Resources for Conducting Research

Research experience is an important component of learning and development within the social sciences. Moreover, research provides a valuable tool for knowing and answering important questions about human thinking and behavior. This page describes some of the resources for conducting research and gaining research experience including SONA and Qualtrics.

Resources for Conducting Research via SONA

SONA is a research participant pool management system. Basically, it is a way to connect potential participants, such as students enrolled in an introduction to psychology course, with researchers, such as BEH students or faculty researchers. Potential participants log into the system and complete projects (research or an alternative) and their completions are tracked for course credit. Researchers, in turn, collect the data for their projects.

Student participants and researchers can access SONA here, using log-in credentials sent out via email. (If you have questions about accessing your log-in credentials, please ask your professor.)

If you are conducting research that requires IRB approval, please review this handout for specific language to describe the SONA system to the IRB. Note that you will need to edit the provided language to be specific to your project and work closely with your faculty advisor. This is just a guide.

Guidelines: Guidelines for access to and appropriate use of SONA are in development. Please check back for updates!

Currently, only CBSS-affiliated researchers are approved to collect data with the SONA system. Questions should be directed to the SONA administrator, Dr. Doug Wallace (dwallace@calbaptist.edu).

Resources for Conducting Research via Qualtrics

For CBU faculty and students who would like to use Qualtrics as their data collection platform, please visit www.calbaptist.edu/surveys.

Additional Research Opportunities

Students who are interested in gaining research experience can find opportunities with CBU faculty by exploring the Lab pages on this website. Students are encouraged to reach out to individual faculty to inquire about ongoing projects or to discuss the possibility of pursuing a new project under faculty mentorship. Additional, non-CBU, opportunities for research experience also exist (volunteer, paid internship, job experience). Students interested in research in psychology may find https://www.psychresearchlist.com/ a particularly useful starting point.