Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor
SONA is a program that allows Western’s psychology students and faculty to both post information about studies, and sign up to participate in them. According to Western professor, Jaime Cloud, prior to SONA, the psychology department used pink slips to give students extra credit or track the credits required for specific classes.
“It’s a much more progressive, elegant solution,” said Cloud.
Unfortunately, because the program is expensive, only psychology students are given SONA accounts.
“Students and faculty would love to recruit participants from outside the psychology department, but logistically it’s just not easy to set that up,” Cloud stated.
However, that means that the pool for collecting data is significantly reduced; students conducting research become desperate for participants and those who sign up but don’t show up face certain consequences — like being kicked out of the SONA system for the remainder of the term if they exceed three no-shows.
Cloud stressed the importance of having students support one another on campus, especially regarding research.
“Basically, the scientific method is the engine of research in psychology … and you have to put (an idea) to the empirical test and collect data … that very essential component cannot happen if we don’t have students volunteer their time to participate in studies,” she said.
There are dozens of research projects to choose from — some even offering incentives like pizza or candy.
One such project is Dr. Foster’s current study which is in collaboration with several undergraduate research students and focuses on creativity, specifically “factors that affect creative behavior … and how to elicit creative behavior in a laboratory situation,” according to the SONA site.
“A lot of the studies on SONA end up being kind of predictable and survey-based, but some of them are really interactive,” said Cloud.
The information gained from SONA research is shared both within Western’s community and in scientific communities around the world.
As Cloud stated, “the time and effort that participants spend contributing to the scientific process is contributing to the amount of information that is shared worldwide.”
Contact the author howlnews@wou.edu
Courtesy of Dr. Cloud
