Please see below the current CI SONA policy that can be inserted into your course syllabus. You can also click here to access this information in MS Word format.
Spring 2025 Semester
The College of Communication and Information is committed to providing students a broad and comprehensive education. Students in these classes are provided the option to participate in research studies or alternative assignments in order to earn TWO research credits, which is equal to 4% of your grade (TWO credits worth 2% each). For this class, each credit is worth [enter #] points toward your final grade (enter # points total). If you complete only one of the required credits, you will earn [enter #] out of [enter #] points. If you complete two required credits, you will earn the full [enter #] points. Each study listed in CI SONA will have an allotted time requirement and credit(s) to earn when study is complete. CI SONA will open on Friday, January 24 and the deadline to complete SONA is Wednesday, April 30 at 4 p.m. Log-in using LinkBlue at ci.uky.edu/sona.
CI SONA will have an allotted time requirement and credit(s) to earn when study is complete. If you are enrolled in two or more CI SONA courses, you will not be required to complete more than the two credits needed for any CI SONA class. Instead, the CI SONA pool administrator will provide you with “complimentary credits” that you can use to apply to the additional classes. Note: The CI SONA administrator will provide students with these credits by midterm.
Students are responsible for using these additional credits to apply to their classes. You will need to log-in to CI SONA and assign these credits to specific classes, but no additional communication with the instructor is needed, as the “complimentary credits” will appear just as another credit. In the event that you do not see the additional credits by mid-term, please email CISONAHelp@uky.edu for assistance.
During the second week of the semester, you will receive an email from the CI SONA system CISONAHelp@uky.edu letting you know the system is open. This will be sent to your official University of Kentucky email address. Please note: It is your responsibility to ensure you are receiving and reading any emails sent to your official UK email address. Using your LinkBlue ID, you can login to view detailed information about available research studies and sign up at ci.uky.edu/sona.
Alternatives to Research Studies
Participation is voluntary for research studies, thus, there are alternative options in order to earn credit. Additionally, if you are 17 years of age or younger, you will not be able to participate in the research studies. In these cases, research Alternative Assignments will be listed along with actual studies on the CI SONA website (ci.uky.edu/sona). These alternative assignments usually consist of reading an article or webpage and summarizing the contents. Research alternatives are to be completed through the CI SONA website. Please note: The alternative assignment is a writing assignment. Students may not be awarded credit if they fail to follow directions (i.e., do not meet word length requirement, use fillers to meet word count or plagiarize content from another person or the Internet). Alternative assignments must be submitted by the CI SONA participation deadline.
Earning Credits
After completing each study, you will either see a completion page on the CI SONA website or the researcher will thank you for your time. Your credit will be granted by the researcher either automatically or within seven days. Please make sure to confirm that credit has been awarded by logging in to your CI SONA account. At the end of the semester, your instructor will be able to view the number of credits you have earned. Note: Your instructor will not know specifically which studies you participated in to earn credit. If you have questions about credits earned, contact the researcher directly.
Need Help?
If you have general questions about how to use the CI SONA website (ci.uky.edu/sona) or are having issues logging on, please contact CISONAHelp@uky.edu. If you have questions about a particular study or if you have questions about the research, please contact the researcher for the specific study about which you are inquiring. This information will be listed in the study description on the CI SONA website.