SONA-Current Student Research Participation

The department manages all of our active research studies online. Our departmental subject pool website is located at: http://baylor.sona-systems.com

Included are some brief instructions explaining how to register for and use the SONA website.

Registration

There are separate account options available for participants, researchers, and instructors. Student registration is currently available ONLY TO REGISTERED BAYLOR STUDENTS. New research participants (students) can open an account on their own by clicking on the option at the lower left portion of the login web page, and following the directions. Please remember to indicate ALL PSY/NSC classes you are currently enrolled in from the drop-down menu when registering. Participants will then be able to sign up for experiments and view their schedule and records by signing onto the website.

New researchers and instructors who need accounts will need to contact the Administrator: Alex Tyra to have an account established for them.

Participating in Research for Course Requirements

Several classes have research requirements and/or extra credit options which are specified by the instructor, and all of these are organized by this website. All students in PSY 1305: Introduction to Psychology classes must participate in five hours of experimental research, two hours of which are NOT online, but in person, as a part of the course requirement. Subsequent hours of participation will be rewarded with extra credit as specified by the instructor. When registering for an account, please select all PSY/NSC classes you are currently enrolled in. Once you have logged in and chosen a study for participation, you will indicate which course you would like for the credit to be applied. Transferring credits to other classes is not allowed. Also, if an experiment offers more than one hour of credit, these credits cannot be split between different classes. In other words, credit received for participation in a given experiment can only be directed to one class, and which class that is cannot be changed after signing up. If a class is not listed, it is not accepting extra credit at that time. Classes can be added during the semester, so participants should check back from time to time, especially if one of their instructors announces that a class has been added to the list.

Signing up for experiments

After signing in, participants can click on "Study Sign-Up." This will take them to the list of available experiments, which can be organized by dates. Some studies take place in a laboratory or classroom at specific meeting times; others may be online questionnaires that must be filled out before a deadline. Each study has its own description, restrictions, and accessibility information. Students should carefully read through all restrictions and requirements to avoid signing up for an experiment in which they will be unable to participate. Participants will be able to see how many credits each study is worth. After signing up for the experiment, it will be visible under the "My Schedule" menu option.

Canceling

If subjects wish to drop out of an experiment they have signed up for, they can do so by clicking the cancel button next to the appropriate experiment under the "My Schedule" menu. Sessions must be dropped 24 hours prior to their scheduled time to avoid receiving a "No Show," which may negatively impact your course credit requirements. Online questionnaires must be completed in one sitting, and therefore cancellation does not apply.

Show/No Show

If participants attend their scheduled session, they will subsequently receive credit for participating. This credit is called a "Show". If they do not attend, they will receive a "No Show". "No Shows" are added to the participant's record and will be included in the final report to their instructors. Participants can keep track of the number of "Shows" and "No Shows" they have obtained by referring to their participation information once they have signed in.

If participants have a valid reason for missing an experiment session, they should contact the researcher in charge of the experiment. Often, sessions can be rescheduled so as to avoid a no-show.