frequently asked questions
We are located at 200 W Jackson Blvd on the 26th floor. We are accessible by train (Train: Quincy (brown, purple, orange, pink), Jackson (red, blue). Metra: Union Station, LaSalle), car, and bike, etc. We offer validated parking at a nearby parking garage just three blocks away. We do not own the garage, so we cannot control if the parking garage is full.
Our recruiters go through and manually qualify participants for different studies. This process can take 24-48 hours typically. We will contact you if you qualify by text, email, or phone call. Please do not contact us asking if you can come in right after your submission. We might not have something for you right away, but something can come up at any time since we are constantly running multiple projects at a time.
This is a one-on-one study where you’ll be in a room with a TV screen, watching a presentation with some marketing material. During the presentation, your reactions are monitored using an EEG cap. The cap looks just like a swim cap, with many small holes in it. Before the presentation begins, a little bit of leave-in conditioner is put into some of the holes, and then the sensors are snapped into those holes like buttons. The sensors passively pick up your reactions during your session, which might include: images presented on a TV monitor, sounds through speakers/headphones, objects to be manipulated, or smells/tastes to be experienced. You will be asked to view marketing material, handle an object, or to press a button. There are no pain or side effects – nothing is being done to you. You are only being observed. In some studies, we may ask you to fill out post-study questionnaires about the marketing material.
We have social distancing stickers placed on the ground to ensure safety of our associates and participants. Each participant will have their temperature and symptoms checked as well as receive a bag of individualized PPE (a gown, gloves, and new mask) to put on and wear during their session – this can be removed after completion. Between each participant, our associates clean and sanitize all necessary areas to make sure there is no cross contamination. We have buffered our time slots to make sure there is enough time for cleaning and minimizing crowding of participants in the same room.
It is required that you bring a valid government ID. Our building company requires that all visitors have an ID for safety and legal purposes. If you do not have one or have recently lost one, we will be unable to have you participate. If you require glasses or contacts to see far away, please bring them or make sure to have them in before your appointment. Correct vision is required for participation.
Yes, 100%! We offer validated parking at 318 S Federal Street – just three blocks away from our office. Please bring your parking ticket with you, and we will validate it in the office. Upon leaving the garage after completion of the study, just feed your ticket through the machine. The parking validation covers a maximum of 6 hours. We do not own the garage, so we cannot control if the parking garage is full.
If you are unable to pass either/both of the tests, we will be unable to run you. We will make a note if you fail the vision test and encourage you to see an eye doctor before reapplying.
Unfortunately, we are unable to run participants with braids/weave/extensions in their hair. The sensors must be placed in particular areas of the head, so if a braid/weave/extension prevents that placement, the data won’t be usable. However, please let us know when you remove your braids (if you have them), and we will get you scheduled.
Unfortunately, heavy eye makeup or false eyelashes can disrupt data collection. For certain studies, eye tracking is required, and makeup and/or heavy lashes can cause collection issues. We have extra makeup wipes if we feel that data would be interrupted.
The conditioner used is water-based and fragrance-free, so it does not have any threatening characteristics or side effects. It is easily washed out with water after the study is completed.
The session will take anywhere from 40 to 60 minutes.
We understand that accidents and delays happen. Please email us at neurolabs.chicago@gmail.com if you know you are going to be late. If it is past the 5-10 minute grace period, we will be unable to run you due to our schedule logistics. We will reschedule you a maximum of two times per year, if possible.
If you aren’t feeling well, please let us know and we will cancel or reschedule your appointment if possible. Your health and safety is important to us!
We understand that emergencies come up, and people get sick. Still, if you reschedule, cancel, or don’t show to your appointment more than twice in one year, you will be ineligible to participate in future studies. Please only make an appointment if you are confident that you can make it.
In accordance with market research industry ethical guidelines, we may disclose certain data that you provide, such as your responses to a survey or questionnaire, to our clients and third parties (e.g.m market research companies). We limit how our clients and other third parties may use data that we share with them in order to prevent them from tracing data back to the individual to whom it relates. We prevent personal data from being used inconsistently with the purpose for which it was collected. We have in place reasonable, organizational, technical, and administrative measures that are designed to protect your data from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, destruction, and other forms of unlawful processing while it is under our control.
You will be given a Visa gift card upon completion. You can use this card anywhere, but you cannot take cash out of it.
If your card expires before use or you lost it, you may contact www.prepaidcardstatus.com or 1-866-230-3809 to have your card reinstated. There is a $12.50 reinstatement fee that is not related to the Neuro Lab.
Yes! We would love to have your friends and family participate as well. They should fill out our online questionnaire, and we will contact them if they qualify to get them scheduled. Upon completion, they will be given a referral form if it is their first time participating in a study with us where they will write down your information. You will receive $10/person referred if it is their first time. At the end of each month, we compile the referral forms and contact you for your address to send a Visa gift card to with your referral total. There is no limit to how many people you refer!
Some client studies are more challenging than others and require particular responses from the questionnaire. Because of this and its potential for a timely study, we pay participants more than others.
Email – since we are checking in/out participants all day, our phone is more challenging to get to! Our email is neurolabs.chicago@nielsen.com.