Studies for Course Credit

As a requirement of your participation grade for the class, involvement in research activities is needed. The purpose of this requirement is to give you real-life exposure to how the marketing process works. To receive full participation credit, please complete the following four steps and refer to the research participation portion of your BUAD307 syllabus for deadlines. 

• Step 1: Register for a SONA account to participate. Please click on the “Request Account” button on the homepage utilizing your USC email address. You must NOT include any other personal emails and do NOT enter your Student ID# as the user ID. 

• Step 2: Complete the prescreening survey to participate in the studies: Upon creating your account, you will receive an email detailing your login information and survey ID. Following this, you will receive a prescreening survey to allow access to the main dashboard of MKT SONA. This screening will ensure that you are eligible for the online/in-person surveys. 

• Step 3: Sign up for and participate in studies. Over the semester, you will be required to complete the mandated amount of online and in-person surveys to receive credit for your BUAD307 course. If signed up for an in-person/online research study, it is reasonably assumed that you will participate in the study. If an emergency arises and you are unable to attend the study, please cancel 6 hours before the start of the study. While there will be research studies posted throughout the semester, there are a limited number of these studies so please make sure to participate throughout the semester.

One part of your participation grade for class is based on your involvement in research activities. The purpose of this research requirement is to expose you to how the scientific process works and to provide you with an opportunity to contribute to science and research. The research participation requirement is a comprehensive experience that includes research lab participation and field study contributions as integrated components. To receive full participation credit, please complete these four steps. Please refer to the research participation portion of your BUAD 304 course syllabus for deadlines. 

• Step 1: Register for SONA account to participate in lab studies. Click on the blue “Request Account” button on the homepage. You must create an account only using your USC email address; any other personal emails such as gmail, yahoo, etc. will not be accepted/activated. Do NOT enter your student ID# as the user ID.  

• Step 2: Complete the mandatory prescreen to participate in studies. Before you can view or receive invitations to participate in studies, completing the prescreening questions is mandatory. This initial step helps to determine your eligibility for various studies and customize your study offerings. Ensure that these questions are answered accurately and thoroughly, as they directly influence the studies available to you. Once the prescreening process is successfully completed, you will start receiving study invitations that align with your responses. 

• Step 3: Sign up for and participate in studies. Your goal is to accumulate 2.0 credits over the semester to meet the research requirement. Once you can access your SONA account, you'll receive personalized email invitations to enroll in available studies. These email invitations are unique to you, so it is important to sign up when you receive them. You will have 3 days to secure your spot to participate in the study. Once you sign up, the study webpage will indicate the deadline to complete the study. Studies typically start 3-4 weeks into the semester, offered at various times and days, either online or in-person. For online studies, complete them in one session by the due date listed. If participating in-person, punctuality is critical to earn credit. If you can't attend, cancel at least 6 hours beforehand. These email invitations ensure enough studies are available throughout the semester to meet the requirement. However, delaying participation may result in a shortage of studies during the final weeks. Therefore, seize opportunities to earn credits early in the semester to guarantee meeting the requirement. 

• Step 4: Recruit a full-time employee and their coworker and supervisor for a survey. You will submit their information (names and emails) via a webform provided as a link on the SONA platform. This submission, akin to the prescreening process, is required. If for any reason you cannot or choose not to complete this task, you will have the option to elect to do an additional 1.0 credit worth of lab studies. Please refer to the guidelines for an alternative assignment for more details. To fulfill this requirement, you'll need to identify a full-time employee, along with a coworker and a supervisor who know them well, all willing to complete an online survey about their work experiences. This might be a parent or guardian, a family friend, or anyone else who is currently a full-time employee. This (focal) employee must have a coworker and a supervisor who would be willing to fill out an online survey as well. Please note that the coworker and supervisor should know the focal employee. The employee who agrees to participate should provide you with the following information: 

• His/her own name and email address (focal employee). 

• The name and email address of a coworker of theirs who is willing to participate in a survey. 

• The name and email address of a supervisor of theirs who is willing to participate in a survey. 

Once you submit valid and accurate names and email addresses, your participation in this portion of the research requirement is complete. There is no need to follow-up with your contacts to see if they received a survey. We will at some point in the semester contact them as needed. 

One part of your participation grade for the class is based on your involvement in research activities. The purpose of this research requirement is to expose you to how the scientific process works and to provide you with an opportunity to contribute to science and research. You must complete this component in order to fulfill your research requirement.  

To do this, you will participate in studies outside of class (either online or in-person) conducted by Management and Organization researchers at the Marshall School of Business. You will earn 0.5 or 1.0 credit for each study you complete. The amount of credit earned depends upon the length and complexity of the research study; most studies take no longer than one hour to complete. You will need to obtain a total of 2.0 credits during the semester in order to fulfill this component of the research requirement. Please refer to the research participation portion of your BUAD 497 course syllabus for deadlines. 

• Step 1. Reactivate your past SONA account to participate in lab studies. Most students in BUAD 497 have previously registered for a SONA account from their past BUAD 304 courses. If you previously took BUAD 304 and you already have a SONA account, you will need to email the SONA administrator from your USC email account in order to request account reactivation. Please enter “Account Reactivation Request” in the subject line. Past credits earned cannot be used for current courses. If you see past credits appearing in your profile, notify the SONA administrator. 

• Due to the large number of requests that come through, it will take up to 3 business days to reactivate your account. You will receive an automated confirmation email when your account has been activated. [Note: If you have never enrolled in BUAD 304 or do not have a SONA account, please use this link to request to register for a new account.] 

• Step 2. Sign up for and participate in studies at this link. Once you can access your SONA account, you will receive reserved email invitations to find open studies and sign up to participate in them. These email invitations are unique to you, so it is important to sign up when you receive them. You will have 3 days to secure your spot to participate in the study. Once you sign up, the study webpage will indicate the deadline to complete the study. 

• Studies are scheduled throughout the semester on various days and times (both online and in-person). For online studies, you must complete them in one sitting by the due date listed on the study webpage. If attending an in-person study, please make sure to arrive on time; otherwise, you may not receive credit. Please remember to cancel within 6 hours if you cannot attend a study. 

• All students will have enough studies to complete the requirements over the course of the semester. However, please keep in mind that there may not be enough studies if you wait to obtain all of your credits during the final 2 or 3 weeks of class. You should aim to complete many of your credits when presented with the email invitation for your own peace of mind and to ensure you are able to obtain all the credits you need.