User Study Program
Purpose
The CHCI User Study Funding Program provides up to $600 (maximum per study) in funds to compensate participants in HCI-related user studies or experiments that have been approved by the VT Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Eligibility
CHCI-affiliated faculty and students are eligible to apply. Applicants may receive no more than one award per academic year from this program.
Budget
The current budget for this program is $6,500 per year. The total budget is allocated across three terms:
- $2,600 (40%) for Fall
- $2,600 (40%) for Spring
- $1,300 (20%) for Summer
Evaluation
Eligible applications will be evaluated with regards to their IRB approval status, whether the requested funds are consistent with the compensation amounts approved by the IRB, whether the research is funded by another source (e.g., a federal grant), when participant recruitment is expected to begin, whether the study results are expected to be submitted to HCI-related conferences or journals, whether the applicant confirms that they will acknowledge CHCI’s support, and whether the applicant agrees to present their research at the CHCI@VT Weekly Seminar Series after its completion.
Applications evaluated positively in terms of the above criteria will be funded on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the budget allocation for a term is exhausted, no more awards will be made that term. In special circumstances, the CHCI Executive Committee may vote to allocate funding to significant studies beyond the maximum amount and budget allocation.
Award Requirements
Awardees must follow their unit's procedures pertaining to human subject payments and will work with their unit's financial manager/specialist to seek reimbursement of funds paid to compensate participants up to the awarded amount. All reimbursements must be requested within 12 months of the award date, after which the award expires.
Awardees are also required to acknowledge that their research was supported by the Center for Human-Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech (CHCI@VT) in any publications resulting from the funded study: e.g., "This material is based upon research supported by the Center for Human-Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech (CHCI@VT)." Furthermore, awardees must agree to present their research at the CHCI@VT Weekly Seminar Series after its completion.
Application Process
To apply, please complete the CHCI User Study Funding Application. Applications will usually be processed within one week of submission. If you have any questions about this form or program, please email the Director of CHCI@VT: Ryan P. McMahan (rpm@vt.edu).