SRG Participant Payment Guidelines

Updated: 09/16/25

Participants compensated using your SRG award must be documented in accordance with the guidelines included in your award email from the Undergraduate Research (UGR) Office, the policies outlined in this document, and any Finance Department policies (https://www.union.edu/finance/purchasing/purchasing-policies-procedures).  Note that UGR guidelines and Finance policies are subject to change.  

Please read these guidelines carefully before you begin a participant study.  Note that this document is meant to cover common situations—if you have any questions, please contact the UGR Director (ugr-director@union.edu).

General Guidelines

1. You are expected to adhere to the following policies (note: you must be logged in to union.edu to access)

1. Human Subjects Research Participant Payment Policy & Procedures,
2. Allowable Payments and Documentation Requirements for Research Participants,  and
3. Undergraduate Research Award Guidelines. 
   

2. All compensation made to participants must be consistent with the spending approved in your award email.  You may not change how you compensate participants without approval of the UGR Director (ugr-director@union.edu).  You will need to reimburse the College for any unapproved expenditures.
   
3. Work with your advisor and with the department administrative assistant (“dept admin”) indicated in your award letter to pay participants and document the payments.
   
4. Itemized documentation of payments must be submitted to your dept admin within one week of paying your final study participant.
   
5. All spending for the academic year 2025-2026 must be completed by Friday, May 8, 2026.
   
6. If your project requires HSRC approval and you have not yet provided the UGR Office with your HSRC study number, you must provide it to your dept admin before you begin working with your participants.
   
7. Do not provide participants compensation until after they have completed the study requirements and supplied any required documentation.

Paying Participants

There are different steps you'll need to take to access and provide payments to your participants depending on the payment type that your study was approved for.

• Online Research Platforms (e.g., Prolific, MTurk, CloudResearch)  Your dept admin or advisor can purchase credits on these platforms.
• Gift Cards or Tangible Gifts.  Your dept admin or advisor can purchase (electronic) gift cards or small tangible gifts that can be provided to participants.
• Digital Wallet Payments (e.g., Venmo, Paypal)  Digital wallet payments to participants cannot be made directly by dept admins, so you'll need to make the payments yourself and then be reimbursed afterwards.  Make sure to collect receipts of your expenditures.
• Cash Payments  Work with your faculty advisor to request a cash advance.  Note that this will take some time to process, so please plan accordingly.   Return any advanced funds not paid out to participants to your advisor at the end of your study.  You must collect documentation (see below) and provide it to your department admin as proof of how you distributed the funds.

Documenting Payments

The level of documentation required depends on the method of payment and type of participants.

• Online Research Platforms: A receipt providing proof of spending is the only documentation required by studies conducted through online research platforms where participants are directly compensated through the platform.   You do not need to document individual participant payments in this case.
• All Other Types of Studies: You will need to document and itemize every payment you make to individual participants.

1. Download a copy of the Research Participant Payment Record Worksheet. 
2. Print out the worksheet, your participants may need to sign it.
3. For each participant you compensate, add a row to the worksheet containing the information about that transaction.  Fill out the columns appropriate for the type of payment and participant.
4. When your study is over, submit the completed worksheet to your dept admin with any supporting documentation.

Documenting Participant Information

The information that needs to be collected about each participant depends on whether they are affiliated with Union College (students, faculty, staff).  See the Human Subjects Research Participant Payment Policy & Procedures (note: you must be logged in to union.edu to access) as the primary source of these requirements.

Union-College Affiliated Participants:  Complete Column K.

Participants not Affiliated with Union College: Complete Columns J, L, M, N, and O.

• If the participant is receiving compensation totalling more than $100 and is a U.S. citizen or resident alien, the participant must also complete an IRS W-9 prior to receiving payment compensation for their participation.  
• If the participant is receiving compensation and is a foreign national or non-resident alien, the participant must also complete an IRS W-8 prior to receiving payment compensation for their participation.  

Due to the confidential nature of the IRS W-8 and W-9 forms you will need to provide each non-Union participant with a printed copy to complete in advance of payment, along with an envelope that they can place their completed W-8/9 form into and seal it up before handing it over to you.  The sealed envelopes with the completed W-8/9s must be submitted to the Finance Department (attn: Lynn Davis) as soon as possible (do not wait until your study is completed), your dept admin can help you with this.  Questions regarding the completion and handling of W-8/9 forms should be directed to Lynn Davis (purchasing@union.edu).  

Documenting Payment Information

The information that needs to be collected, and included on the Worksheet, depends on the method of payment.

• Digital Wallet Payments

• Complete Columns B, C, D (if applicable), G, H, I.
• Provide a screengrab of each digital wallet payment made which clearly indicates the name of the recipient, amount paid, and date of payment.

• Gift Card and Cash Payments

• Complete Columns A, G, H, I, and J.