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The Cornell Food & Brand Lab

FAQ's for Study Participants

Questions:


What Can I Expect When I Volunteer for a Study?

Most of the studies we conduct are based on psychology methods, primarily involving between–subject designs where participants are randomly assigned to conditions. In addition, whenever possible we try to conduct these studies in controlled field situations in order to promote realism. Last, you probably won't know exactly what we are studying. That is, we might be asking you to watch TV, but we're really interested in what foods you eat and not in the program itself. Or we might ask you to taste something and rate it, but we're really interested in the expression on your face when you eat it and not on how you rate it, per say.


Will I Like Being in Your Study?

Most think it's pretty fun. Although people get paid a token amount for being in the studies (depending on how long they are), there's a number of people who give the money back or donate it to the Lab because they find the studies fun and they like what we're trying to accomplish. We go to great lengths to make sure that the good people who participate in our studies are treated well and have a good experience. Even though you agreed to participate in the study, we still keep your results anonymous, and you'll be free to quit the study at any point without penalty. With over 20,000 people who have participated in our studies, only 4–5 I can think of did not complete the study. All of these dealt with babysitting issues. (Sometimes things run a bit longer than expected).


When Will I Find Out Exactly What the Study Was About?

At the end of the study, we'll tell you the real purpose of the study. We'll also give you a website and a phone number that you can contact to obtain the results of the study. We also give you a preprinted card that has my personal contact information on it if you have any questions.