What to Expect During a Visit

All Families Lab

Studies at the All Families Lab may take place online or in person and usually involve multiple timepoints. For typical online studies, parents or youth complete independent 30- to 60-minute surveys on their own phones or laptops. For typical in-person studies, families or youth visit the campus lab on Burnaby Mountain for about an hour of discussions and surveys as well as fun games for little ones. We offer free parking on campus. As a thank you, participating families or youth are entered into draws for big and small prizes, such as tablets and Amazon gift cards.

Grow to Care Lab

Studies at the Grow to Care Lab take place either online, on campus at SFU, or in the community (i.e., in community centers and/or at schools) and take approximately 30 minutes to 2 hours to complete depending on the nature of the study. Some studies are one-time sessions while others involve multiple assessment points (typically 3 to 12 months apart). Studies are fun and interactive, and involve children playing games with a research assistant, answering questions about stories they hear, and talking about their real-life experiences. We may also collect children’s biological responses (e.g., heart rate and stress hormones via spit) throughout the session to better understand the biological roots of kindness. Parents may also be asked to engage in some of the tasks with their children and to complete a questionnaire about their child’s development and their family life. Participants are compensated for their time and effort with a gift card, and children are often also gifted a book or small toy.

Language Learning and Development Lab

Studies at the Language Learning and Development (LangDev) Lab take place online, in your home, or in our labs at the SFU Burnaby and Surrey campuses. For online studies, you may be asked to complete questionnaires or participate in a Zoom meeting. For studies that occur in your home, the procedure will be explained to you during a Zoom meeting and all the required equipment will be mailed to you with a prepaid return envelope. 

For studies that take place in our Burnaby or Surrey labs, on the day of your scheduled appointment, a researcher will meet you in the SFU parking lot (where you will receive a complimentary parking pass) and walk you to the lab. There, the researcher will guide you through specific tasks. The tasks are short and should take no longer than 10-15 minutes each. Once complete, your child will be presented with a small gift. A cap and gown will be provided for a mini graduation photo shoot.  

Phonological Processing Lab

Studies in the Phonological Processing Lab (PhonoLab) may take place online or in our lab at SFU Burnaby. Online studies typically require headphones, and we may ask you to be sure you’re in a quiet place while you complete the study. Studies at SFU Burnaby involve meeting with a research team member and doing one or more tasks that may include non-invasive eye-tracking, computer games, audio recordings, or standardized tests. Most of our studies take no more than an hour.