Research Exposure Credits FAQ

Some core undergraduate courses in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences require enrolled students (majors and non-majors) to earn Research Exposure Credits, or REC, in addition to other course requirements.

Credits can be earned by participating in studies found on the Sona website. If students do not wish to participate in studies, they may earn credits by completing the Alternative Assignments, which are also available in the SONA System. (see question below).

NOTE: If students have any concerns that may interfere with participating in studies, please contact us directly at SonaBBS@utdallas.edu.

Students may begin earning credits as soon as the first day of the semester. Credits must be completed by the designated deadline each semester.

Spring deadline – May 1
Summer deadline – August 1
Fall deadline – December 1

Information regarding this requirement will be provided by course instructors at the beginning of the semester.

Students who do not complete the requirement will have reduced course grades. A student’s grade will be lowered by one-third for each credit not completed by the deadline. For example, if a student earned a B+ in the course but only completed one credit, the grade would be lowered to a B. If the student did not complete any credits, the B+ would be lowered to a B-.

All students will receive an email with their account information within the first two weeks of the semester. Please be patient as the system updates. If you do not receive login information by the third week of the semester, contact us at SonaBBS@utdallas.edu with your NetID and REC course(s).

You may access the Sona system here: https://utdallas.sona-systems.com/

If you are requesting a Researcher account, please contact us directly via email.

Note: Students are responsible for managing their profiles. Accounts should display correct names, NetID, credits, and course/section numbers. If any information is incorrect, students must contact Sona administrative staff at SonaBBS@utdallas.edu.

• PSY 2301 – Introduction to Psychology
• PSY/CLDP 2314 – Lifespan Development
• PSY 2317 – Statistics for Psychology
• PSY/CLDP 3310 – Child Development
• PSY 3331 – Social Psychology
• PSY 3360 / CGS 3325 – Historical Perspectives
• PSY/CGS 3361 – Cognitive Psychology
• PSY 3392 – Research Design and Analysis
• PSY 4343 – Abnormal Psychology
• CGS 2301 – Cognitive Science

Note: 5-week courses do not have REC requirements. 

You need to earn two REC credits per core course you are enrolled in. If you are enrolled in 4 or more REC courses, your Sona profile will automatically calculate 8+ required credits. You will only need to earn enough credits for 3 courses (6 credits). You may contact us to change this number or leave it as is.

Credits are NOT automatically assigned to courses. Students must assign credits from studies to courses of their choice in SONA. 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 in the SONA system. 

If you have a large sum of or unevenly applied credits, you must contact us to split them evenly. If you participate in a study and want to split the credits between your courses, you must contact us directly at SonaBBS@utdallas.edu.

Yes! Studies and timeslots are continuously becoming available – but they fill up quickly.

The Sona Committee has received some excellent questions about studies posted that focus on particular groups of people. We’re glad you are asking. Most studies have no restrictions on who can participate. It is important for us in the BBS research community to give all BBS students an opportunity to understand how research is conducted. When studies have restrictions on who can participate, these restrictions are called exclusionary criteria. These criteria depend upon the goals of the research project and participant health, safety, and demands on participants.

In BBS, we have some researchers interested in gender, others in culture, others in romantic relationships, others in language, and others in children or older adults. Each of these examples involves a narrowing down of the participant pool, and at any point in time, you may see these interests reflected in exclusionary criteria. Researchers are ethically obligated to narrow the scope of data collection to the specific sample that they need to answer their research activities that benefit participants or society.

If you have any questions about your ability to participate in a study, or would like to learn more about a study that does have restrictions, please contact:

Shayla Holub, Psychology Department Head, sholub@utdallas.edu

Credits do NOT rollover into future semesters. We encourage students to earn enough credits to satisfy your current semester requirements to ensure enough opportunities for all students. Any unused credits at the end of the semester will be deleted.

Please complete the Alternative Assignments to earn your credit(s).

Once you have your User ID and password, you can access the Sona site at https://utdallas.sona-systems.com.

• To sign up for an experiment, login and select the “Studies” link from the top toolbar. Here you will find all available studies, study details and eligibility requirements.
• To view the available timeslots for a particular study, click on “Timeslots Available” next to the study of interest and then click on “View Time Slots for This Study” at the bottom of the page.
• To sign up for a timeslot, click on “Sign Up” next to the time you want to participate and you will receive an e-mail confirmation.

On the Sona site you can cancel scheduled appointments and also find contact information for the researcher. Select the “My Schedule/Credits” link and then search for the relevant study. You can cancel your appointment online up to 24 hours before hand. After that, you must contact the experimenter via phone or email or you will be considered a “No show.”

Keeping appointments is very important. Missing appointments not only creates problems for the researchers, but it is also unfair to other students who could have taken advantage of your time slot. If you are a “No Show” for 4 appointments, you may lose the right to serve as a participant in BBS studies and will be required to fulfill the research requirements by writing research summaries. The Sona administrator will contact you if this should happen.

BBS researchers have diverse backgrounds and interests and engage in many different kinds of studies. Studies may examine such topics as memory, emotion regulation, cognitive processes, auditory processes,personal attitudes and more. You may be asked to fill out questionnaires, participate in interviews, play games, listen to sounds or complete various tasks or computer activities. You could also be asked to participate with other people or alone. Most studies take between 30 minutes and two hours to complete. These details will be clear in the Sona description, so choose studies that meet your schedule and also your interests. You are also encouraged to complete your credits early in the semester as experiments are posted online rather than wait until late in the semester.

Before you are asked to begin a study, a researcher will provide you with instructions and give you an opportunity to ask questions. You will be asked to sign a consent form. After you have consented, you may decide at any time to stop participating in a study and your participation is completely voluntary. If you are completing an online study, you will also be presented with a description of the study and asked for your consent to participate.

When you sign up for a study, be sure to write down the time, the location, the experimenter’s name and contact information (email address and phone number). You can also use the “My Schedule/Credit Check” link on the Sona website to view your appointment information. Note that this option will only be available after you have signed up for a research activity. Once you have scheduled an appointment, you can select the relevant study; you will see a list that includes all the necessary information.

First, double check to make sure that you went to the right place at the right time by looking at the “My Schedule/Credit Check” link on the Sona website.  Provided that you were not late (even a minute) and that we have some way to verify that you were there and the researcher was not, you will still receive credit for participation. In such cases, you will be awarded one credit for showing up (even if the study was for more than one credit). Contact SonaBBS@utdallas.edu if this should happen. The Sona administrator will contact the researcher, and if appropriate, award you the credit in the system.

Alternative assignments are another option for students to earn credits to fulfill the REC requirement. These are listed in the SONA SYSTEM under Alternative Assignment # (1-6). If you select this option, you will be asked to engage in an activity related to research, such as watching a lecture or getting a lab tour. Please follow directions closely to receive credit. These Alternative Assignments will be updated each semester.

Please read the handout provided by your instructor carefully. If you cannot find an answer there, be sure to read all of the FAQs on this page. If you still have questions, please contact SonaBBS@utdallas.edu.

Sona is only available to those affiliated with the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Researchers, faculty, or research assistants, and students with BBS mentors or advisors may request Researcher accounts.

For all REC or Sona concerns, please contact SonaBBS@utdallas.edu.