The Communication Research Lab

The Communication Research Lab

The Department of Communication Arts and Sciences houses a state-of-the-art laboratory facility for conducting interaction and experimental design studies. The lab includes several rooms: a control room for unobtrusive monitoring of interaction, a controlled-environment briefing room to minimize distractions, a modern interaction space to simulate naturalistic conversations, and a conferencing space for conducting group interaction research or focus group discussions. The interaction room is outfitted with a couch, a comfortable table setting, and a divider so that the space can be partitioned. The lab has a variety of high-quality portable and static audio and video recording equipment available for use, as well as department-owned information storage and computing equipment. Researchers have the ability to record from up to five camera angles at once, allowing a 360 view of the conversation.

If you would like to reserve the lab or its equipment, please email casrepass@psu.edu. Priority of use will be determined based on the needs of applicants and the timeliness of applications for use.

The Communication Arts and Sciences Research Participant Pool (RePaSS)

Researchers in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, including faculty and graduate or undergraduate students who are working with faculty supervision, can apply to draw research participants from the department research participant pool or RePaSS. Researchers using the RePaSS system contact participants via dedicated research software that maintains consistent communication with participants.

Researchers wishing to use RePaSS should use the RePaSS application form, which is provided by the Research Coordinator every semester and upon request from casrepass@psu.edu. Researchers should apply for RePaSS one week prior to the beginning of classes, or access to the participant pool cannot be guaranteed. By applying for RePaSS access, researchers commit to opening and closing their studies in a timely manner. In particular, students must (a) open by a date one month and two weeks before the end of classes, and (b) close by a date one week before the end of classes. Please note that researchers who do not abide by these rules will have their studies canceled and their future access to the participant pool may be restricted.

Penn State’s Institutional Review Board for Human Subject Research

All persons conducting research in the Communication Research Lab are subject to oversight by Penn State’s Institutional Review Board for Human Subject Research.