Sona Overview
The Psychology Department uses External Link Sona Experiment Management System for online research study participation. This system is available to UWM students to use for acquiring extra credit for participating psychology courses. A listing of courses offering extra credit for research participation through the Sona system is available on the experiment management system, but it is best to double-check with course instructors to confirm that their courses are accepting extra credit for participation. Instructors make the final decision to accept or decline all credits assigned to their course(s).
Creating your Sona account and logging in
If you are enrolled in a class that is accepting extra credit, click on the green epanther ID log in button to sign in. When signing in for the first time for the semester, you will be required to enter some information. When entering your information, make sure to select all courses you are enrolled in that are accepting extra credit. If you do not see your courses listed, please contact research-participation@uwm.edu before creating your account. The first time you log on to the system you will be asked to complete a very brief questionnaire asking basic information such as age, gender, ethnicity, and handedness.
Viewing available studies and signing up
When you log in, there will be a green “View Available Studies” button you can browse a list of studies. Click on the study title for a description of the study, including how long it takes, where it is, and how far in advance you must sign up for a session.
To sign up, select “Timeslots Available.” Use the green ‘View Timeslots for Study’ button at the bottom of the study information page to view all time slots available. Select your timeslot(s) and select the green ‘Sign up’ button at the bottom of the next screen. Please note the date, time, and location of your study. There are penalties for not showing up for a session. You will receive a reminder email 24 hours in advance. If a study says “invitation code required” that means a short prescreening questionnaire may need to be done or the researcher may need to contact you to determine your eligibility for the study.
If no studies that you qualify for are available, check back later. New studies will be added throughout the semester, so keep checking back for additional participation opportunities.
Age restrictions
You must be 18 years old or older to participate in research studies through Sona. If you are under the age of 18, there is an Research Participation Alternative (described below) that you can complete to earn extra credit for your course. Minors will not be able to create a Sona account. To get Sona credit, contact the Sona administrator (research-participation@uwm.edu) and 1) indicate that you are under 18, and 2) indicate what course(s) you want to earn credit for.
Research Participation Alternative
One hour of Sona credit may be earned by reading a research article from an approved list, creating a short presentation about the article, and recording the presentation to be evaluated by the Sona administrator.
Detailed instructions and the submission portal are available through a self-enrollment Canvas course. You will need to read the instructions, mark them as done, and view the presentation template before you will be able to see the list of approved articles.
Study cancellation and no-show policy
It is very important to remember that when you sign up for a session you are making a commitment to show up for that appointment. If you need to cancel you may do so via the SONA website prior to the session. Studies vary in how much advance notice they need of cancellation (most are 24 hours) – please take note of this when you sign up. If you need to cancel, login to Sona and under My Schedule/Credits see the Study Signups section. Find the appropriate appointment on the list and select “cancel.”
If there is an urgent need to cancel after the deadline to cancel in Sona has passed, email the researcher of the study as soon as possible to explain the circumstance. This information will be reviewed and in certain cases (emergency, documented illness, etc), the No Show may be excused.
If you do not show up for a session you will lose the opportunity to earn one percent of extra credit. If you fail to show for a second session you will again lose the opportunity to earn a second percentage of extra credit and you will no longer have the opportunity to sign up for research studies to earn extra credit for your course(s). You can make up the extra credit points you lost by completing an alternative extra credit option. If you prefer not to participate in research you may also choose one of these alternative extra credit options.
Viewing your earned credits
Login to Sona and under My Schedule/Credits, will see a list of all studies you have signed up for and whether credit was granted (under “Credit Status” in the Study Signups section).
Locked out of account
If you missed at least two studies without providing proper documentation, then you were marked as an unexcused No Show for those absences and your account has been locked/disabled (see No-show policy above). While your account is locked, you will be unable to sign up for studies, although you can still take part in studies that you have already signed up for and will receive credit for any studies completed thus far. Contact the Sona Administrator (research-participation@uwm.edu) for more information.
Reassigning credits
Login to Sona and under My Schedule/Credits and Study Signups you will see which course each study’s credits were assigned to. Use the “reassign” link to transfer the credits from a particular study to a different course.
Changing your courses
To add or remove a course to your profile, select ‘My Profile’ and then ‘Change Courses.’ Be sure to select all your psychology courses offering extra credit for that semester, not just the new course you want to add.
When are credits awarded?
Credit should be awarded within 24 hours of completion of the study. Please note that for studies with multiple sessions credit may be awarded after all sessions are completed. If it has been more than 24 hours since you participated, please first email the researcher to request that your credit be recorded. You can find the researcher contact by clicking on the title of the study in your list of sign-ups. If you emailed the researcher and have not heard a response within 72 hours (e.g., 4 days since you participated) you may contact the Sona administrator (research-participation@uwm.edu).
Contacts
For questions about a particular study, contact the researcher. Their email can be found under the study descriptions in Sona.
For questions about the amount of extra credit you can earn, please see your course syllabus. If the information is not there contact your instructor.
For questions about using Sona, contact the Sona administrator (research-participation@uwm.edu).
For more help navigating Sona, see Participant Help.