4 Places to Find Paid Research Study Opportunities in Boston and Cambridge, MA

If you live in the Boston, MA or Cambridge area and are looking for ways to make some extra cash, you might consider volunteering to participate in research studies for local colleges and universities.

Area colleges, especially MIT and Harvard, regularly seek out participants to volunteer as subjects for research studies. The experiments vary in type and time commitment but many of them require no particular knowledge or skill and can even end up being fun to take part in. Paid research studies are a great way to not only earn extra cash while simultaneously contributing to research on important topics.

There are many ways to find paid research study opportunities in Boston, as new experiments are popping up all the time. There are a few sources, though, that consistently list opportunities for paid research subjects; these are good places to start browsing when you are ready to start participating.

Four of these sources for paid research study opportunities are listed below.

Join the BCS-Subjects List
Researchers at the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT frequently need subjects to participate in research studies and they use this email list to express their recruitment needs. As a member of the BCS-Subjects list at MIT (which some refer to as the Mollylab list), you will receive email updates about experiments in immediate need of participants. The newsletter covers a broad range of opportunities, with the most common types of projects being MRI (or fMRI) studies and those that require the subject to partake in a series of computer tasks or games. Some researchers will need you to participate for a mere 15 minutes; other projects may require several hours of your time.

Being a part of this list does not obligate you to participate in a research study at MIT, but it does give you the inside scoop on how you can. Extensive details including compensation amounts are usually provided in the opportunity notification summary emails and contact info to use for further inquiries. The pay range for most of the MIT studies on this list is generally between $10/hour and $30/hour. To start receiving opportunities from the BCS-Subjects List for MIT research studies, sign up here.

Become an MIT AgeLab Volunteer
The MIT AgeLab was established in 1999 with a goal to find and develop ways to effectively improve peoples' health and allow them to maintain an active lifestyle even as they age. MIT AgeLab regularly needs participants for research studies in the Boston area. People of all ages are eligible to volunteer as study subjects.

Examples of research studies at the AgeLab include Driving the "Miss Daisy" simulator, on-road driving in a special computer equipped car, surveys or focus group participation, designing your own controls for a household appliance and preparing a meal in your home. To sign up as a potential MIT AgeLab volunteer participant, register online with this form or call 617-324-9054. Once you have signed up, you will be notified of current study opportunities, and the eligibility requirements and compensation details for each of them.

Register to be included in the HBS CLERLab Subject Pool
The Computer Lab for Experimental Research at Harvard Business School (aka CLERLab) offers ongoing opportunities to participate in research studies for cash. Most studies take place in a computer lab where you will be required to perform a series of tasks or play games. The research studies generally range in pay from about $15 to $40, and as long as you arrive to the study on time, you are always guaranteed $10, even if for some reason you are turned away due to overbooking.

In order to participate in the HBS CLERLab research studies for cash, you must be a US citizen or permanent resident, aged 18 years or older, who is fluent in English, comfortable using a computer and not on the payroll at Harvard University. To start participating in research studies through Harvard Business School CLERLab, Register by filling out this form to be a member of the subject pool. Once you have signed up, you can then log in to your account on the HBS CLERLab website, view upcoming research study opportunities and sign up to participate.

Register for the Psychology Study Pool at Harvard
The Harvard University Psychology Department, located in the William James Hall building, is constantly offering new research study opportunities for cash. Most studies require less than an hour of your time and will compensate participants at least $10. The cash can build up quickly with a few studies and there are always plenty of opportunities. If your schedule will allow it, consider signing up for several studies on a single day in back to back timeslots. There are many studies that only take about 5-10 minutes.

Harvard students, as well as members of the public are invited to participate in research studies at William James Hall. Most studies involve tasks on a computer or require you to play games or answer questionnaires. You will not be eligible for every study opportunity; the criteria they are looking for is listed next to the experiment on the main study page on the study pool website, once you sign in to your account.

Participating in psych studies for cash at Harvard is an excellent way to earn cash, but be aware that it does require a bit of an extra effort on your part to get started. In order to be a part of the Psychology Study Pool and receive notices about study opportunities you are eligible for, there is a preliminary questionnaire you must fill out in order to register. The interview asks hundreds of intimate questions about your personality and interests, and beliefs, etc. and takes about an hour on average to complete and must be done in one sitting. Even though you won't be paid for this, it is definitely worth it, considering all of the paid research study opportunities it will give you access to.

To learn more about the Psychology Study Pool and/or to register to participate in research studies for cash, click this link.