Research Participant Payment

Research Participant Payment

Research participant payments can be made by two different methods: (1) Direct payment by UMW or (2) Outsourcing to a Survey Tool.

Direct Payment by UMW
A gift card (up to $100), gift certificate (up to $100), physical gift (such as a T-shirt or book), or a cash gift payment can be given for the purpose of paying subjects to participate in an academic research study.  For example, a Psychology professor may ask participants to complete a survey.  The professor may want to give each participant $5 for completing the survey.  This is allowed; however, if cash is given, a FULL name, FULL social security number (or FULL Banner ID number) and FULL address must be completed on the CASH Gift Log Form.  (CONTACT payables@umw.edu FOR A CASH GIFT LOG FORM.)  If a gift card, gift certificate or physical gift of ANY dollar value is given, the (non-Cash) Gift Log Form must be completed and submitted to the Accounts Payable department within 15 days of the date the gift was purchased. Remember, the professor can also give physical gifts that are valued less than $50 (that’s $49.99 or less).  If a physical gift that is valued at less than $50 is given, only the first page of the (non-cash) Gift Log Form and the distributor’s signature (certifying statement) are required on the (non-cash) GIFT LOG FORM.  The name, social security number (or Banner ID number) and address are not required.  The recipient’s FULL name, FULL social security number (or FULL Banner ID number), FULL address, and other information are required on the appropriate log (non-cash log or cash log) if ANY of the following are given:

• A physical gift valued at $50 or more,
• Cash (any value),
• Gift card (any value), or
• Gift certificate (any value)

Read “Gift Giving” for FULL policy regulations and contact Accounts Payable at payables@umw.edu or 654-1226 with questions.

Crowd Sourcing Research/Survey Tool
Required – Faculty Survey Form
Definition:  A tool to perform broad, anonymous research and surveys with the ability to pay participants.  Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and Prolific are examples of crowdsourcing tools that can be used for research and surveys. Crowdsourcing marketplaces make it easier to outsource to conduct simple data validation and research to more subjective tasks like survey participation, content moderation, and more. If you want to utilize a service, follow these procedures:

• Faculty or Staff (Requestor) who have documented approval from the Institutional Review Board (https://provost.umw.edu/irb/ ) and/or the University Provost for their research or survey will complete and sign Section A of the Faculty Survey Cash Advance Request Form (Request Form).
• Form should be completed at least 7 business days in advance of the need for funds, to allow for workflow approvals and payment processing.
• Verifiable electronic signatures are allowed on the Request Form.
• Requestor receiving the advance must be signed up for direct deposit with UMW Accounts Payable. https://adminfinance.umw.edu/ap/travel/direct-deposit/
• Total amount of the cash advance request WILL NOT EXCEED $1,000 per event.
• Requestor will email the completed form and the IRB or Provost approval documents to Finance, using the ‘Email to Finance’ button on the form or by emailing payables@umw.edu
• The Request Form is reviewed by the Associate Vice President for Finance. If rejected, the Request Form is emailed back to the Requestor.  If approved, the Request Form and documentation are forwarded via email to Accounts Payable at payables@umw.edu
• Accounts Payable uses the form as an invoice, enters it into Banner and completes Section B of the form
• Accounts Payable scans the form and documentation and saves a copy in Sharepoint, returns the originals to the Requestor, and emails the Requestor with cc to Associate Vice President for Finance and Finance Executive Accountant.
• Finance Executive Accountant records the Requestor name, survey begin date and survey end date in a spreadsheet and performs follow up with Requestor to ensure final documentation and funds, if required, are provided to the University.
• As soon as the research/survey is complete, the Requestor completes and signs the first line in Section C of the Request Form and provides documentation from the crowdsourcing research/survey tool that reflects the funds deposited with the tool, survey costs and unused fund balance, if applicable.
• Requestor returns the Request Form and all documentation Cashiers Office in Lee Hall 206, along with any unused funds.
  • NOTE: If ALL of the funds were used, simply put the paperwork in campus mail to Eagle Village, Suite 480, Attn: Accounts Payable. (There is no need to go to the Cashiers Office if all funds were used.)
• The Request Form, documentation and unused funds MUST be completed and returned no later than 30 days from the end of the survey or prior to May 31^st of the relevant fiscal year, whichever is earlier.
• If the Requestor is unable to provide a documentation from the research/survey tool that reflects funds, survey costs and balance, the Requestor will be required to reimburse UMW the full advance.
• Cashiers Office sends the completed Request Form and all documentation, including the receipt from deposit of unused funds, to the Finance Executive Accountant.
• Finance Executive Accountant updates the tracking spreadsheet and sends documentation to Accounts Payable.
• Accounts Payable files documentation with invoices.