Research studies are conducted by Marketing faculty and PhD students. Research studies often involve filling out one or more questionnaires and completing tasks such as viewing advertisements or product descriptions, or listening to audio material.

Participation in these studies is voluntary. If you choose not to participate in the research studies, you can still get the 5% course credit by completing two written assignments (see Research Participation Requirement).

Each research session lasts up to 60 minutes. You need to plan to be there for the full 60 minutes. Some research sessions may be less than 60 minutes; in this case, you will still get credit for the full 60 minute session.

Step 1) Go to https://baruchmarketing.sona-systems.com

Step 2) Click “Request Account”. Fill in the information fields and select your MKT3000 course. Your User ID must map to your valid @baruchmail.cuny.edu e-mail address (it is not necessary to type in @baruchmail.cuny.edu when entering your user ID). You will receive an e-mail with your log-in information.

Step 3) Log in to your account on the website.

Step 4) Click on “View Available Studies”. You will see a list of all of the research studies. You can click the number of the study to see the details, requirements, and disqualifiers for that study. The studies that have available timeslots have a “timeslots available” link on the left side of the screen.

Step 3) To sign-up for a timeslot, click the “timeslots available” link and then click “View Time Slots for This Study”. Click the “sign-up” button for the timeslot you want to schedule. You will receive an e-mail that confirms you have signed-up for that timeslot. You can view the studies you have signed-up for by clicking the “My Schedule and Credits” link. You can also view your credits on this page.

Note: Carefully review the times and days for the experiments for which you have signed up. You are expected to attend the sessions for which you sign up and that are listed on your schedule of experiments. The experimenter will mark attendance through the SONA website. If you have two unexcused no-shows, you will no longer be allowed to sign up for research studies.

You can cancel a timeslot on the “My Schedule and Credits” page. If the website will not let you cancel, email the experimenter or subjectpool@baruch.cuny.edu. Leave a message specifying your name, the experiment name, and the exact time and date of your appointment. Please cancel experiments as soon as you know you cannot make it.

Once you the experimenter has granted you credit, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. Your credit will be posted in your SONA account within 2 weeks. Please do not contact the experimenter about your credit until 2 weeks have passed. You will also receive a signed paper receipt from the experimenter indicating that you have participated in the study. Please keep this paper until you have received your credit online.

You may log into the website at any time to determine the total number of credits you have earned and how many you still need to earn. You can find them on the “My Schedule and Credits” page.

If you perceive a discrepancy between your records and the number of credits recorded on the website, contact the Participant Pool Coordinator (subjectpool@baruch.cuny.edu). Provide name, baruchmail email address, course, section, and, if applicable, the studies you have participated in.

• If you are having difficulty logging on to the website or getting rejected from the system, please do not contact BCTC. Try the following:
  1. Retrieve your password using the link on the left hand side of the
  2. Enable Cookies (see the help menu on the browser for how to do this).
  3. Try a different web browser.
  4. Try a different computer. If you are unable to login from your computer after trying the steps above, please try using another computer that is configured
  5. If all of these fail, please e-mail the Participant Pool Coordinator (subjectpool@baruch.cuny.edu). Provide your name, baruchmail email address, course, section, and a clear description of the

• If you do not know your username and password, please do the following:
  1. Try to retrieve your password using the link on the left hand side of the
  2. If this does not work, contact the Participant Pool Coordinator at (subjectpool@baruch.cuny.edu). Provide your name, baruchmail email address, course, and section and you will receive a response as soon as

Each alternative assignment is worth 2.5%, or 1 hour of subject pool time. You will need to complete any of the following: a) two alternative assignments, b) one alternative assignment and one subject pool hour participation, or c) two subject pool hours participation in order to receive the full 5% course credit.

Directions: Choose an empirical article from one of the following marketing journals in the print or electronic collections of the Newman Library. Read the article and answer all of the following questions. Make sure that your answers are complete. Use your own words in answering them. Do not use direct quotes.

• Journal of Consumer Research –    Journal of Consumer Psychology
• Journal of Advertising Research –    Journal of Marketing and Public Policy
• Journal of Marketing Research –    Journal of Marketing
• Journal of the Association for Consumer Research

If you would like to use an article that is not from this approved list of journals, please send a request to subjectpool@baruch.cuny.edu. Make sure to specify the title of the journal.

Alternative Assignments are due by December 12 at 11:59 pm. No Alternative Assignment submissions will be accepted after that time. Please use a separate document for each summary. This will be processed for plagiarism. Therefore, be sure to submit only your own original work to receive credit and avoid the consequences of violating Baruch College’s Academic Integrity Policy. DO NOT copy and paste from the article or any other source!

IN ORDER TO GET CREDIT: MAKE SURE THAT YOUR SUBMISSION INCLUDES ALL INFORMATION IN THE TABLE BELOW (YOU CAN COPY THE TABLE AND PASTE IT INTO YOUR WORD DOCUMENT) AND ANSWERS TO THE SIX QUESTIONS BELOW THE TABLE. 

PART A: STUDENT INFORMATION

PART B: ARTICLE INFORMATION

PART C: QUESTIONS

1. What was the major purpose or problem described in the article?
2. What were the hypotheses and research questions?
3. What type of sample was used in the study/studies reported in this article?What types of methods were used in the study/studies reported in this article? (for example, questionnaires, observations, interviews, experimental manipulations, etc.)What were the results of the study/studies reported in this article?
4. What were the conclusions of the authors?What is your opinion or reaction to this article and the research reported in it?
5. Please describe why you feel the way that you do.

In order to submit the alternative written assignment, you need to self-enroll in the Blackboard Organization called “Marketing Department Alternative Assignment.” Once you enroll (by following the instructions below) you can submit your written assignments. There are two assignments, Alternative Assignment 1 and Alternative Assignment 2. Each of these is worth 2.5% of your grade.

How To Self-Enroll in a Blackboard Organization

 Step 1) Log in to Blackboard.

Step 2) You should now be able to see your list of courses on the right.  Look on the left hand side of this webpage, and scroll down until you see “Organization Search”:

Step 3) Enter Marketing Department Alternative Assignment in that search bar, and click “Go.”  Please note that it take a couple of minutes to finish the search.

Step 4) A new page will open.  Click on the link under “Organization ID” (circled in red below) to enter the organization.

Step 5) Click “Enroll” to become a member of the organization:

Step 6) Enter in the Access Code provided to you by the organizations leader, and click “Submit” on the bottom right. Your access code is 111

How To Submit an Alternative Assignment

Step 1) After you are enrolled in the organization, you will be able to access it upon logging in to Blackboard. 

On the Home Page for the organization, the Alternative Assignment is available under “Assignments”. Click on “Alternative Assignment 1”. This will take you to a new page. Read the instructions carefully and complete the assignment accordingly. Remember that each assignment is worth 2.5%. If you want to get all 5% via written assignments, then you must submit a second, independent written assignment (i.e., pick a new article and answer the questions accordingly) by clicking on “Alternative Assignment 2” and submitting the paper.

Once you have completed the assignment in Microsoft Word, scroll down, click “Browse My Computer”, and select the file(s) you want to upload. Click “Submit” when you have attached this file.

Step 2) Your written assignment automatically gets processed through SafeAssign to check for plagiarism. If you are unhappy with your SafeAssign percentage or with your initial submission, you may resubmit this assignment. The subject pool coordinator will only grade your most recent submission.

If the subject pool coordinator is concerned about potential plagiarism based on your score, he/she will contact you via email.