General guidelines for lab use
Access to the lab is limited to authorised members of registered projects. Before conducting a study in the lab, you must register the project.
Projects are registered twice a year:
- 25 January for the period February–August
- 25 August for the period September–January
The project manager or principal investigator is responsible for the study’s design, data management, analyses, and compliance with ethical and regulatory requirements. Lab staff can provide practical support and advice but are not responsible for the research conducted in the lab.
Booking lab rooms
- Lab rooms are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Please reserve rooms only when you are certain that you need them. If you no longer require a booking, cancel it in Outlook as soon as possible so that the room is available to others.
- For information about access and room reservations, see Booking rooms.
During your lab session
Please help maintain a safe and professional working environment:
- Keep all rooms clean and tidy.
- Do not eat or drink in the lab.
- When testing participants, display the “Experiment ongoing” sign. This indicates that people should remain quiet in the hallway and should not enter the testing room.
- Treat other lab users and participants with consideration.
After your lab session
Before leaving, return the room and equipment to the condition in which you found them or better:
- Remove your experimental setup, unless you have received permission to leave it in place.
- Clean EEG caps and electrodes after use.
- Save your data securely and delete it from all lab devices.
- Take all personal items and materials that do not belong to the lab.
- Shut down equipment where required, following the relevant instructions.Turn off the lights.
Equipment
Lab equipment is costly and must be handled with care. Only users with appropriate training and practical experience may operate the equipment.
- Get necessary training with the equipment and follow all relevant instructions and user manuals.
- Contact the lab engineer if you have questions or experience technical problems.
- Report damaged or malfunctioning equipment to the lab engineer or lab manager as soon as possible.
- Do not alter existing equipment arrangements or user settings without permission, as these may be part of another researcher’s ongoing study. If in doubt, contact the lab engineer or lab manager.
- If you need to retain an experimental setup between scheduled sessions, request approval in advance. If approval is granted, leave a clear note on the equipment with your name, contact details, and the date of your next session.
- If multiple researchers use the same equipment, inform other users of any substantial changes to the software or hardware configuration.
Acknowledging the lab
- When preparing funding applications that involve use of the Socio-Cognitive Laboratory's rooms or equipment, please include relevant lab costs in the project budget.
- Users should acknowledge the Socio-Cognitive Laboratory in publications resulting from work conducted in the lab. For example: “The authors gratefully acknowledge the Socio-Cognitive Laboratory for use of rooms and equipment”.
Ethical and safety requirements
All studies must comply with applicable ethical and data management guidelines for research involving human participants.
- Secure all necessary approvals, including from Sikt or REK where applicable, before data collection begins.
- Obtain informed consent from all participants—or from a legal guardian where relevant—before participation.
- Familiarise yourself with evacuation procedures and ensure that participants can be safely evacuated in the event of a fire. Please consult the University of Oslo's information on fire safety before conducting research in the lab.