For students like Kelsey Stokes, participating in campus research studies can add up.The Medill freshman said she has participated in a total of 55 studies through both the Kellogg School of Management and the psychology department since September 2009, earning a total of $666. Stokes is among many Northwestern students who participate in Kellogg studies as a way to earn extra money.
“It’s a win-win situation because they get the research they need and they pay fairly,” Stokes said.
Medill freshman Sarah Davidson said she could not find a job on campus because she did not qualify for work-study, so she began signing up for Kellogg studies instead.
“It was kind of nice when I found myself going out to dinner and to movies a lot to know where that money would come from,” she said.
Kellogg studies typically run 30 to 90 minutes. Activities range from trading games, where students earn money based on their interactions with other participants, to surveys about shopping habits or reactions to advertisements. The studies that require attendance in person typically pay $15 per hour, but some surveys can be completed online. For these, participants are usually entered into a raffle to win a gift card.
Alain Bonacossa, a Kellogg senior research assistant who coordinates the school’s research work, said the studies pay the same as most campus jobs. Many students view participating in the studies as a supplement to getting a job.
Stokes also works at Norris University Center, but said studies are more convenient than her job at Norris because they pay immediately and in cash, so she does not have to wait for a paycheck. She averages about two studies per week, though in the past she has completed up to seven in one week.
McCormick freshman Michael Narea does not have a job and said he participates in studies because it is less time-consuming.
“You make a lot more money at a job (than participating in studies),” Narea said. “This is just for extra stuff like food.”
Narea said he will have to get a job in the future because he will run out of studies, likely by the end of this school year. Students cannot participate in the same study twice and cannot participate in some studies if they have participated in others with similar topics. Bonacossa said although the studies are open to any students, Kellogg targets freshmen because it’s logistically easiest. Kellogg representatives visit large freshman classes and pass around sign-up sheets.
“I would say 30 to 40 percent of the non-freshman population is already in the (study database), so we waste more time going to non-freshman classes,” he said.
Psychology studies gain participants by requiring students in the introductory psychology classes to complete studies for class credit, said lab coordinator Katherine Dowjotas. Since Kellogg does not have undergraduate classes to fill studies, the department instead pays students to participate, Bonacossa said. Students sign up online and are entered into a database, then receive e-mails about upcoming studies that need participants.
Although Kellogg does not have the same ready pool that the psychology department does, Bonacossa said researchers rarely have trouble finding enough people to participate in studies. It may take the researcher up to a few months to recruit enough people depending on how many participants are needed and the specific requirements of the study.
“There are days that are not as successful, times of the quarter that are not as successful-for example, midterms or Finals Week,” Bonacossa said. “But typically we get a pretty good sign-up rate.”
