What We Do
Vanderbilt's prestige is rooted in its legacy for generating scientific breakthroughs and novel behavioral insights. The Insights Lab at Vanderbilt exists to continue that tradition. We seek to explain and predict people’s preferences and behaviors, and share these insights with consumers, businesses, and policymakers. The lab conducts in-person and online experiments and surveys with facilities allowing for group interactions in break-out rooms, shopping studies in a simulated retail environment, and a variety of other set-ups.
How to Participate
The Insights Lab welcomes Vanderbilt students and staff as well as members of the Nashville community to participate in our research studies. By participating in our research, you help us learn more about marketing and organizational behavior.
1. Request an account
You must first request an account with our online participant management system. Creating an account will allow you to view a list of available studies, sign up for studies, and provide the research administrator with a way to share study updates with you.
Click this link and provide your complete first & last name, a user ID, a valid e-mail address & a phone number. Vanderbilt students and staff must use their Vanderbilt e-mail address. Your User ID can be any combination of letters or numbers, and must not already be in use. Send an e-mail to researchadmin@vanderbilt.edu if you have questions about requesting an account.
2. Log in
Soon after you enter your contact info & click “Request Account,” an e-mail will be sent to you with log-in instructions and a temporary password. Once you log-in you may change your password.
If you have junk mail (spam) filters configured for your email, please configure the filters to accept email from vanderbilt-owen-admin@sona-systems.net, as emails from the system will be sent from that address.
3. View available studies and sign up
Once you log in, you will see a main screen that allows you to view or sign up for available studies, view or cancel study appointments, and manage your profile settings. After clicking on “View Available Studies,” you can select individual studies to read more information about them and sign up for specific time slots. New time slots can appear, so please check back occasionally.
Researchers Welcome
Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management faculty and post-doctoral fellows are welcome to use the Insights Lab and its resources to conduct research. The following link is password-protected; if you need credentials, please contact the lab.
Conduct Research at the Insights Lab
Owen faculty and post-doctoral fellows are welcome to use the Insights Lab and its resources to conduct research. Lab and online studies are coordinated with our Insights team by following these steps:
- Complete the Insights Lab Intake Form for each new study. This short form asks about the nature of your study (online vs. lab, sample size, basic procedure, etc.).
- Following completion of the intake form, our team will contact you within 1-2 business days to begin implementing your study. IRB approval is required before a new study can be launched through the lab. If you need assistance with the IRB submission process, please see our IRB Guidance page.
- The Insights team will be responsible for launching your study on our online participant management system, scheduling lab space, recruiting participants, coordinating participant compensation, and granting credit. Additionally, the research associate can assist faculty and post-docs with other aspects of their research, such as creating surveys, programming tasks, or general consultations regarding the research process at Vanderbilt.
- Before running a lab study, researchers must provide the Insights lab team with their study materials. Our team will review these materials and pilot-test (if necessary) any aspects of your study.
Lab Facilities
The lab facilities can accommodate a variety of research studies. For example, individual computer stations with privacy panels enable researchers to present a variety of customized materials for participants to experience and evaluate. The three break-out rooms are conducive for studying group dynamics and simulated retail environments. One strength of this lab space is its flexibility enabling researchers to conduct a diverse set of behavioral studies.
Lab Space
- One computer lab with 18 computer stations equipped with web cams, headphones, and experimental software (see below).
- 3 break-out rooms
Available Software
- Qualtrics is a web survey tool available to Owen faculty and students. Faculty and post-docs may request a consultation on building surveys by completing the Insights Lab Intake Form. The lab also has access to Qualtric’s offline app and a few iPads allowing for field studies where internet access might be an issue.
- Inquisit is a program allowing for precise recording of reaction time and includes a large library of psychological tests and tasks that you can customize.
- Sona-Systems is an online participant management system capable of scheduling lab and online studies.
The IRB approval process begins with researchers and other personnel who work with human subjects completing the CITI ethics training.
For researchers or personnel who have not completed their CITI training before, you will complete the course labeled Group 2. Social Behavioral Investigators and Key Personnel. For those who completed the basic course, you may have the option to take a shorter, refresher course. You must renew your certification yearly by taking either the basic or refresher course.
See information about VU IRB processes and requirements. To access the VU submission system, VU investigators should go to VERA.