Contact: MM behavioural lab, GH120A, Email: mslab@polyu.edu.

hk

Instructions for Participation in Research Experiments (Spring 2024)

As part of the learning objectives, students are encouraged to participate in research studies through the
Management and Marketing Department Credit-based Subject Pool to earn extra marks in this subject.

For each 15-minute credit-based research study that you participate in, you will earn 0.25 research credit
(which is equal to 0.25 mark to your final grade). The maximum time that each student is required to do for
each course is 120 minutes which means you will earn up to 2 marks for one course.

This handout gives you information about how to sign up for and participate in the research studies. Please read
through it carefully.

1. YOUR ACCOUNT AND LOGIN PAGE (https://polyu.sona-systems.com).

Figure 1 - Login Page

By clicking on “PolyU ID Log In” button, you will log in SONA System website (https://polyu.sona-
systems.com) directly.

If you are a new user, you can click on “PolyU ID Log In” button to authenticate with SSO, then the Request
Account page on your SONA site will have your name and email address already completed, and you only need
to fill in additional information like student ID.

 If the SONA system indicates that “The Student ID Number you entered already exists and is
linked to a different user ID. You should log in with the existing account linked to your
Student ID number”, please kindly email to mslab@polyu.edu.hk to reactivate your existing
SONA account.

When Semester 1 teaching commences, SONA System will update a list of courses that join the credit research
studies this semester. You can log into the website to choose your enrolled courses. Once you have selected
your enrolled courses, you are able to participate in credit research studies and earn free extra marks for these
courses’ final grades!

1
Contact: MM behavioural lab, GH120A, Email: mslab@polyu.edu.hk

 Please make sure that 1) you choose the courses correctly in your SONA account, and 2) your
Student ID in your SONA account is correct. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee you will get the
extra marks for your course final grade.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE MAIN MENU (Figure 2)

Figure 2 – Main Menu

After you login, you will see the main menu. This menu has five components: Study Sign-up, My Schedule &
Credits, My Profile, Credits Overview and Upcoming appointments.

Changing Your Password and Other Information

 If you would like to change your password or other information about yourself, choose My Profile from
the Main Menu. If you would like to change your password, type your new password (twice, for
confirmation) in the provided boxes. If you would not like to change your password, simply leave these
boxes empty.

2.1 Study Sign-Up (VIEW AVAILABLE STUDIES)

Figure 3 – Viewing Studies

When you click on this option, you will see a list of studies (see Figure 3). A brief description of each study will
be given as well as any special requirements that may restrict your eligibility to participate in the study.
 Studies that currently have available participation times (timeslots) will have “TIMESLOTS
AVAILABLE” listed on the left (next to the name of the study).
2
Contact: MM behavioural lab, GH120A, Email: mslab@polyu.edu.hk

 If no studies have available timeslots, you may want to log onto the system later to see if new timeslots
or studies have been added. It takes some time before studies are posted.
 Usually studies will start from the second week after the add/drop period. Do not panic if no studies are
posted for the first few weeks of the semester.
 On the other hand, if you wait until the last minute to fulfil your credit requirements, there may not be
enough studies for you and you may not be able to accrue all of your research credits. Spots are also
limited. So, we strongly encourage you to START EARLY.
 Please choose studies (for Credit) for extra marks for your course. If you choose a study “for Money”,
you will receive money but not extra marks for your course.

When you click the study title, you can see more detailed information about the study.

Figure 4 – Study Information

 You will see a list of any special restrictions or eligibility requirements, as well as a contact person if
you have questions about the study (see Figure 4).

 Some restrictions are automatically enforced by the system while some are not. For example, if you have
participated in the study before, you cannot sign up for it again. This is automatically enforced.
Experiments will be identified by number (e.g., M2188, M2189, etc.). Other restrictions could include
“Cantonese Speaker Only”. This type of restriction may let you sign up but if you are not a Cantonese
speaker, and show up at the study, you will probably not receive credits for the study.

 Some studies are two-part studies (for example, you are asked to come for a 30-min session on Monday
and another 30-min session on Friday), where you must sign up for both parts of the study at once.
These studies will be clearly marked.

 In the list of available studies, you can find two kinds of research studies: 1) for Money and 2) for
Credit. If you complete a study showing “for Money” in study title, you will receive the money as your
payment. If you complete a study showing “for Credit” in study title, you will receive the research credit
as your payment.

3
Contact: MM behavioural lab, GH120A, Email: mslab@polyu.edu.hk

 Once you have determined you meet all the requirements, click on View Timeslots for This Study and
you will see a list of available timeslots. Choose a timeslot that is convenient for you, and click Sign Up.

 After you click Sign Up, you will see information displayed confirming the time and location of the
study you plan to participate in.

 You will receive an email confirmation as well. You are now signed up for the study.

IMPORTANT: please print a copy of the confirmation email and bring it to the research when
you participate in a study. 2.2
My Schedule & Credits
 This option allows you to cancel sign-ups and check how many credits you have accumulated. Also,
please don’t send e-mail to mslab@polyu.edu.hk for questions about when the studies will be posted etc.,
because this information is not available to SONA computer system administrator and depends on when
individual faculty members run studies. We can only assure you that in any given semester there will be
sufficient studies for all students.

2.3 Cancelling a Sign-up

 If you are not able to complete the study, please cancel the study participation without any penalty
before deadline.
o To cancel a scheduled appointment, you can go to the SONA System Main Menu, click on
“View or Cancel my study appointment”, choose the particular study that you want to cancel
and click the “Cancel” button. Once you click Cancel to cancel your sign-up, you will see a
confirmation page (see Figure 7).

Click “Yes, I want to cancel” to cancel your sign-up, and the sign-up will be cancelled
immediately.
Figure 7 - Sign-Up Cancellation

o You will receive an email notification after you successfully cancel a session.
o You can’t cancel your participation after deadline and there will be a penalty missing
participation, if you miss study participation more than three times.

4
Contact: MM behavioural lab, GH120A, Email: mslab@polyu.edu.hk

o If you have three or more unexcused no-shows on your record, your SONA account will be
LOCKED. While your account is locked, you will be unable to sign up for new studies,
although you can still take part in studies that you have already signed up for.
o Your SONA account can be unlocked after you have completed additional ethics training
conducted by our lab.

2.4 Tracking Your Progress (see Figure 8)

 When you view this page, you will see at the top a list of the number of credits you are required to
earn, and how many you have earned so far.
 Reassigning credits: You can decide which course you want the earned credit to be assigned to (if
you belong to multiple courses). You may also reassign the credit from one course to another. To do
this, simply use the Reassign link that appears when you view your progress. The link appears under
the course entry for each item in your progress listing.
o The credit reassigning function will be turned off after the last class day of this semester so the
lab administer can start working on the credit finalization and pass the credit records to all
instructors.

Figure 8 - Viewing Your Progress

 Once you complete a study, you will be granted the amount of credit as indicated in the study
information within 2 working days of the study participation deadline. Below is the translation
between credit and length of study:
A 15-minute credit study = 0.25 research credit = 0.25 mark;
 If credit has not been recorded after 2 working days, you can contact the researcher in charge of the
study and copy the lab administrator. You can login to your SONA account at any time to check the
number of credits on your record.

3. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

There is a list of FAQs posted here. It is highly recommended that you view this section before you send out
any enquiry to us.

3.1 What should I pay attention to during the study?

a. Studies take place in the Behavioral Research Lab (GH120), students should print out Study
Sign-Up Confirmation and note the specific research room of their study.
b. Participants should arrive five minutes before the study begins to ensure participation. If you do
not know where the behavioral lab is, give yourself a few extra minutes to find it.
c. Please take your student ID with you when you come to the study.

5
Contact: MM behavioural lab, GH120A, Email: mslab@polyu.edu.hk

d. Please follow the experimenter’s instruction during the study

3.2 Can I participate in more hours than is required to receive extra credits?
No, you may not. When your earned credit equals your needed credit, you cannot sign up any more credit-
based studies. All accounts in the Course Credit Participation Pool are reset at the end of each semester. The
credit in your account will be reset to zero after each semester finishes.

If you are interested in participating in more research studies, you may register for the paid studies (where you
will likely receive monetary rewards for participation) – there will be paid studies carried out by the
Marketing and Management Behavioral Lab from time to time.

3.3 What is the difference between a credit study and a paid study?
You can ONLY receive research credit for studies that you have participated in for research credit. There are
also studies for money. Participating in those studies would not give you any research credit in a course; please
pay careful attention to the study information before you sign up.

3.4 What is the difference between Excused No-Show and Unexcused No-Show?
Generally speaking, a no-show includes any situation in which you do not receive credit. A no-show does not
remove a credit earned; it just does not add a credit to your account. There are two types of no-shows: Excused
and Unexcused.
a. Excused No-Shows: includes situations in which the researcher cancels a session before the cancelation
deadline, if a participant chooses to or is asked to leave, or if a participant has a valid and documented
reason for missing s study or arriving late to a study. Excused No-Shows will not count towards a
student’s unexcused absences, so will not influence whether his/her account gets locked (see point b
below).
b. Unexcused No-Shows: includes situations in which students do not have a valid and documented
excuse for missing a study, or arriving more than 5 minutes late to a study. An unexcused No-Show
does not affect the credits students have earned through other studies. However, if they receive three
unexcused No-Shows, their account will be locked and they will not be able to sign up for any more
studies in the Course Credit Participant Pool.
3.5 How come I cannot receive any new study notifications?
New study notifications and other important announcements will be sent from the MM lab administers email
address (mslab@polyu.edu.hk, OR polyu-admin@sona-system.net). Be sure to configure your junk mail filters
to allow email from that address.

3.6 What if I have other questions?

If you have questions about the research participation requirement in your course, please ask your Teaching
Assistants (TA). If you have general questions about the research participation system, you may contact the
MM behavioral lab administrator at GH120A (Email: mslab@polyu.edu.hk; Tel: 3400 2109).

4. LOGGING OUT

When you are done using the system, choose Log Out from the toolbar on the top right to log out. You are now
logged out. It is always a good security measure to close all your browser windows as well, especially if you are
using a computer that is shared by others.

To close, we would like to thank you in advance for signing up and participating in our research studies!

6
Contact: MM behavioural lab, GH120A, Email: mslab@polyu.edu.hk

Your participation will help advance our knowledge in the marketing and management field!