Research participant pool

Psychology faculty and advanced students research a wide variety of topics like social interaction, perception, learning, memory, problem-solving and communication. The , aka SONA, connects UVic psychology researchers and potential research participants.

Researchers post brief descriptions of their projects on the PRP site, along with information about when and where you can participate. If a study looks interesting to you, sign up to take part.

Why participate in psychology research

It’s a valuable learning experience. Participating in research is a fun, unique way to learn about research first-hand. As a participant, you can see how experiments work from the inside.
Knowledge comes from research. All your courses are based on evidence from studies like the ones on the PRP (SONA) site. Without participants, we can’t do research and won’t build knowledge.
Research impacts society. Research informs policy decisions and leads to intervention programs that impact people’s daily lives.
It helps others. Many researchers are students like you. Your participation can help them discover something new.

Go to the and hit “request account.” Use your NetLink ID (without the @uvic.ca) in the user ID field.
Select the name of the course (e.g., PSYC 100A) and, if relevant, the section of that course (e.g., PSYC 201-A01) that you need SONA credits for. You may select multiple courses by clicking in the same box again once you select your first course. Note: If the course is not listed, you can still create an account. However, inform your instructor and add the course to your profile once it is available.
Hit “request account.” The SONA system will assign you a unique password and send it to your UVic email address within 24 hours. Note: All students with a NetLink ID also have a UVic email, which can be accessed on the “Student services” page under “Learning tools” at uvic.ca.
Once you have received your password, you can log in with your user ID and the password that was emailed to you. The password for your UVic email or NetLink ID will not work. You can change your password later in your profile settings.

Course selection & credit assignment

Let your instructor know if your course is not listed. The courses you select when requesting an account will appear as options for credit assignment later when you select a study to participate in. It is your responsibility to assign your credits to the correct course(s) and section. All assignments must be completed by the last day of classes for the semester.

Studies that require in-person participation offer an extra credit on top of the time you participate. For example, a 2-hour in-person study would offer 2 credits plus an additional 1 credit for being in-person, for a total of 3 credits.

Be sure you assign your credits to the correct course and course section. Credits not assigned to a course by its last day will not be counted for that course.

Note that the system only displays studies for which you are eligible (e.g., not ones you already participated in) and for which there are open time slots. Time slots fill up quickly, so check the site frequently.

Some studies may offer cash for participation rather than course credit. These studies are posted in the same way as other studies.

Be sure to show up on time for your scheduled sessions. If you do not attend on time, the credits for that session will be deleted from your balance. If you fail to show up 3 times, you will be barred from further participation for the term.

FAQ

Time slots become available as researchers post them. There is no fixed schedule for posting. When no time slots are available for a given study, that study doesn't show up on the list of potential studies.

Time slots will continue to become available until the end of the term. There is usually high demand early in the term, so time slots fill quickly. Demand usually wanes later in the term and more studies become available.

If you are having trouble finding time slots, be patient and check back. It is possible that there will not be enough studies to allow every student who wishes to earn the maximum number of extra credits to do so.

Log on to your SONA account and go to the "my schedule and credits" section. Click on the name of the study you signed up for to see its contact information.

"Overall credits earned" is the number of credits you have earned, minus any no-show penalties you have been assessed.

Any negative difference will not be counted toward your grade. Your course syllabus tells you how your earned credits will influence your grade.

If you lost some credits for failure to show up for one or more studies, you can still earn the maximum number of credits toward your grade by participating in more studies.

These are determined by your course instructor. Details can be found in your course syllabus or by asking your instructor. You may continue to participate in studies after your maximum has been reached, but no additional credits will be counted toward your course grade.

There is no guarantee that there will be enough studies offered for all students who wish to earn the maximum number of credits.

No. All credit earned in a particular study must be assigned to only one course. However, for some multi-part studies, credits can be allocated to different courses.

When you sign up for each part of the study, you will have the option to assign the credits you earn for individual parts of the study to the course of your choice. You can also do this later under the “my schedule/credits” tab.

No. Credits earned in a term are used only in computing the grade for that term.

First, log on and click on “my profile” in the top right of the screen. Click on the “change courses” button and select all the courses you’re likely to assign credit to this term.

Once a course is selected, click in the box again to add another course. Then click the “save changes” button. The next time you sign up for a study, you may assign its credit to any of the courses you have selected.

To reassign earned credit to a different course, even after the credit is earned:

Go to “my schedule/credits” where you will see a list of each study you have earned credit for.
To reassign credit for a given study to a different course, click “reassign” for that study. Select the desired course from the pull-down list that appears on the next screen. Note that only those courses you selected in the earlier step will appear on this list.
Finally, click on the “reassign credit” button.

To reassign earned credit to a different course, even after the credit is earned:

Go to “my schedule/credits” where you will see a list of each study you have earned credit for.
To reassign credit for a given study to a different course, click “reassign” for that study. Select the desired course from the pull-down list that appears on the next screen. Note that only those courses you selected in the earlier step will appear on this list.
Finally, click on the “reassign credit” button.

We keep a record of studies you’ve participated in to make sure you don’t sign up for a study you’ve already participated in.

Credits from the previous term are set to zero because only credits earned in the current term count toward your grade.

Research participation credits are not reported to your course instructor until the course is over. The instructor will use that information to compute your final grade. They will likely post information about your research credits along with your final grade.

This system is intended only for handling extra credit earned through participation as a test subject in approved research studies. Ask your instructor about other possible forms of extra credit.

Credit will be granted when the participation deadline for the online study has passed.

First, log on and go to “my profile.”
Click on “change courses” and select the course. Then click the “save changes” button.
The next time you sign up for a study, you may assign its credit to any of the courses you have selected. The course will now appear when you reassign credit as well.

Other ways to get research experience

Research assistantships

Many faculty members have undergraduate research assistants (RAs) working in their labs. Some positions are supported by the Work Study program.

NSERC undergraduate student research awards

The (NSERC) offers some undergraduate student research awards. These awards financially support students for a semester of full-time work in a lab.

Independent study courses

and are "pro forma" courses that usually involve hands-on research. The content and criteria of these customized courses are determined between you and the instructor. To learn more, contact our undergraduate adviser.

Research seminar for psychology majors

Research Seminar in Psychology () is a seminar and laboratory research course available to psychology majors. You’ll work in a small group setting and gain hands-on research experience from a faculty member with an active research program.

Note: PSYC 492 is not offered every year. Admittance to the course requires permission of the instructor.

PSYC 499 (Honours)

A key part of our honours program is conducting a research project under the supervision of a faculty member in your final year of study. Honours students also take 2 higher-level statistics courses and participate in the honours seminar throughout the winter session.

Research as co-op placement

Students in the psychology co-op program are sometimes able to land a paid research assistant job as a co-op placement.

Conference presentations

Each spring, UVic Psychology honours students present their research at the (PSOVIPS).

Students also often present their work at other conferences, such as (NOWCAM).

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