Be a test subject!

From: Chathra Hendahewa [mailto:chathrah@cs.rutgers.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 2:56 PM
To: skouboe@envsci.rutgers.edu; des@envsci.rutgers.edu
Subject: REQUEST: Seeking Experiment Participants

To whom it may concern,

I am Chathra Hendahewa, a PhD candidate in the Department of Computer Science at Rutgers University. I am currently working on my research under the supervision of Dr. Chirag Shah.

During the end of spring semester and over summer we are conducting a laboratory study (This study has IRB approval with date 07/31/2012) to investigate how people search information online. In order to run this study we need undergraduate students who are proficient in English (among other requirements indicated below). Participants would get compensated in cash (details are attached below) and the possibility to win up to an extra $25/person in cash based on their performance.

I wonder if it would be possible to spread the information and link below among your undergraduate students email list. 

--------------------------Coagmento - Lab Search Study (Spring/Summer 2013)-----------------------------------

The purpose of this is to request your participation in a research study investigating collaborative search. This study requires a team of two/three for two sessions. All two/three participants must be between 18 to 24 years old. You need to sign up in groups of two/three. All two/three participants in a team should have worked on some project before (e.g., a class assignment), it is also required having intermediate typing and online search skills. You should be proficient in English language. The study will be conducted in a computer lab in School of Communication & Information (SC&I) on College Ave campus. Your participation will take about one hour for each session. Approximately 60 participants are being enrolled for this study. The study will involve using an experimental system, called Coagmento, while surfing the Web for collecting information that will help you to accomplish a task. Coagmento is a plug-in for Firefox browser, which provides support for Web surfing in a team. Each participant in this study will receive $25/person for groups-of-two or $30/person for groups-of-three at the end of both sessions. In addition, you will participate for $25/person in cash if you become the best performing team at the end of the study. To participate in this study, please visit http://tinyurl.com/cf3mvbh and submit your request. The approval of this request is subject to meeting all the criteria specified above. Choosing or declining to participate in this study will not affect your class standing or grades at Rutgers. You will not be offered or receive any special consideration if you take part in this research; it is purely voluntary. This study has been approved by the Rutgers Behavioral IRB (IRB Study #E13-046), and will be supervised by Dr. Chirag Shah (chirags@rutgers.edu) at SC&I.

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I would appreciate your assistance on this regard.

Thanks and Regards,

Chathra Hendahewa

PhD Candidate - Dept. of Computer Science