The Maryland Cybersecurity Center (MC2) at the University of Maryland is always looking for new participants to recruit for research studies focused on computer security professionals (e.g., secure software development, network defense, system administration, etc). This page contains information about our panel and how to join. Thank you in advance for your interest.
Please read the policies below before following the link at the bottom to join the panel. To join, you will be asked to complete a short (< 5 min) survey to help us identify the best fitting studies for you. Please note account creation may take up to 3 weekdays. Once registered, you will begin receiving emails whenever we start a study you are eligible to participate in.
Find Out MoreUniversity of Maryland researchers are looking for participants to take part in studies related to computer security specific tasks such as secure software development, vulnerability discovery, network monitoring and defense, malware analysis, and many others. Almost all studies can be completed online on your personal computer, but a few participants may be needed for in-person studies in labs on campus. As a panel member, you can sign up for as many or as few studies as you would like. While participation in the panel is uncompensated, panelists who choose to enroll in specific studies are often compensated with cash or gift cards.
Payment: For online studies, participants will often be compensated with online gift cards (e.g., Amazon gift card) within 1 to 2 weeks of the conclusion of the study. For in-person studies, participants will often be compensated immediately with cash or gift cards. Payment usually averages around $25 per hour or participants may be entered into a lottery for a chance to win a larger prize. Payment information for each study will be provided in the study description.
Study Topics: Processes and decision-making, attitudes and beliefs regarding ability to complete security tasks, tool preferences, and group performance.
Study Length: Studies generally vary in length from about 5-30 minutes for surveys or 30 minutes to 3 hours for observational studies and interviews.
Privacy: All study data will be stored securely in an encrypted container on password-protected servers (digital) or a locked cabinet (paper). If we write a report or article about a study you participate in, your identify will be protected to the maximum extent possible. Your registration information will only be used to determine which studies you may be eligible for and will only be accessible by the MC2 Security Professional Research Panel (MSPRP) administrators. Data retention and sharing policies for data collected during each study you participate in can be found in the study description. In general, while we may share research records with external sponsoring parties, this data will be carefully redacted before sharing to remove potentially identifying information.
For general questions about the research panel, please feel free to contact the panel administrators at sec-pros@cs.umd.edu. Any questions about a particular study (including but not limited to questions about compensation, preparation, meeting time, eligibility, etc.) should be directed to the researcher(s) listed in the study posting. In the case that a participant feels any matter must be reviewed by the lab administrators, participants may email the MC2 lab manager at sec-pros@cs.umd.edu