Click HERE to log into the SONA Experiment Management System
Student Information
The Psychology Department uses Sona Experiment Management System for online research study participation. This system is available to Virginia Tech students to use for acquiring extra credit for participating psychology courses. A listing of courses offering extra credit for research participation through the Sona system is available on the experiment management system, but it is best to double-check with course instructors to confirm that their courses are accepting extra credit for participation. Instructors make the final decision to accept or decline all credits assigned to their course(s).
If you are enrolled in a class that is accepting extra credit, click on the New User link on the experiment management system home page. Complete the account request form, making sure to select all courses you are enrolled in that are accepting extra credit. If you do not see your courses listed, please contact sona@vt.edu before creating your account. Once submitted, your request will be processed and you will receive an email confirmation within two business days that your account has been activated.
Before participating in any research, please review the Sona Student Manual to familiarize with the operation of the system.
Instructor Information
Your instructor account will be created for you at the start of each term. Do not request that a new account be created. To retrieve your password, click on the Lost your password link on the experiment management system home page. Enter your email address prefix (everything before the @vt.edu) in the space marked User ID and click on Email Password. Important: you must enter the email prefix assigned to you by Virginia Tech - email aliases will not work.
Your instructor account will remain active on the experiment management system until the first semester that you are no longer teaching, including summer sessions. If you resume teaching at a later time, a new account will be created for you at the beginning of that term.
Please review the Sona Instructor Manual prior to using the system.
Experimenter Information
In order to recruit participants using the experiment management system, you must first obtain approval from the Intro Psyc Coordinator. Submit a copy of your IRB approval packet to the Intro Psyc Coordinator (electronic or paper), including the IRB proposal and the approval memo from the university IRB. Please be sure your proposal clearly states the number of participants that your study will require. Electronic submissions may be to sent to sona@vt.edu.
Once approved, you will receive an experimenter account and password for your study. Do not request that a new account be created. You should also receive as an attachment the documentation for experimenters. Reviewing these instructions prior to creating your first experiment will help clarify some of the system features and save you a lot of time. If you did not receive the documentation, please click here to download a copy.
Your experimenter account will remain active on the experiment management system as long as you have current, active experiments running. It is your responsibility to inform the system administrators that you are done collecting data and are ready to have your account removed. Please make sure that you have appropriately credited all participants before notifying the system administrators that you are done.
Please review the Sona Experimenter Manual prior to using the system.