Skip to content

TODO: Update waiting room location

Starting a New Sona Experiment

This page contains information about how to start a new experiment on Sona. If you have an existing Sona experiment/number that uses the same consent/debrief forms and other details, you can reuse it rather than creating a new experiment on Sona.

Get a Sona number for your experiment

  • Contact the Laurie Hitze (llhitze@purdue.edu) to request a Sona number for your experiment. You will need to include the IRB number and the name of the study when you e-mail her.

Enter the experiment information in Sona

  • Log in to Sona: https://purdue-psych.sona-systems.com/
  • Click "Create a new study" under "Add New Study"
  • Select the type of study (e.g., standard single session)
  • Under "Basic Study Information" fill out the relevant details. The title of the experiment must include a Sona number and experiment name (e.g., #078 - Learning Word Pairs).
  • You must add "Learning Lab" as a user in each experiment in Sona. Either now, or after the experiment is created you will also need to add the 390 students that will be running the experiment as users.
  • Make the room number for your experiment PRCE ** and instruct students to wait in room ** for the experimenter.

Prepare paperwork for the Sona Coordinator (currently: Darryl Schneider)

You need to prepare the following items:

  • A copy of the "Request to Use Subjects from the Psychology 120 Subject Pool" form, signed by Jeff. You can obtain a pre-signed copy of this form from any key personnel member in the lab.
  • A copy of the study description you will use on Sona.
  • A copy of the informed consent document that includes the IRB approved protocol number and the SONA study number(s) and title.
  • A copy of the debriefing form for your study that includes the SONA study number(s) and title.
  • A copy of the approved IRB protocol for your study.

Templates of consent forms, debriefing forms, and Sona descriptions can be found on the LearningLab share in the folder Lab IRB Documents.

Final Steps

  • Make sure all information, including IRB numbers and Sona numbers, is correct on all forms.
  • E-mail the Sona the douments listed above to Darryl Schneider (dws@purdue.edu)
  • Once the experiment is approved by Darryl you will be able to post sessions on Sona.
  • At this point, you are now ready to run subjects.