Department of Psychology
Participant Pool (SONA) - Participants
The information below is a quick start guide and covers some frequently asked questions. For a comprehensive guide (1MB pdf) covering all the options and features follow the link.
Sign up
Your account details (Username and Password) will be emailed to your @students.mq.edu.au email account.
Login
Once you have received this email you will be able to LOGIN
When you log in you will be asked to complete a short Prescreen survey that collects data for the course. When you have completed the prescreen you will be able to view the Studies that are available for you to sign up.
Contact
Please contact psy_pool.admin@mq.edu.au if you need assistance.
Participation
You may sign up for any studies where you meet the requirements. If a study is only available to a specific group then it will state the restriction in the Title. (eg. male or female participants only).
You will be able to sign up for the available timeslots until 24 hours before the timeslot. Once you have signed up you can cancel up until 24 hours before the timeslot. If you don't turn up to participate and you haven't cancelled then you will receive a penalty. See 'Penalties' below.
If you turn up to late to complete the participation within the timeslot the researcher may penalise you.
Credits
When you look at the available studies you will see the credit value for participation. This value is directly related to the participation time. See below for credit values for your course.
Credit for PSY104/ PSY105
1 credit = 30 minutes
You are expected to complete up to a maximum of 8 credits (4 hours).
The Research Participation component of both PSY104 and PSY105 (5% of total mark) involves FOUR hours participation (= total 8 credits) in research conducted in the Department of Psychology.
Time spent is credited on a pro rata basis. For example:
| Participation Time | Credit Allocated |
|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 0.5 credits |
| 30 minutes | 1 credit |
| 45 minutes | 1.5 credit |
| 1 hour | 2 credits |
Credit for PSY246
1 credit = 30 minutes
You are expected to complete 6 credits (3 hours).
Penalties
Penalties for not turning up to a timeslot that you have booked are 50% of the credit value of that study. If the credit value is 0.5 (30 minutes) then the penalty will be 0.25 credits (15 minutes).
Paid Subject Pool
Once you have completed your course credit you may sign up for studies that are ad veri sed for payment instead of for credit. You can not exchange payment for credit or vice versa.