The Shidler College of Business

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Shidler Behavior Lab

About

Serving the research interests of the business community and society at large, the Shidler Behavior Lab is a state-of-the-art facility available to UH Faculty, students, other members of the UH system, and visiting scholars. To meet this challenge, the Lab is equipped with new desktop computers, RT (response time) Empirisoft software, and a powerful server that can accommodate a variety of research software (e.g., game theory software). Additionally, the Lab is a focus group facility equipped with audio-visual recording equipment that supports qualitative research. Managed by the Department of Marketing, the Behavior Lab is housed in the Shidler College of Business, which is strategically located in Hawai`i where East meets West. The cultural overlap of Eastern and Western cultures in Hawai`i facilitates the access to a unique pool of participants, ensuring the opportunity for insightful research on diverse issues of interest in business, health care, and other areas of social science.

Location

Shidler College of Business
2404 Maile Way
Room G-302

*Link to Shidler College of Map*

Consumer Behavior Scholars

  • Profiles
  • Research Interests
  • Previous & Current Studies

Procedures

  • Experimenters must run and be present during the full duration of own experiments.
  • Use of lab and request for research assistants must be requested at least three business days in advance Monday through Friday via paper or online form. See application form link.
  • If you are interested in running an experiment, please submit a study proposal form to the schedule support and Lab Director email listed above. Requested details include the study contents, applicable pre-screen restrictions, IRB approval number and any special requirements.
  • Cancellations should be made at least 24 hours in advance to allow others use of the lab.
  • Experiments involving human participants must follow IRB guidelines and associated forms must be completed prior to scheduling. See IRB form link.
  • Remuneration for participation in experiments must follow UH guidelines and associated forms must be completed. See UH participant remuneration guidelines link.
  • Schedule conflicts are resolved on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Graduate students must receive approval of senior faculty prior to use of lab to run experiments.
  • Print and prepare materials 24 hours prior to study. Poor preparation leads to stressed researchers, which, in turn, leads to stressed and confused participants.
    • Test and proofread studies before submitting.
    • Performing trial runs before running experiment is highly recommended.
  • Shidler Faculty and graduate students are permitted to run experiments at the Shidler Behavior Lab. All non-Shidler Faculty and graduate students must contact the director for exemptions.
  • Requests for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral student assistants should be made two weeks in advance. All research assistants must be approved by the Lab Director. Research assistants must have completed human participants research training as a requirement of all researchers at UH Manoa who conduct human subject research.
  • Researchers must provide a link for each study
    • Record the participant's Lab ID number.
    • Title your study and use as cover page for participant registration.
    • Record the conditions of the study.
    • Debrief participants; write a short paragraph explaining the purpose of and participant contributions to research.
    • Create consent form or use one from IRB link.
    • Outline the amount of time participants are expected to provide and take all measures to ensure that the participants’ time is respected.
    • State directly that participation is voluntary and that participants may immediately discontinue their participation for any or no reason.
    • Use online studies whenever possible to avoid waste and provide access to participants.
  • Compensation depends on the type and length of the study. Please work with our Shidler Fiscal Office to ensure that any financial (as opposed to course credit) compensation plan is designed and implemented in a manner consistent with College and University policies.

Common Types of Studies Conducted in the Shidler Behavior Lab

  • Focus Groups
  • In-depth Personal Interviews
  • Online Surveys
  • Random Controlled Trial Experiments Using In-Person or Online Materials and Online Data Collection

 

Lab Resources

Hardware

  • 12 Dell computers
  • Central Server that Can Host Project Specific Software on a Temporary Basis
  • Headphones
  • Individual Cubicles for Data Collection
  • Printer and Scanner
  • Executive-style conference table and chairs

Software

  • Empirisoft Software (Media Lab) http://www.empirisoft.com/MediaLab.aspx
    • Direct IRT
    • Participants can be administered different stimuli and different dependent measures and in different orders depending on the experimental condition using Empirisoft software
    • Allows the creation of randomized experiments and the recording of data for each participant
    • Capable of creating complex factorial designs
    • Allows for the presentation of an abundance of stimuli (image files, multi-media, etc.)
    • Multi-language compatible
    • Randomizable experiments
    • Flexible Questionnaire Design
    • Up to 255 Variables can be exported to Excel file.
  • Internet Access
    • Internet Explorer
    • Firefox
    • Chrome
  • Microsoft Packages
  • Flash/Shockwave Player
  • Media Lab
  • Cloud-based Survey Platform
  • PsychoPy: an open-source application allowing you to run neuroscience, psychology and psychophysics experiments. It’s a free, powerful alternative to Presentation™ or e-Prime™, written in Python.
  • MATLAB Psychtoolbox: Psychophysics Toolbox Version 3 (PTB-3) is a free set of Matlab and GNU Octave functions for vision and neuroscience research.

*For any software or hardware needs that are unlisted, please contact us. For software needs, provide link and license when applicable for software installation. You will be asked to work with the Shidler IT Staff to upload, use, and then remove your software from the server. No software may be installed on the individual PCs.

Required Certification Prior to Conducting Human Participation Studies