points to that semester’s course record. The maximum credit requirements differ from course to course: for example, PSYC1003 (Introduction to Psychology) requires students to complete at least 2 credits of experiments, while PSYC2001 (Research Methods) allows experiment participation to replace the marks of at most one minor assignment. Students must complete all experiment bookings by week 8 of the semester, because after week 9 the system stops accepting new experiments. According to the ANU 2024 Academic Calendar, the deadline for submitting experiment credits is usually two weeks before the final exams; credits not completed by then cannot be counted toward the grade.

Ethics Review and Data Protection

The ANU Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) oversees all experiments posted through the RPS. Before an experiment can be published, an ethics application must be submitted covering the research aims, participant recruitment methods, data processing procedures and an informed consent form template. Before taking part, participants must read and sign a digital informed consent form, confirming they understand the possible risks of the experiment (such as mild discomfort or privacy exposure) and their right to withdraw at any time. Under the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2018 edition), ANU requires all experiment data to be kept for at least 5 years after de-identification, with direct identifiers such as participants’ names and student ID numbers stored separately from the research data. Students with questions about an experiment’s content or data handling can contact the experiment lead or the HREC secretariat directly (phone: +61 2 6125 3427).

Common Issues and How to Resolve Them

Cancelling Bookings and Arriving Late

If a student cannot attend a booked experiment, the booking must be cancelled in the RPS at least 24 hours before the experiment starts. Arriving more than 10 minutes late counts as an absence, and the experiment’s credit is not awarded. Under the system’s default rules, students are allowed 2 unexplained absences per semester without penalty, but a 3rd absence results in booking privileges being frozen for 30 days. Students can apply to have the freeze lifted by contacting the Research School of Psychology administrative office (Room 1.02, Building 39), providing a reasonable justification (such as a medical certificate).

Appealing Credits That Have Not Been Posted

If a student does not see a credit update in the RPS within 48 hours of completing an experiment, they should first check whether the experiment status is “Completed”. If it shows “No-Show”, they need to contact the experiment lead to verify their participation record. If the system shows “Completed” but the credit has not been added to the course grade, students can fill in the Experiment Credit Appeal Form (downloadable from the Research School of Psychology website) and submit it to the course coordinator. Under the ANU 2023 Student Grievance Policy, such appeals are usually resolved within 5 working days.

Alternative: Earning Credit Without Experiments

For students who cannot take part in experiments because of ethical restrictions or physical conditions, the ANU Research School of Psychology offers alternative assignments. These usually involve writing an experiment design proposal, analysing a public dataset or completing an online research methods module. Alternative assignments carry the same credit value as experiments: a 1,500-word research proposal earns 1 credit, and a public dataset analysis report (including a 500-word results description) earns 0.5 credits. Students must submit an application to the course coordinator by week 4 explaining why they cannot participate in experiments (for example, hearing impairment, pregnancy or religious restrictions). According to the ANU 2022 Course Adaptability Policy, the completion rate for alternative assignments is about 95%, and they are marked to the same standard as experiment participation.

System Improvements and User Feedback

The RPS’s interface design and feature development are driven by student feedback. In 2023, the ANU Research School of Psychology surveyed students about their experience (sample size n = 412). The results showed that 72% of students found the booking process “clear or very clear”, but 18% reported slow loading on the mobile interface. In response, SONA Systems released an updated mobile-optimised version in 2024 that improved the experiment list filters (sorting by time, location and credit points). The system also gained an experiment reminder feature: students can choose to receive a notification by ANU email or SMS 1 hour before an experiment starts, helping reduce no-show rates. According to the ANU 2024 Technology Improvement Report, after this feature launched, the experiment no-show rate fell from 11% to 7.3%.

FAQ

Q1: Can experiment credits be carried over to the next semester?

No. Experiment credits are valid only for the semester in which they are earned and must be tied to a specific course you are enrolled in that semester. For example, credits earned in Semester 1 2024 cannot be transferred to PSYC2001 in Semester 2 2024. Under the ANU 2024 Course Credit Policy, experiment credits are calculated separately each semester and expire if not used in time.

Q2: Will taking part in experiments affect my privacy?

No. All experiment data is de-identified within 48 hours of collection, with direct identifiers such as names and student ID numbers replaced by random codes. Under the ANU HREC 2022 procedures, no information that could identify a participant may appear in experiment reports or papers. Students have the right to request deletion of their own data after an experiment, but the request must be made before the data is released (usually within 30 days of the experiment ending).

Q3: Can I withdraw mid-experiment if I feel uncomfortable?

Yes. Under clause 3.2 of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, participants have the right to withdraw from an experiment at any stage and do not need to give a reason. Withdrawing does not affect the student’s course grade or future eligibility to participate, and the portion of the experiment already completed still earns a proportionate amount of credit (for example, completing half the duration earns 0.25 credits). The experimenter is obliged to tell participants about this right verbally before the experiment begins.

References

Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). 2023. National Survey of Psychology Education Quality.
Australian National University, Research School of Psychology. 2024. Experiment Participation Guide for Students.
Australian National University, Human Research Ethics Committee. 2022. Data Protection and Anonymization Procedures.
Australian National University, Office of the Vice-Chancellor. 2023. Student Grievance Policy and Procedures.
UNILINK Education. 2024. ANU Psychology Program Student Experience Database.