The Psychology Research Sign-up System, also known as the Sona system, is an online system for managing research studies conducted by faculty of the UNCW Psychology Department. Researchers post descriptions of their studies along with their location, duration, and number of credits.
Students in participating classes can browse these descriptions and sign-up for studies for which they are eligible. Researchers then use the system to track student participation and issue course credits.
Login Page For the Sona system
To sign-up for a study, you must enter your user ID and password on the login page. If you do not have login information, ask your instructor whether you are eligible to participate in research. If you are eligible, contact the Psychology Research Administrator to get your login information.
You can also watch this video tutorial about how to access and use the Sona system.
Yes, if you want to earn credit by participating in research, you must use the Sona system. However, you may also earn research credits by completing article summaries.
In general, yes, minors (students under 18) can participate and earn credit in psychology experiments, although they must sign an Acknowledgement Form (provided by the experimenter), and in certain cases there may be restrictions on participation.
Please see this document for more information about how minors can participate in experiments.
In addition to earning course credit, research participation gives you hands-on experience with the psychological research process and introduces you to techniques that may be useful for a career in psychology. It also allows you to contribute to the scientific study of mind, brain, and behavior.
Research participants receive ½ credit for every 30 minutes of participation. For example, studies lasting 30 minutes or less will earn ½ credit, studies lasting between 31 and 60 minutes will be worth 1 credit, those between 61 and 90 minutes will be worth 1.5 credits, etc.
No. As described in the My Responsibilities section below, you will not lose previously-earned credits if you fail to show up for an experiment.
However, failing to show up, or being late, for a scheduled experiment is recorded in the sign-up system as an "unexcused absence". After two unexcused absences, you will be locked out of the sign-up system.
Please read about the Rights and Responsibilities sections below for complete details.
You have rights as a research participant. First, you may elect not to participate in any studies. Most students find research participation fun and educational, but it is completely voluntary. Instead of participating in studies, you can earn your research credits by completing article summaries. Second, you are free to leave an experiment early without penalty (although you will only receive credit for the time you actually participated).
Finally, provisions are taken to protect your privacy as a participant and to maintain the confidentiality of any information you provide. Prior to each experiment, you will be asked to read and sign a consent form that will outline your rights as a participant.
There are rules and responsibilities for research participants. The most important of these are described below.
Protecting your account: You must change your password the first time you log in to your Sona account. Keeping the default password makes your account vulnerable. You are responsible for all activity in your account, so please choose a secure password and keep it confidential.
Canceling your appointment for a study: You can use the Sona system to cancel a study provided it is at least 24 hours in advance of the study's start time. Simply log in, click "My Schedule and Credits", then "Sign-Up History", and select "Cancel" next to the study you need to cancel. If you need to cancel within 24 hours of your appointment, it is your responsibility to contact the researcher directly using the contact information provided on the study's sign-up page and in the confirmation e-mail. If you fail to notify the researcher prior to your scheduled time, Sona will count it as an "unexcused absence".
Being late for an experiment: Please be on time for all experiments. Being late may result in receiving an unexcused absence".
Receiving two unexcused absences: If you fail to appear, or are late, for two scheduled studies, you will no longer be able to access your account on the Sona system and will lose your right to participate in additional studies. If this happens, you should (a) cancel any remaining studies, by phone or email, for which you have already signed up; and (b) complete your remaining required credits by completing the article summaries. Feel free to discuss these options with your instructor.
Participating in the same study twice: Unless it is a multi-part study, or explicitly states that you can participate more than once, you can only participate in a study one time.
Availability of studies: Studies are posted continuously throughout the semester and there is generally ample opportunity for participation. However, we cannot guarantee the availability of studies at any time, so it is a good idea to get started early to ensure that you are able to fulfill your requirement.
Please note that it is the responsibility of all students using the research signup system to read and follow all of the rules and procedures associated with this system.
You can keep track of your credits and absences (excused and unexcused) using the Sona system. Simply log in and go to the "My Schedule/Credits" menu. Click on "Sign-Up History" at the bottom of the page to see the studies in which you have participated and the credits/absences you have received. You can also use this menu to apply your credits toward specific courses if you are enrolled in more than one course that accepts research-participation credit.
Instructors have their own Sona accounts that keep track of their students’ research-participation credits. You may want to verify that your Sona account shows the correct course AND section for which you want to receive credit. If your class affiliation is not correct, your instructor won’t be able to see your credits.
If the researcher is not at the designated location at your scheduled time, wait at least 10 minutes. You should also double-check the time and location of the study to make sure the error isn't yours.
If you are on time, at the correct location, and waited 10 minutes but the researcher still did not show up, please contact the Psychology Research Administrator as soon as possible and notify them of the situation--including the name, time, & location of the study, and the researcher in question. If the researcher is judged to be at fault, you will receive full credit for the missed study.
As part of the sign-up process, you will be given the specific location of the study. You should record this information and ensure that you know how to find the correct building prior to your scheduled appointment.
You can also use the online interactive campus map. Failure to find the location of a study is not a legitimate excuse for missing a scheduled appointment.
Yes, all students enrolled in PSY 105 and PSY 106 during the fall and spring semesters must complete the out-of-class research requirement, regardless of the course's instructional format.
If you are unable, or prefer not, to participant in research studies, you can earn your research credits by completing article summaries.
The Sona system will be deactivated each semester at 11:59 pm, exactly one week before Reading Day so that researchers can assign final participation credits. After this time, students will no longer be able to sign up for studies or earn research participation credits. Plan to have all your research credits earned by this deadline. If you fail to earn your credits by this time, you will receive an incomplete for your course.
Students who fail to earn their required research credits during the fall and spring semesters (6 credits for PSY 105 and 2 credits for PSY 106) will receive an incomplete ("I") grade in their course. To convert this incomplete to a letter grade, students will need to earn any remaining research credits in the next full (fall or spring) semester. If you fail to complete your research requirement by the next full (fall or spring) semester, your incomplete will convert to an F (so don't let this happen!).
Note that, as described above, the Sona System is not available during the summer. This means that, if you receive an incomplete in the spring, you will have to wait until the following fall semester to complete your research requirement and convert your incomplete to a letter grade.
If you receive an incomplete for failing to complete your research requirement, you should contact the Psychology Research Administrator for further instructions.
Please contact the Psychology Research Administrator. Instructors or researchers who would like a copy of the official Sona manual should also contact the Psychology Research Administrator.
Articles summaries require you to describe and evaluate the goals of the study, the methods used, the results found, and the author's conclusions. Only approved articles can be used to earn research credits. The list of approved articles, along with submission instructions, is on the Psychology Research Articles Portal in Canvas.
All summaries must be submitted using the Psychology Research Articles Portal on Canvas, which will first require you to enroll in this "course". Once you have enrolled, you will see six assignments (labeled Article Summaries 1-6). Begin with Article Summary 1, then 2, and so forth until you have submitted your desired number of summaries throughout the semester.
Only one article summary should be submitted per assignment, and you do not need to complete all six assignments. The portal requires that you paste each of your summaries into a text box, so you should first write your summary outside the portal, using MS-Word or similar software.
Each summary that includes all required information, follows the correct format, is free of plagiarism, and is submitted via the Psychology Research Articles Portal will be worth 1 research credit. Please review the FAQs below for details on format requirements and plagiarism. There is no partial credit for summaries.
Only summaries for approved articles can earn credit. The list of approved articles can be found on the Psychology Research Articles Portal.
Once you select an article from the approved list on the Psychology Research Articles Portal, you will need to find the article through the UNCW library or another online source. From the UNCW library's homepage, select "Find Databases", then select "A" and scroll down until you see either "APAPsycARTICLES" or "APA PsycINFO".
If you are on-campus, you will automatically be directed to the site from the library page; if you are off-campus, you will need to log in using your UNCW credentials. Once logged in, you can use the search options to look up the article using its title, authors, date, etc.
Specific format instructions for article summaries are available in the Psychology Research Articles Portal. In short, you will need to locate and carefully read a scientific article, and then write a thoughtful summary that is at least 250 words in length that includes the following:
To receive credit, your summary must be in your own words. DO NOT use direct quotes from the article in your summary.
DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty in which you take someone else’s words or ideas and represent them as your own. Plagiarism is a serious offence that may stay on your student record. Examples of plagiarism include taking 3 or more consecutive words directly from a published source, using the work of another student, or using AI-generated writing. All submitted summaries will be checked for plagiarism using Turnitin, and any summary found to contain plagiarism will receive zero credit and that student will be reported to university officials.
For more on plagiarism, please visit this website from the American Psychological Association.
Article summaries can be submitted any time during the semester. The last day to submit summaries each semester is 11:59 pm, exactly one week before Reading Day. This due date is necessary to allow sufficient time for grading.
The specific final submission date for each semester can be found in the Announcements section of the Psychology Research Articles Portal on Canvas. We strongly recommend that you submit your summaries as early as possible in case revisions are needed to receive credit.
No, if you want to earn credit in more than one course, you will need to submit different article summaries for each course. We keep a record of all of the article summaries that have been submitted.
No, there is no partial credit for article summaries. Summaries can only earn 1 point, and only then if they meet the guidelines given here and in the Psychology Research Articles Portal.
Yes, you can complete the research requirement using any combination of credits earned through research participation or article summaries.
Yes, students of all ages are allowed to complete article summaries.
Specific instructions regarding the correct format and content for article summaries are available in the Psychology Research Articles Portal.
However, the most common reasons summaries are rejected is because...
If your summary is deemed unacceptable, you will receive feedback through the Canvas portal and, time permitting, be given an opportunity to revise it and resubmit it for credit. However, if you wait until the end of the semester to submit your summaries, we cannot guarantee feedback in time for you to resubmit before the deadline. Please submit your summaries well in advance of the deadline.
Refer to your Grades in the Psychology Research Articles Portal to keep track of your credit for article summaries.
Yes, all students enrolled in PSY 105 and PSY 106 during the fall and spring semesters, regardless of the course's instructional format, must complete the research requirement. If you prefer to earn your credit by participating in research studies, please visit our Research Participation FAQs above.
No, at present, students enrolled in PSY 105 and PSY 106 during the summer are not required to complete the research requirement.
Students who fail to earn required research credits during the fall and spring semesters (6 credits for PSY 105 and 2 credits for PSY 106) will receive an incomplete ("I") grade in their course. To convert this incomplete to a letter grade, students will need to earn any remaining research credits in the next full (fall or spring) semester. If you fail to complete your research requirement by the next full (fall or spring) semester, your incomplete will convert to an F (so don't let this happen!).
Note that, as described above, research credits cannot be earned during the summer. This means that, if you receive an incomplete in the spring, you will have to wait until the following fall semester to complete your research requirement and convert your incomplete to a letter grade.
If you receive an incomplete for failing to complete your research requirement, you should contact the Psychology Research Administrator for further instructions.
Please contact the Psychology Research Administrator.