Sona System FAQS

Sona is short for the name of a company called "Sona Systems," which provides web-based software that helps universities manage research study participation. The UCCS Psychology Department uses the Sona System to track participation in research. Using this system is also the best way that we can coordinate meetings between students and researchers for studies.

Students in General Psychology (PSY 1000) participate in a set number of research hours as a requirement for completing the course, and therefore must use the Sona System. Other courses in the Psychology Department offer extra credit for participation in experiments. There also may be opportunities for people to participate in an experiment for monetary compensation. There are many studies to participate in, all available through Sona.

The URL for the Sona System is: https://uccs.sona-systems.com.

Yes! The Sona Systems mobile app is available on both the Android and iPhone! This version is for Participants, and supports all the features of the normal website except signup for two-part studies. The URL is:  https://uccs.sona-systems.com

Download the Sona Mobile app for Android
Download the Sona Mobile app for Apple

Unfortunately, no. Research often calls for controlled variables, and researchers may restrict participation to people of a certain gender, age, or other characteristic. Other studies may require that you have been invited to the study, or that you've completed another particular research study prior. We strive to make enough experiments available for students year-round, but sometimes there are just not enough timeslots when everyone wants to participate.

All research conducted in the UCCS Psychology Department has been carefully reviewed by the UCCS Institutional Research Board (IRB).  The function of the IRB, in part, is to ensure the safety, rights, and dignity of participants.

Participation in research studies include additional safeguards such as:

Informed consent - Each posted study contains a brief description of that the experiment is about. When you sign-up for a study, you are giving your informed consent to participate in that study. This means you have willingly selected to participate.Giving your informed consent does not negate your right to withdraw from any study for whatever reason. Please make sure that you read and understand the description of any research study before you sign up for the study.

Confidentiality - All data collected is strictly confidential, to the extent permitted by law. The only persons with access to the data are those directly associated with the study. Data is typically kept in locked lab rooms or password protected computers.

Withdrawing from a study - Once you have started a study, you may withdraw from it at any time for any reason without penalty, as long as you inform the researcher of your decision.

Standard Rights - If you have any questions about your rights as a human subject/participant in research, or if you feel you have been placed at risk, please contact the UCCS Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Integrity at (719) 255-3321 or osp@uccs.edu.

No, it is the participant's responsibility to assign the extra credit they have earned to the course that they would like the points allocated. All extra credit must either be assigned to the "Extra Credit Bank" or the course of choice no later than the day before finals begin each semester. Any points not assigned to the "Extra Credit Bank" or to a course will be permanently deleted from the system at the end of each semester. Please email psych@uccs.edu with problems or issues assigning credit to courses or Extra Credit Bank.

Research extra credit is accepted in psychology courses based on an individual instructor's policy. To learn about the extra credit policy for a specific course, please ask the instructor who teaches the course.

Prior to finals week, the Sona Administrator provides a report to all the Psych instructors that accept extra credit in their courses. The extra credit points are calculated for the final course grade. It is the participant's responsibility to assign the extra credit they have earned to the course that they would like the points allocated. Please direct all Sona questions and issues to psych@uccs.edu.

The Sona Administrator provides the Sona extra credit reports to the Psychology instructors and teaching assistants. Sona and Canvas are two different systems. Sona credit will come across in Canvas at the end of the semester to be computed into final grades.

You have to add a course in your profile before you can assign credit to it. When you log into Sona, click the "My Profile" button, and look to the bottom of the page to click on [Change Courses]. From there, you can select one or multiple classes that you are enrolled in, and then save changes. When you go back to "My Schedule/Credits," you should then be able to assign or reassign credit to the appropriate course. Please email psych@uccs.edu with problems or issues assigning credit to courses or Extra Credit Bank. 

We highly recommend that you look out for studies well in advance of your deadline, if you are required to participate for class credit. As mentioned in the question above, availability will vary, eligibility requirements vary, and timeslots fill up fast. So if you check the week before your participation is due, you may not be able to find a study that works for you. By checking for studies throughout the semester, instead of at the last minute, you will have a better chance of getting the credit you need. Except under extreme circumstances, it is the student's responsibility to complete the research participation requirements. Important note: The Sona System is locked out to Participants on the finals week of every semester. Make sure to plan accordingly.

When using UCCS email, the Junk Mail is handled by Microsoft Outlook. Therefore, it is recommended that you add the email Psychology Research Sign-up System to the safe sender's list as follows: Right-click the Psychology Research Sign-up System email message in the "Junk Mail" folder and select "Junk Email." Next, select "Add Sender's Domain to Safe Sender's List" to ensure all of your Sona emails are marked as safe. You could also opt to disable junk mail filtering by navigating to the "Tools" menu, selecting "Options," selecting "Junk E-mail..." and selecting the first item "No Automatic Filtering..."

Students under 18 years old in a Psychology course with a Sona extra credit requirement are to complete alternate research assignments. Please review your course syllabus or contact your professor for further guidance on the alternate research assignment in lieu of Sona participation.

Participating in research is a privilege. If you sign up for a study you must show up or cancel the participation. If you fail to cancel your participation before the deadline you will be marked as a no-show. If you receive two no-shows, you will be barred from participating in further studies for the semester. In cases of short notice, please contact the Researcher or email psych@uccs.edu.

Participants may carry over any unused extra credit from semester to semester by assigning any points they do not wish to put toward a course in the current semester to the "Extra Credit Bank". In order to assign points to the "Extra Credit Bank" each participant must add the "Extra Credit Bank" as one of their courses. Any points assigned to the "Extra Credit Bank" will carry forward from semester to semester until the points are assigned to a specific course. Please email psych@uccs.edu with problems or issues assigning credit to courses or Extra Credit Bank.

When you plan to participate in an ONLINE web-based study in Sona, you must complete the survey at the time you access the study. You cannot access the study and go back to the survey later to complete it. Since most surveys are on third party websites, if you go back, you will receive an error that you already participated. This is not beneficial to the researcher or participant. Please plan accordingly to complete the web-based study when it is accessed.

Dates on the studies are when they expire. You have to click through the SIGN UP buttons on online studies to get to the COMPLETE SURVEY NOW button.

Please see this video on 5:30 to see how it looks to sign-up for online studies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1OnT2ZU6QQ

Who do you ask?

Any questions pertaining to the UCCS Sona System generally should be addressed by email to the Sona Administrator at psych@uccs.edu.

Your Instructor - Since you have regular contact with your instructor, you may ask them basic questions about the maximum or required credits you can earn, or alternate research options if you cannot participate in assignments through Sona. Instructors also know how Sona credit is computed into your grade and should have it stated in the course syllabus. Please keep in mind that instructors tend to have no contact with Sona until the end of the semester when they receive the final credit report for grading purposes.

The Researcher - Any questions about the procedures, requirements, or status of a particular study should be addressed to the researcher in charge of the Sona study.  This includes questions related to timeslot sign-up or cancellations, and to any questions related to crediting decisions made by the researcher.  If you missed your appointment or had difficulty with an online survey, contact the researcher listed in the study information immediately.