University of Tampa Psychology Research Participation Introduction

 

Welcome!

This page serves as the Introduction to the on-line system that the Psychology Department is using to help facilitate your research experiences.  You may be here because your instructor in General Psychology (PSY 101) / Psychology of Everyday Life (UTPSY 209)  has informed you that part of your class assignment is a research participation experience, or because your instructor in BAC-101 is using this system to conduct surveys.  Whatever your reason for visiting, however, the first step is the same: create for yourself a screen name and login for our SONA system.

 

Already know the system?  Jump right in, here!

 

Note: all research participation and alternative assignments must be completed by Friday May 2, 2025 at 5 PM ET, unless your professor has set an earlier completion time (check your class syllabus).   

We strongly recommend that you bookmark this page while you’re enrolled in PSY 101; ALL questions regarding research participation credits, including problems with the system, missed research, and credits that are still showing as “pending,” should be directed to the Research Participation Pool Coordinator (Dr. Odgaard), at sona@ut.edu

 

How SONA Works

SONA is an on-line portal to track your credits for research participation and alternative assignments.  Each “credit” is the equivalent of 30 minutes of research participation.  Therefore, a 1 credit study would take 30 minutes or less; a 2 credit study would take an hour or less.  An alternative assignment, which is worth 1 credit, would require reading a short (5 – 6 page) research article and answering five questions about it; this may take longer than 30 minutes, but is still the equivalent to participating in a 30-minute research session (as we deem actual participation to be a more enriching educational experience).

 

You may log in to SONA at any time to check the status of your research participation or alternative assignments or to sign up for new research opportunities.

 

It is important for you to understand that you MUST have a SONA account to get credit for either research participation or for alternative assignments.  Some people choose not to participate in research because they are uncomfortable with the idea; that’s what the alternative assignments are for.  But in either case, your instructor will NOT count research participation credits unless they are reported through SONA.

 

Questions?  Contact the Research Participation Pool Coordinator (Professor Odgaard), at sona@ut.edu   Please DO NOT use the Research Participation Pool Coordinator’s faculty email address, as this can delay responses for days.

NOTE:  The Coordinator is maintaining the system as one of several service requirements.  This means the system will be checked once per day (and not always at the same time).  This means it can take up to 36 hours to get a response to any emails you send, and to your original request for an account.

Student Conduct in Research Studies

In recent semesters, we have had several disturbing incidents in which PSY 101 students have shown up to participate in a study, but have also been abusive of the researchers and disruptive to the other participants in the study.  It is therefore necessary to warn students about precisely what is happening during research participation sessions.

The researcher you meet is either a faculty member engaged in their research, or an advanced student in Psychology gaining experience by working as a Research Assistant.  If more than one student is participating in the study at the same time as you, that student is another PSY 101 or PSY 209 student who is learning more about the process of scientific research through their participation.  In terms of the Student Code of Conduct, then, every person you encounter and interact with during your research participation is a member of the university community engaged in academic activities of the university.  As such, you are obligated to be respectful of the time, effort, and learning experience of the people you interact with.  Any student who is willfully disruptive of the research process during a research session will be referred to the Office of Student Affairs for a violation of the Code of Conduct, and will be banned from participation in both alternative assignments and research participation opportunities for the remainder of the semester.

 

To Create an Account

To get started, you’ll need to create an account for yourself in our on-line system.  You will require this account whether you will be choosing research participation or alternatives to participating in studies.

 

View/Sign Up for Studies

Once your account has been created, you can log in to our system at any time. Once logged in, you can:

 

Cancelling a Sign-Up

You have the right to cancel your participation at any time, until 4:30 PM the day before your scheduled appointment to participate.

 

Alternatives to Research Participation

This option is available only to students enrolled in PSY 101 who have a research participation requirement in their course.  Professional ethics require that research participants have the right to cancel their participation in a study at any time, without penalty.  This includes the option to forgo signing up to participate in the first place.  As an alternative research experience, you can instead sign up to read and review one of several current research articles.  These options are available to you upon request by emailing the Research Pool Coordinator at sona@ut.edu.  Each Alternative Assignment is worth 1 credit, no matter how long it takes you to complete.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

I missed my scheduled appointment to participate in a study.  What do I do?

There is no penalty for missing your scheduled research participation, but it can significantly slow the pace at which you can complete your credits.  In accord with professional ethics in psychology, we are required to interpret a no-show as you having declined to participate in that study. You will therefore be required to complete an Alternative Assignment to Research Participation for that credit.  Until the alternative assignment is completed and graded, you will not be able to sign up for additional studies.  Note that when you sign up for a study but do not show up for it, the SONA system generates an email informing you that your account is being paused due to missing the research opportunity you signed up for.

I showed up for my appointment, but the sign on the door said the study had already begun. What do I do?

The researcher conducting the study may wait up to 5 minutes to begin for people who are running late, but they are not required to do so.  Once the study has begun, however, the researcher will not admit you to participate. This will be interpreted as you declining to participate in that study, which will require you to complete an Alternative Assignment to Research Participation instead.  Until the alternative assignment is completed and graded, you will not be able to sign up for additional studies.  Note that when you sign up for a study but do not show up for it, the SONA system generates an email informing you that your account is being paused due to missing the research opportunity you signed up for.

I showed up for my appointment, but the researcher was not there.  What do I do?

Please wait at the scheduled location for 15 minutes (we suggest you double check that you are in the right place at the right time during your wait!).  If the researcher does not arrive in that time, make note of the date, time, location, and study name, and notify the Research Participation Coordinator immediately.  If the Coordinator confirms that the researcher was absent, you will receive credit for participating in the study.

Immediately after I login, as soon as I click on any menu option, I am taken back to the login page and I see a message that my authentication has expired. What does this mean?

Your web browser is not properly configured to accept cookies. You should turn on cookies in your web browser, use a different web browser (for example, try Firefox if you are currently using Internet Explorer), or try a different computer.

I participated in a study, but I have yet to receive credit. How do I receive credit?

The researcher must grant you credit. This is usually done shortly after your participation. If you haven’t received credit 72 hours (3 days) after your participation, please contact the Research Participation Coordinator via email at sona@ut.edu.

I noticed that with some studies, I can sign up for them again even if I participated before, while others don’t allow for this. Why is this?

Researchers can choose if their studies allow you to participate more than once. Not all studies allow you to participate more than once.

I attempted to sign up for a study, and I was prevented from doing so because the study I was trying to sign up for is a disqualifier for another study I am scheduled to participate in. Why is this?

If you have signed up for a study that has disqualifiers (studies you must not have participated in to participate in that study), you may not then sign up for the studies that are listed as the disqualifier studies. You are allowed to sign up for the disqualifier studies if the disqualifier study will take place after the study with disqualifiers, or if you have already participated in (and received credit for) the study with disqualifiers. The easiest way to sign up for both studies is to schedule the disqualifier study at a time later than the study with disqualifiers.

My alternative assignment took me longer than 30 minutes to complete; why don’t I get more than one credit?

The basis of credit for this part of your grade is the invaluable experience of participating in research that is state-of-the-field, and that leads to publication and/or presentation at scientific conferences.  It is not that alternative assignments are worth less; it is that the experience of participating in actual research is worth more.  The faculty of the Psychology Department value this experience highly enough that we award credit for considerably less time-on-task for participation than for a reaction paper assignment.

Why is my credit for an Alternative Assignment dependent on it being graded, when my participation in research studies is not?

We did not initially require grading of alternative assignments.  Unfortunately, several former students took advantage of this to provide “answers” to the questions that showed the students hadn’t actually bothered to read the article in question.  The required score of 75% is just enough to show that the student has indeed both read the article and considered the questions; last semester, 90% of the alternative assignments completed earned a “pass.”  In addition, you might be interested to know that your participation in research studies IS graded, in a manner of speaking; scientists sometimes use advanced statistical tools to tell whether individual participants were actually paying attention to the study or not.