FAQ for Researchers
Demo: Study upload at Sona
Demovideo for the usage of Sona as a researcher.
Who can get a SONA-account for researchers?
A SONA-account for researchers can only be created for members of the Institute of Psychology at Universität Hamburg (doctoral students, research associates, professors). For application, please send an informal e-mail to sonateam"AT"uni-hamburg.de.
Can I get a SONA-account for researchers as a student?
As a student it is not possible to get an own SONA-account for researchers. If you conduct a study within the frame of your final thesis please use the account of your supervisor. If you conduct a study within the frame of the empirical experimental internship (EEP) you get a SONA-account for your group for the duration of the study. Information on this are given at the seminar.
How do I implement my study at SONA?
For implementing a study at SONA you have to log on to your researcher-account and click on “Add New Study”. On the next page you specify which kind of study you want to implement.
- Standard Study
This option comprises that participants come to the lab one time. - Two-Part-Standard-Study
This option comprises that participants come to the lab on two different dates. - Online External Study
Choose this option if you want to offer an online study at SONA. You create your online study with the support of an external program (e.g. Unipark). At SONA, you enter the link to the study.
Furthermore, please specify for each option if participants receive trial hours (Credit) or money (Paid). If you want to remunerate your participants either with trial hours or with money, please implement two separate studies.
What information is required for my study to be activated?
After you have chosen which kind of study you want to implement, you put in information about your study at the page “Study information”. What you type here will be visible at SONA. The following information must be added so that your study is activated by the SONA administrators.
Basic information
Study Name
Brief Abstract
A short description of the study (ca. 1-2 sentences). It appears together with the title of the study on the list of current studies.
Detailed Description:
Here you should describe the procedure of the study in more detail. Please provide information about the kind and duration of the implementation (possibly for each subcomponent). The detailed Description is not shown on the study list but at the study description.
You should indicate your contact address (e.g. e-mail) in any case, so that participants can approach you.
Eligibility Requirements
State if there are some special requirements that must be met in order to participate (e.g. only right-handers, only women, no intake of medication, etc.). Leave the field empty if there are no special requirements.
Duration
Important: In order that all researchers have equal opportunities in recruiting test subjects, the here stated duration of the study must correspond exactly to the assigned trial hours. That means if your study takes 1-15 minutes, you state 15 minutes as duration and you allocate 0.25 trial hours. If your study takes 16-30 minutes, you state 30 minutes and allocate 0.5 trial hours. If your study takes 31-45 minutes, you state 45 minutes and allocate 0.75 trial hours and so on.
Trial hours/ Payment
State how many trial hours are allocated for participation. Trial hours can be assigned in quarter units and must correspond exactly to the duration of the study. If you pay your participants, you can state here how much money participants receive.
Preparation
State if participants must consider anything before participation (e.g. no smoking 2 hours before, no consumption of coffee). Leave the field empty if no special preparations are needed.
Approved?
Here you can see if your study has been unlocked by the SONA administrators.
Active Study?
In order that your study occurs on the study list at SONA and participants can sign up for it, you must set your study to active. When you finished your study do not forget to inactivate it.
Advanced Settings
Study URL: If your study is an online study please state the link to the study here. Here you also find a number of further options that can be adjusted when necessary. For example you can adjust being informed about sign-ins via e-mail. Or you can adjust that participants are only allowed to sign in for your study if they have not participated in a special other study.
“Time Slots”
At “My Studies” > “Study Info“ > “View/Administer Time Slots“ you arrange single or multiple time slots for your study. Existing time slots can also be deleted. You also have to arrange a time slot for online studies in order that your study becomes visible at SONA. Please state at the study description at “View/Administer Time Slots“ and at “Add a Time Slot“ until which date participation is possible (Final Participation Date). Also state how many participants can take part at the maximum (Max. # of Participants).
Activation
After having entered all information click on “Add This Study“. Afterwards, go to the page “Study Information” and click on [Send a Request].
Generally your study will be activated within 48 hours.
Please note: If you make adjustments to your study description after your study has been activated by the administrators, your study must be activated again.
Who decides if my study is activated?
The SONA administrators are employees from different subject groups of the Institute of Psychology who work for SONA voluntarily among other duties in research and teaching. They examine if new studies at SONA conform to the rules of trial hours allocation and unlock them.
Please consider this voluntary engagement in communication with the SONA-team. They assist in making the participation in experiments, recruitment of test subjects as well as the allocation of trial hours fairer and easier for all members of the institute.
Which criteria play a role in the activation of my study?
The administrators check whether the duration of the study matches the assigned trial hours and whether the specified duration seems realistic. No scientific or ethical considerations are taken into account when activating studies. However, in order to correctly estimate the duration of a study, the administrators need sufficient information about the course of the study. You may be asked to provide more information about your study or to change the duration or trial hours.
How long will it take for my study to be activated in SONA?
The administrators check daily whether there are new studies in SONA. Usually. it shouldn't be longer than 48 hours before you get feedback on your study. If you do not receive any feedback within 48 hours, please send an email to sonateam(at)uni-hamburg.de(sonateam"AT"uni-hamburg.de)
When can participants register for my study?
In order for participants to be able to register, three prerequisites must be met:
- The study must have been activated by the administrators.
- You must have set the study to active yourself.
- You must have set up at least one time slot (in the future) in which the participants can register.
Can I register participants for my SONA study myself?
You can also register participants for your study yourself if you have agreed this with the participants and know their surnames or SONA user names. To do this, click on the name of your study under "My Studies" and then go to "View / Administer Time Slots". You will see a list of your time slots. Click on "Modify" in the corresponding time slot. Select "Manual Sign-up" below. There you can register participants with their last name or SONA user name for your study.
How do I compensate the participants for participating in my study?
Remuneration can be paid in two ways:
- When you log in, you will be automatically informed when people have participated in your study and have not yet received any remuneration (credits / money) (system message). Click on "Click here to view" and you will see a list of all participants who have not yet been paid. For each participant you have the choice between the following alternatives:
1. No Action Taken: e.g. if the appointment has been postponed or has been canceled by the experimenter, etc.
2. Grant Credit: The person participated. According to her participation, credit her with test person hours.
3. Unexcused No-Show: Select this option if the person did not show up for the appointment unexcused. Never choose this option for online studies!
4. Excused No-Show: The test subject did not appear apologized
(Note: There should be 2. because it is the second option or not?) Within your study, select "View / Administer Time Slots"> "Modify".
If there is a sign-up for the selected time slot, you can manage this time slot at the bottom of the page. Under "Comments" (optional!) You have the option to leave a comment in the documentation. This enables you and the SONA team to retrospectively understand special features.
Can I compensate trial participants through special incentives (e.g. participation in a lottery) in addition to trial hours?
For reasons of fairness, it is generally not permitted to reward people who have already been paid for trial participation in a study by additional incentives (e.g. money, participation in a lottery). This means that a participant may Either be rewarded by trial hours OR by other incentives, but not by both. The only exceptions to this rule are studies in which incentives are given as part of the experiment (e.g. studies with earnings / loss opportunities in the experiment). However, such studies may not advertise with additional incentives in or outside of SONA to recruit participants.
Can I automatically have trial hours for online studies credited to SONA?
If you conduct an online study, you can automatically have the trial hours credited to the participants in SONA.
Instructions are available for Surveymonkey, SurveyGimzo, QuestionPro, Limesurvey, Inquisit, Fluidsurveys, Unipark, MySurveyLab, Gorilla, Cognition Lab, and Qualtrics at https://www.sona-systems.com/help/
What do I do if registered participants do not show up for the appointment?
If someone does not show up for the appointment without having logged off in advance, please mark the person as "Unexcused No-Show".
The person is automatically informed by email that they have been marked as "Unexcused No-Show" for the appointment. Please never mark participants in online studies as "Unexcused No-Show". If someone is missing without an excuse on an agreed date, the person's account will be blocked and the institute management will be informed.
Can I promote my study outside of SONA?
You can advertise your study outside of SONA (e.g., through flyers and notices). Important: Of course, the study information you provide outside of SONA must match the information in SONA. For example, if your study is specified in SONA with a duration of 30 minutes, you should not advertise that the study lasts a maximum of 20 minutes. Violations of this rule put other researchers at a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting test subjects. Relevant studies are temporarily blocked in SONA and the institute management is informed.
How long will my studies and research account remain in SONA?
Inactive studies are deleted 5 years after the last activity. Inactive researcher accounts are deleted 5 years after the last login. This also deletes all studies in the account.
Is there a free mobile app for SONA?
For Android phones and tablets:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sona_systems.mobile
For iphones and iPads:
http://appfinder.lisisoft.com/app/sona-mobile.html