How would you like to participate in studies conducted by one of the top universities in the world, Harvard?
Yes, you will get compensated for your time!
Participating in focus groups, university studies and paid online surveys – where you make money as a human guinea pig – is a great way to earn extra money in your free time.
I recently published a post about an experiment where you can win money playing games. This is an experiment from the researchers of the Social Innovations Lab at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It collects information about the choices you make and how you use peer information while playing online games.
These kinds of studies and experiments – psychology studies, clinical trials, sleep studies, medical testing, etc – are commonly conducted by universities, hospitals, major medical organizations and even NASA (like the famous NASA Sleep Study where they paid participants $18,000 to lay in bed for 3 months!)
Harvard university is one of the universities that conducts a lot of these kinds of studies and they do compensate the participants for their time.
Interested?
Here is one that focuses on human behavior in regards to computer technology.
Table of Contents
Behavioral Research
The first one is a study being conducted by the Harvard Business School.
It’s a study that focuses on human behavior in multiple contexts, such as consumer behavior, economic incentives, and group behavior.
Who can participate
According to the university, to qualify, you must be:
- a US citizen or permanent resident
- 10 years of age or older
- fluent in English
- comfortable using a computer
If you meet these requirements, you are good to go!
When & How
Studies are conducted every day both at Harvard Business School and online.
If you live in or around Boston, MA and are looking for paid university studies near you, this is your opportunity since the Computer Lab for Experimental Research at the Harvard Business School is located at Shad Hall – Boston, MA 02163.
So, if you live close to the university, you can register to participate in on-location studies.
And if you don’t, you can still participate in online studies (more on that later).
There are sessions throughout the day from 9 am to 6:30 pm.
What kind of questions will I be asked?
Questions for the study are usually computer-based that cover a wide variety of topics such as topics that affect preferences, emotions, and beliefs.
There are also times where you’ll be asked to evaluate a certain product, make decisions and even interact with other participants in an economic simulation.
The best part is that you can participate in as many studies as you wish.
Compensation
For on-site studies that are 90-minute bundles, test subjects are paid $25 plus bonuses. These studies run on a consistent schedule (Tues/Thurs semi-monthly).
Online studies are individual studies and are conducted weekly.
You can expect to earn anywhere from $15-25 for each study. Add in the bonuses and you are looking at $35 for each study (lasting anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes) you participate in.
They also offer free food and snacks, as well as giveaways and prizes.
What I like about their payment system is that there is a minimum payment of $10 if you sign up, are eligible, and show up. So you know you’ll get $10 even if something happens and the study is not conducted that day.
Where to sign up
It’s actually very easy and quick to sign up.
Here’s how:
- First, visit https://hbs.sona-systems.com/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=/
- Click on the “Request Account” tab.
- On the next page fill out the form that asks for your information (name, email, password, etc).
- Then hit the “Request Account” tab one more time.
At this point, you’re done. All you have to do is wait for your account approval.
Is it worth the time?
Yes, definitely!
If you have some free time and are looking for a legitimate way to make money, this is a great opportunity.
Not only will you earn some extra cash, you also get to be a part of studies that could shape the future of computer technology and how we use and interact with them.
This is a very informative and useful site.
Just an FYI, the Harvard Business School study participant application contains the stipulation that for verification purposes, participants are only able to enroll in online studies after completing at least one in person lab study. So, that would mean online studies are actually only available to people who reside close enough to the school to participate in at least one in person study.
Thanks so much for the heads up, Mercedes. That’s very helpful.