For Researchers: Conduct a Study
Researchers (faculty and graduate students) in the College of Business can use the Behavioral Insights Lab - Sona System to recruit subjects for both online and in the near future also lab studies. The Sona System is used by over 900 universities around the world to manage their subject pools.
Before a study can be placed on the Sona System, the researcher will need to (1) contact the Behavioral Insights Lab so that a researcher account is created and (2) have IRB approval for their study
BIL Contact: COBInsightsLab@FAU.edu
Once you have received your Sona login information, you can access the system, create your account, and list your study (upon IRB approval!).
Important Considerations:
- 15 minutes of participation in research studies is equivalent to 1 Sona Credit (30 minutes = 2 Sona Credit and so forth). Please be accurate on the timing of your study; if your study falls well below the 15-minute limit, please consider pooling multiple studies.
- Please ensure that you add the pre-screen to your study, as this allows students who do not qualify or choose not to participate to take an alternative assignment. Failure to do so will create undue problems for instructors who volunteer their classes to the subject pool and may disqualify researchers from future studies.
- Studies can be posted starting the 3rd week of the semester and must conclude in the last week of classes. The subject pool is only open in the Fall and the Spring semester
- Researchers are expected to grant credit to those who participate in research in a timely manner. If you would like to use automatic credit granting refer to the video tutorial below
Checklist for Researcher:
☐ IRB approval received for the research study
☐ Researcher account created in Sona
☐ Mandatory Pre-screen selected during study set up
☐ Correct study length selected
☐ Study activated and posted during the given time frame of the Spring/Fall Semester
☐ Students credited for taking part in study
You will receive # Sona credits for participation in this research study. If you are participating in this study for course credit (including extra credit), you have the option to take alternative assignments that serve the same educational objectives and require the same amount of time and effort as participating in research studies. Alternative assignments can be accessed and completed via the Behavioral Insights Lab's Sona system. If you require assistance on how to navigate the Sona System, please refer to this webpage or reach out to CoBInsightsLab@fau.edu.
Tutorial Videos
How to add the MANDATORY Pre-screen for alternative assignments during your study set up
The Sona System for Researchers Overview
External Study Granting with Qualtrics