HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN SONA RESEARCH STUDIES,HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN SONA RESEARCH STUDIES

Marketing research and the investigation of consumer psychology are integral aspects of marketing as a profession and of the academic aspect of marketing.  The Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management offers students two options to further their understanding of research in marketing.  For each option, the grade is either 5 points (full credit) if the student completes the research or optional paper satisfactorily, or 0 points (no credit) if not completed or unsatisfactory.

NO partial credit will be given, and there is NO additional credit for doing both assignments.

OPTION 1:  Participate in three (3) hours of psychological or consumer-behavior research studies conducted by Fox School of Business faculty.  Some of the research studies or experiments can be completed online (at your convenience), while others will be conducted in a campus laboratory or classroom setting.  Access to ALL studies is through: https://foxschool.sona-systems.com.

Detailed instructions for accessing the SONA-Systems website are provided below.

***   Please note that students must maintain THEIR OWN COPIES of documentation received from SONA showing that they have completed research credits.  In the unlikely event that there is some discrepancy between what students think they have completed and the reporting from the system, students MUST be able to show this documentation to receive appropriate credit.  ***

OPTION 2:  Write a three-page, double-spaced research paper summarizing three (3) scholarly articles that used human subjects in the research.  ALL three articles MUST have been published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing Research, or the Journal of Consumer Psychology within the past 15 years (i.e., between January, 2000, and present).  Articles from journals OTHER THANthose noted WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Full text of articles in these journals is available from the TU Library using TU Portal.  For each article, explain how human subjects were used in the research, and explain how the use of human subjects provided insight into how consumers think and behave.  Attach a reference list in APA format (author(s), date, title of article, name of journal, volume, issue, pages).  Papers must be submitted before the deadline as a Word document to SafeAssign, located on the Blackboard site for this course.  Papers WILL be checked using anti-plagiarism component of SafeAssign.

Due date for either option is MONDAY, NOVEMBER 09.  No late submissions will be accepted.

How to Participate in SONA Research Studies (Option 1)

1)   REGISTER: Go to:(There is NO “www” in this address).

1. Students who HAVE NOT signed up before: Click on “New Participant? Request an account here” which can be found in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.  NOTE: Because  an existing registation on Temple SONA from previous semesters will not work.
2. Students who HAVE signed up before (for another class, for example): Log in, or use the “Lost Password” link, also at the bottom-left of the screen.
3. Enter your user ID. This is the text that is to the left of @temple.edu in students’ TU email addresses.  For example, if the email address is tua12345@temple.edu, your SONA user ID is “tua12345.”
4. Upon completion of the registration process, the SONA system will send you a password, which must be used to login. You may change your passwords once you have logged into SONA.
5. Once assigned a password, log in and click on the appropriate MKTG 2101 section number (click/choose the section in which enrolled). Be careful to sign up for the correct section; otherwise, the instructor may not be able to give you credit for completing the research.  (NOTE: Students experiencing problems signing into SONA should check the “Preferences” in their browser and make sure it is set to accept cookies.)
6. Students MUST sign up for SONA by FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 04.

2)   PARTICIPATION:  Go to Studies, and sign up for a study (or studies) of your choice.  Some studies can be completed entirely online, while others will be conducted in a laboratory or classroom setting.  Students can search for studies that are available on a particular date or at a preferred time.  Note that studies vary in length.  Students must complete three (3) hours of studies over the course of the term.  Studies will be added as the term progresses; however, students are encouraged to participate in these studies early – there is no guarantee that there will be available slots during the final weeks of the requirement.

1. After students sign up to participate for an online study, the researcher will typically email an invitation code; this may take a day or so to process.
2. Once students sign up for a research appointment, it is their obligation to be present at the assigned time. There is a window of time during which students may remove their name from the sign-in sheet without penalty.  However, students may not remove their name within 24 hours of the scheduled session.  If students fail to attend (participate) in a scheduled research session, they will not receive that credit and will have to replace those study hour(s).  If students arrive for a session at the assigned time and the researcher is not there, they will receive credit for attending if they leave a note for the researcher including their name, section number, time of appointment, and name of their marketing instructor.
3. In order to provide the support researchers need, your credits must include participation in offline, live studies that occur in a laboratory or classroom. The following distribution of credits is imposed:

• At least 2 Credits worth of OFFLINE, LIVE studies conducted in a laboratory or classroom
• Maximum of 1 Credit worth of ONLINE studies
  1. The website keeps track of the number of hours students have successfully completed. Instructors may provide students with an interim report on their progress, but keeping track of progress is the students’ responsibility.  When students have completed three (3) hours of research studies required, they should
     SAVE information from the website and KEEP A COPY FOR THEIR RECORDS.

LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.  Your grade will either be 5 points(full credit) if complete and satisfactory, or 0 points (no credit) if incomplete or unsatisfactory.
NO PARTIAL CREDIT WILL BE GIVEN.