Who are we and why are we doing this?

Throughout the school year, Professors from the Department of Resource Economics as well as other faculty members from the Five Colleges and Universities in New England conduct a variety of decision-making experiments. These experiments are part of each faculty member research. We are always looking for subjects to participate in upcoming experiments and would love for you to sign up if you are interested. Whenever we schedule an experiment, we will send an email looking for participants from those who have signed up to our database. When you receive an email announcement, if you want to participate in the experiment simply follow the instructions in the email.

What will you do with my email address?

We will only use your email address for recruiting participants in experiments. We will keep these email addresses confidential and will not share them with anyone else.

How often will I be getting emails?

It depends on when we are running experiments. At most, you might get one or two emails in a week. There will also be periods when we are not running experiments, so you might not hear from us for a month or two.

What are these experiments like?

The types of experiments will vary. The experiments typically involve some sort of decision-making exercise or possibly completing a survey. Our experience has been that participants usually enjoy the experiments and ask to participate again in the future.

Are there any risks to me?

Absolutely not. Nothing in these experiments will put you at risk in any way. Before conducting these experiments, the University closely reviews what we will be doing to ensure that there are no risks to students. In the unlikely event that you are not comfortable with some aspect of the experiment, you are free to leave at any time. All information you share with us and all aspects about your participation in the experiments will be kept strictly confidential.

How much will I earn?

We understand that your time is valuable, so if you participate in an experiment, you will be compensated for your time. We pay participants in cash at the end of the experiment. Since each experiment will vary, the email asking for participants will provide more details. Typically, you will be given some money just for showing up on time, and then have an opportunity to earn more during the experiment.

How long do the experiments take?

It varies. The email will describe the time commitment for that particular experiment. Typically, an experiment lasts one to two hours. Some experiments may ask you to commit for two days, two hours per day. Dates, times and details will be given in the email.

How do I learn more? 

The department offers undergraduate and graduate courses on experimental economics.

If you sign up for our email database, you are only committing to receiving the emails and are under no obligation to participate in an experiment. However, we do ask that once you agree to participate you honor that commitment. It costs us a lot of time and money when people fail to show up. If you do not show up for an experiment that you signed up for, you will be removed from our database and will not be allowed to participate in the future.