Some of our research is safely continuing in person!
On a typical visit, you can expect to be greeted by our researchers and staff in one of our seven research centres. Each centre has a meet and greet area where families can sit and relax while their children (including any accompanying siblings) play with an interesting selection of toys in our play areas. Our researcher will help you get settled (diaper changes, feeding, a glass of water?), explain what the study is about, and talk about your role as a parent during the study.
The study themselves are quite short (between 5 to 10 minutes) and usually involve watching something (e.g. a video or a puppet show) while your child sits on your lap.
Infant Studies
For our infant studies, your baby would be with you the entire time. If you visit with more than one child, we will have a staff member or another researcher available to babysit in our play area while you participate in the study with your infant. Once you are done with the study itself, there may be some paperwork to fill out, for example, study-related questionnaires that the researcher will guide you through.
Child Studies
Some of our studies for older children involve having your child speak with the researcher while playing a game or after watching a video. The researcher may ask them questions about what they saw in the video or what they think about the game. In these cases, your child may be in a different room than you, but you would be able to watch them the entire time via a TV monitor. Once you are done with the study itself, there may be some paperwork to fill out, for example, study-related questionnaires that the researcher will guide you through.
After the Study
We will then present your child with a UBC degree certificate, marking each visit with a higher degree (for example, your child will receive a B.A. degree on the first visit, and then an M.A. degree on the second visit, and so on!). Your child will also receive a gift, like a t-shirt, bib, tote bag, book or toy, often custom-printed with the research centre’s logo. While you are on the UBC campus, you can also enjoy the many family activities listed here!
Booking Your Visit
Many parents like to book multiple studies per visit to make the most out of their time at UBC. If you have booked more than one study, then the next study may be at another one of our centres, and our researcher would walk you there. All of our centres are on the ground floor of the same building, so it’s very easy to move from study to study!
For each study, you can expect to be visiting one of our centres for about 30-60 minutes. After the study/studies, if you travelled to us by transit, we would give you two bus tickets to help cover the cost. If you drove, then you will have parked in our free, reserved parking spaces and can simply drive out of the parkade after your visit is complete!
