Research - IRB, Committee, Request for Proposals (RFPs), Directed Research/Independent Study, and more

Research-Oriented Committees:

Research Development Committee Members:

  • Fabian Fernandez (chair)
  • Arne Ekstrom (Space sub-committee chair)
  • Ashley Huggins
  • Daniel Taylor
  • Heidi Hamann
  • LouAnn Gerken
  • Ying-Hui Chou

Updated: 04/09/24 

IRB/Human Subjects Committee Members:

  • Daniel Sullivan (chair)
  • Fabian Fernandez
  • Melissa Flores

Updated: 04/09/24

Subject Pool/SONA Committee Members:

  • Daniel Sullivan (chair)
  • Adam Lazarewicz

Updated: 07/31/24

Grant-Based Studies - Submission Resources and Trainings: 

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Application Submission Instructions:

Email IRB submissions to psy-irb@email.arizona.edu with the following information:

  • Subject Line - must include the IRB # (if assigned one), PI last name, and type of submission (e.g. F200, F212, etc.)
  • Email Body/Message - must include a bulleted list of all of the attachments included in the review.
  • Document Formats - Applications, consents, recruitment materials and data collections instruments are required to be submitted as Microsoft Word documents. PDF’s may be submitted for documents that typically are not revised by the IRB (e.g. signature pages, sponsor protocols).
  • Include only one submission request per email.

Trainings & Resources Related to IRB Submissions and More:

Updated: 09/16/24

Resources for Research with Human Subjects

Trainings Regarding Research with Human Subjects:

Conflict of Interest (COI) Training:

  • Available through EDGE Learning. Instructions available from the Office for Responsible Outside Interests (OROI).

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Compliance:

Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) Training Webpage:

Updated: 09/13/24 

Faculty Pilot Grant - Request for Proposals (RFPs)

The Department of Psychology invites proposals for research studies to provide essential pilot data to support the submission of new externally funded federal grants (e.g., NIH, NSF, DoD, DARPA, DOJ). 

Selected General Criteria:

  • Pilot grant proposals will be considered from Psychology Department faculty of any rank. *Post-Doctoral Fellows or graduate students are not eligible for this grant mechanism.
  • Individual proposals will be limited to $10,000
  • Recipients must agree to utilize the grant application feedback process provided by the Psychology Research Committee prior to submitting the associated external federal grant, and that at least 75% of the indirect costs for the federal grant submission will be retained within the Psychology Department.

You can read more about the grant, the complete list of criteria, and submit your proposals on our Faculty Pilot Grant page. 

Updated 03/09/23


Clinical Research Resources:

Trainings for Clinical Research Coordinators (CRCs):

Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA): 

  • Certification and membership

Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Training - Clinical Research Coordinator course 

  • Topics: biomedical foci, responsible conduct of research, and more depending on research needs

Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) Training:

  • *3 different levels available depending on clearance and research needs

UAccess Research Training:

  •  Topics: research administration, proposal development, and more

Trainings for Research Administrators:

Updated: 06/06/24

Clinical Trials Resources:

Study Documentation Tools: 

From the Research, Innovation, & Impact (RII) Quality Assurance Office:

UA Health Sciences Coordinator Corner: 

Banner-Specific Resources & Trainings:

Updated: 06/05/24


Data Science Resources:

The UA has a wealth of resources and opportunities available for learning about and getting help with data science questions. At the same time, these resources and opportunities are unfortunately spread out across campus and sometimes not widely advertised. Therefore, it can be a challenge to find them when you need them.

To help counter these navigation difficulties, we now offer a living document for those who are looking for data science training and help (it requires UA Authentication but has otherwise no restriction).

View Our List of Data Science Guide

Questions?

Contact Valeria Pfeifer

Updated: 09/05/24

Directed Research (and Independent Study): 

What is Directed Research?

Directed Research (PSYS 392/492) is a class in which students work on a research project with a faculty mentor. Unlike a regular class, which follows a fixed syllabus, a Directed Research project is much more open ended. The key requirement for Directed Research is that it leads to a product (e.g., a writeup or poster presentation, etc.) that can be graded.

What is the Time Commitment for Directed Research?

Directed Research should take up no more or less time than a regular class. This corresponds to 3 hours per week per unit.

In most cases, students take one single 3-unit Directed Research class per semester and should expect to work approximately 9 hours per week on their project.

What’s the Difference Between Directed Research and Independent Study?

*Please note that Independent Study credit does NOT fill the Directed Research requirement specified for degrees in Psychological Science.

Directed Research shares some similarities with Independent Study credit and an important difference.

Like an Independent Study - Directed Research involves open-ended work, whose goals and scope are set by the student in collaboration with the faculty mentor.

Unlike an Independent Study - Directed Research requires a product to be produced at the end of the class. This product can be almost anything, so long as it can be assessed by the faculty mentor to assign a letter grade for the class. This graded product is what fulfills the degree requirement for students pursuing Psychological Science.

Example products include:

  • Powerpoint presentations delivered in lab meetings
  • Posters
  • Written reports
  • Computer codes to analyze experimental data
  • Organized datasets ready for sharing

Updated 03/21/23

Part One - Research PROJECTS:

Research Projects include the bulk of the research process. You will take your experiences from the Research Project to later create your Research Product. The key requirement of your Directed Research project (part one) is that it leads to a product that can be graded (part two).

No two Directed Research projects are alike. The range of possible projects is enormous and depends very much on the interests of the student and the faculty mentor.

Past projects have included:

  • Analyzing behavior in game shows
  • Running neuropsychological studies on older adults
  • Measuring electrical signals in the brain in response to stimuli
  • Exploring the causes and correlates of implicit bias

Some of these projects have even led to published papers - such as work on phishing email detection [Hakim et al. 2021] or work on how personality affects participation in the Psychology Subject pool [Sadeghiyeh et al. 2020].

Are Group Projects Allowed for Directed Research?

*Students can work alone or as part of a group on a directed research project.

The key requirement is that each student produces their own product so that they can be assigned a grade for their work.

Updated 03/21/23

Part Two - Research PRODUCTS

Research Products demonstrate your participation in and findings during the Research Project.

The key requirement of your Directed Research project (part one) is that it leads to a product that can be graded (part two). This product can be almost anything, so long as it can be assessed by the faculty mentor to assign a letter grade for the class.

Example products include:

  • Powerpoint presentations delivered in lab meeting
  • Posters
  • Written reports 
  • Computer code to analyze experimental data
  • Organized datasets ready for sharing

*Keep in mind that Independent Study does NOT require an end Product. Therefore, Independent Study does NOT fulfill the Psychological Science degree requirement for Directed Research. 

Updated 03/21/23

Part 3 - Grading:

Directed Research is graded on the basis of the student’s work on the project during the semester and the product they produce.

How Do Students Sign Up for Directed Research Credit?

Signing up for Directed Research credit is slightly different to a normal class.

Instead of simply signing up for the class, students must:

  • Make contact with a Faculty Member
    • And have them agree to act as Mentor
  • Once a Faculty agrees to take a student, that Faculty Member needs to work with the student to fill out the Directed Research Form. 
    • This form outlines goals for the Project, a timeline to achieve them, and a Product to demonstrate the work they conducted.
    • The form must include the signature of the Faculty Mentor in order to be processed. 
  • After the Faculty Member has signed the form, the student will hand it in to their Academic Advisor.
    • The Advisor will then complete the student's enrollment in the class for them.

What is the Course Number for Directed Research?

The following course numbers are for Directed Research: PSYS 392, PSYS 492, PSYS 392H, PSYS 492H.

Best Practice:

  • For Juniors - use PSYS 392
  • For Seniors - use PSYS 492
  • For Honors - use PSYS 392H of PSYS 492H

Can Online Students Participate in Directed Research?

Yes! Online students can take part in Directed Research. Obviously not all projects are possible online, but many are - including studies that involve online experiments and data analysis.

Updated 03/21/23 

Can Graduate Students or Postdocs Advise Directed Research Students?

Graduate students and postdocs can work closely with Directed Research students and supervise their day-to-day activities in the lab.

*However, Directed Research students should also interact with the faculty mentor, as they are ultimately responsible for assigning the grade for the class.


Updated: 09/05/24

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