MANAGEMENT 3300 and 3120 RESEARCH REQUIREMENT
You will need to earn 2 credits from out of class research-based assignments. The purpose of these assignments is to provide students experience with the methodology of management research. There are two options for completing these assignments and you may complete the required credits through a combination of the options.
1) You may volunteer to participate in management studies (1 hour of participation = 1 credit). You can sign up for studies which range from 30 minutes to 2 hours on the SONA website (http://baruch.sona-systems.com/). Your password for the system will be emailed to your Baruch account within 3 weeks of the start of class. You must be at least 18 years of age to participate in a study. When signing up for studies, please remember:
- to print the page with the name/date/place/time of the study and the experimenter’s name (keep this information until the end of the semester);
- to cancel through the website before the scheduled time if you cannot make the study; you will be penalized if you do not cancel.
If you forget your password, go to http://baruch.sona-systems.com/ and use the password recovery link. If you have any disputes about your participation in a study, you should contact the experimenter directly. According to the ethical guidelines, participation is voluntary and individuals may withdraw from a study, at any time, without penalty to that individual.
2) You may review a research article. Each article you review is worth 1 credit. You can choose among the following journals (all of which are available through the library’s webpage): Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of International Business Studies, and Strategic Management Journal and write a review of an article published in that journal. You can choose among all of these journals for as long as they have existed, and pick the articles that interest you. Your review must answer the questions that are posted on Blackboard.
Management Department Research Requirement Instructions for Students
The research requirement supports both scholarship and pedagogy within the Department of Management. The requirement facilitates the research and publication efforts of departmental faculty and graduate students by providing them with a large and accessible resource for data collection. The students who volunteer to serve as research participants, in turn, have an opportunity to learn first-hand about how management research is conducted. According to the ethical guidelines, participation is voluntary and individuals may withdraw from a study, at any time, without penalty to that individual.
Exposure to Research
As a supplement to classroom instruction, all students enrolled in MGT3120 or MGT3300 must spend at least 2 hours engaged in some kind of exposure to research. Most students elect to fulfill this requirement by participating in research studies. They may also fulfill one or more hours by way of an alternative assignment. The instructions for the alternative assignment are at the end of this document. Your choice of how to complete the requirement is completely voluntary.
If you are ineligible to participate in the studies or you have conflicts that prevent you from participating, please see the information about the alternative assignments.
Participation in research studies or alternative assignments is confidential from the course instructor. The alternative assignments will be submitted directly to the Research Requirement Director via email (managementresearch@baruch.cuny.edu).
Eligibility to Participate in Research Studies
Per federal and New York State laws, you may not participate in a research study if you are under 18 years of age unless that specific experiment has approval to include minors. You would need to contact the experimenter to confirm that a study accepts minors for participation.
How to Participate in Research Studies
The Department of Management research studies are managed on-line using software from Sona Systems (http://baruch.sona-systems.com). To use this system you will need a username and password. A password and username will be sent to your Baruch email account during the second week of the semester. Do not delete this email. You will need it to use the website. You may change your password and some user settings by clicking the “My Profile” link at the top of the screen. Additional information can be found in the “FAQ” section of the website.
Recovering Lost Passwords
If you lose you password, go to http://baruch.sona-systems.com. On the website there is a password recovery link. Your user id is your Baruch email address. You password will be sent to your Baruch email account. Do not contact BCTC if you experience problems with the website. Please email the Research Requirement Director, Professor Mary Kern (managementresearch@baruch.cuny.edu). Provide your name, Web ID number, and a clear description of the problem, and Professor Kern will respond as soon as possible.
Step 1. Signing up for a research study on SONA
1) Log on to the website http://baruch.sona-systems.com
2) Click on “Study Sign-up”
3) You will see a list of all of the research studies. You can click the name of the study to see the details, requirements, and disqualifiers for that study.
4) The studies that have available timeslot have a “timeslots available” link on the left side of the screen.
5) To sign-up for a timeslot, click the “timeslots available” link and then click “View Time Slots for This Study”.
6) Click the “sign-up” button for the timeslot you want to schedule. You will receive an email that confirms you have signed-up for that timeslot.
7) You can view the studies you have signed-up for by clicking the “My Schedule and Credits” link. You can also view your credits and debits on this page.
Note: Carefully review the times and days for the studies you have signed up for. If there are mistakes, correct them immediately. The student is the only person who can sign his or her self up for a study. You are held responsible for attending the sessions that are listed on your schedule of studies.
Step 2: Showing up. Arrive to the study on time. Do not be late!
If you are early and the door is closed, or if there is an “Experiment in Progress” sign on the door, wait patiently in the hallway. Wait at least 15 minutes after the assigned appointment time. If you receive no response, or the experimenter is delayed, leave a message with the experimenter at the phone number or email address provided. The experimenter is obligated to credit you if you show up for the study on time.
If you are late, and you encounter an “Experiment in Progress” sign on the door, you are most likely going to have to reschedule. Under no circumstances should you knock on the door. Interrupting a study in progress is rude and disruptive to the students in the session. If you leave and contact the experimenter later that day, the experimenter may be willing to forgive the debit and simply reschedule you. The late policy for each experiment is included in the description of the study. Most studies will treat lateness the same as not attending and will penalize you the credit value of the study.
Rationale: Due to limited time and lab space, experimenters are on a very tight schedule. This means that you may not be able to participate if you are even one minute late. Consider the fact that many experiments run for exactly 30 or 60 minutes. So, if an experimenter begins even a few minutes late, every session that follows will run behind schedule. If you think there is a chance you may be late, contact the experimenter in advance to let them know.
Step 3: Canceling a session
To cancel your session, go on to the website. You can cancel a timeslot on the “My Schedule and Credits” page. If the website will not let you cancel, call or email the experimenter. Leave a message specifying your name, the experiment name, and the exact time and date of your appointment. Do not contact the Research Requirement Director to cancel a timeslot. Please contact the experimenter. Please cancel studies as soon as you know you cannot make it. If you do not attend and do not cancel, you will be penalized the credit value of the study.
Rationale: Some experiments require more than one person per session to run, so if you cancel at the last minute, the experimenter must cancel the entire session. If this happens, both the experimenter and other participants have wasted valuable time. Canceling at least 24 hours in advance allows the experimenter some time to refill your spot. As a rule of thumb, sign up only if you are 99% sure you can make your appointment.
Step 4: Getting credit.
During each experiment, you will be asked to sign in. This is the primary method by which credits are recorded. Your credit will be posted within 2 weeks. Please do not contact the experimenter or the Research Requirement Director about your credit until 2 weeks have passed. You will receive an email notification when credits or debits are granted.
Rationale: Many of the studies do not record any identifing information (such as your name or student ID number) and so the sign in sheet is the only way to track if you participated. Therefore it is very important that you sign in for each study.
Step 5: Keep track of your credits.
You may log into the website at any time to determine the total number of credits or debits you have earned and how many you still need to earn. You can find them on the “My Schedule and Credits” page. Remember, if you fail to show up for a study and forget to cancel in advance, you will be debited. You are responsible for managing your credits. Your instructor has no information about your credit status or the flexibility to make exceptions to these policies.
Step 6: Addressing discrepancies.
If you perceive a discrepancy between your records and the number of credits recorded on the website, contact the experimenter directly. Most problems can be resolved this way. Experimenters make all decisions concerning credit and debits for participation. If (and only if) you need additional assistance, please contact the Research Requirement Director, Professor Kern (managementresearch@baruch.cuny.edu). Provide your name, Web ID number, and a clear description of the problem, and Professor Kern will respond as soon as possible.
Common Problems with the Website:
1) If you are having difficulty logging on to the website or getting kicked off the system, please do not contact BCTC. Try the following:
- Retrieve your password using the link on the left hand side of the screen.
- Enable Cookies (see the help menu on the browser for how to do this).
- Try a different web browser. You can download Internet Explorer, Netscape, and Mozilla for free. If you are using one of these browsers, try one of the others to see if that solves your login problem.
- 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 differently.
- If all of these fail, contact Professor Kern (managementresearch@baruch.cuny.edu). Provide your name, Web ID number, and a clear description of the problem, and Professor Kern will respond as soon as possible.
2) You do not have a username and password. Please do the following:
- Try to retrieve your password using the link on the left hand side of the screen.
- If this does not work, contact Professor Kern (managementresearch@baruch.cuny.edu). Provide your name, Baruch web ID number, instructor, and section. Professor Kern will respond as soon as possible.
3) The credits for a study you have done have not been added to your account. It can take two weeks for credits to be posted. Please be patient. If two weeks have passed and the credits are still not posted, please contact the experimenter. You will receive an email notification when credits or debits are granted.
Alternative Assignments
If a student is unable to participate in research studies or chooses not to do so, he or she may fulfill the research requirement in the following way.
You may read empirical journal articles from a management journal and respond to a set of questions regarding the methodology (1 article = 1 hour). These responses should be e-mailed to the Research Requirement Director as a MS Word attachment and are due at the beginning of the last meeting time of the class. To receive full credit you must use the form on the next page. You can choose an article from any of the following journals, which are all available on-line through the library’s webpage: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of International Business Studies, and Strategic Management Journal.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact Professor Molly Kern at mary.kern@baruch.cuny.edu, managementresearch@baruch.cuny.edu, or via phone at 646.312.3673.
Your Name _________________________________ Student ID #_________________
Journal Article Summary
Directions: Choose an article from one of the following journals which are all available in the electronic collections of the Baruch Library: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of International Business Studies, and Strategic Management Journal. Read the article and answer all of the following questions. Make sure that your answers are complete. Use your own words in answering them. Don’t use direct quotes. No papers will be accepted after the last meeting time of the class. Please use a separate document for each article you report on. Use additional sheets if necessary.
Title of article:
Author(s):
Journal name: Year:
Volume: Pages:
- What was the major purpose or problem described in the article?
- What were the hypotheses and research questions?
- What type of sample was used in the study/studies reported in this article? (for example, who were the participants; where did the data come from)
- 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? What were the conclusions of the authors?
- What is your opinion or reaction to this article and the research reported in it? Why?
Dear MGT3120 and MGT3300 faculty,
The informational video we mentioned is now ready. It is a 6 minute video which describes the research requirement in detail and you can access it through YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/baruchcuny#p/u/0/t66xK3vmr-s), Blackboard, and this url (http://media.baruch.cuny.edu:7070/mediacenter/mgt_research_req.mov ). We have attached a set of simple instructions on how to view this video.
One of the questions we often receive from students regards when they can begin this requirement. Students can complete the written assignment at any time in the semester from the first day of class to the last. However, students will not be able to begin to participate in studies until mid-February. Once enrollments are stabilized, we will be sending out the students’ usernames and passwords to their Baruch email accounts. We plan to do this in the second week of February. Once they receive this information they can then log onto the SONA website and browse the research studies being run.
INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO FOR THE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT RESEARCH REQUIREMENT (FOR MGT3120 AND MGT3300)
There are three ways to play the 6 minute instructional video for the MGT3120 and MGT3300 research requirement.
(1) You and your students can access this video at YouTube using the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/user/baruchcuny#p/u/0/t66xK3vmr-s
(2) The video is also available on Blackboard 8 on both the Management Department and Management Department Research Requirement pages. If you do not have access to the Management Department page under “My Organizations” please contact Linda Moore.
Go to CUNY website at www.cuny.edu and click on “Portal log-in” link on the left hand side.
Log in to Blackboard 8 using your username and password.
Under “My Courses” on the right hand side, click on “Management Department Research Requirement” link. Similarly, you can look at the “My Organizations” section and see the link to the Management Department page.
Click on the Instructional video link, and the video will start automatically.
If the video does not start, double-click on the logo twice and the video will begin.
For more information about the research requirement and answers to frequently asked questions, you can click on “Information about the Research Requirement” link on the left hand side.
(3) Finally, you can play this video using the http link as follows: Click on the following link (simultaneously with CTRL key): http://media.baruch.cuny.edu:7070/mediacenter/mgt_research_req.mov
Then click on “OK” when the following information box appears, and the video will begin automatically.