Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Gorilla in our Midst: An online behavioural experiment builder

Alexander Anwyl-Irvine, Jessica Massonnié, Adam Flitton, Natasha Kirkham, Jo Evershed
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/438242
Alexander Anwyl-Irvine
Cauldron Science: Cauldron.scMRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jessica Massonnié
Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Adam Flitton
Cauldron Science: Cauldron.scHuman Behaviour and Cultural Evolution Group, University of Exeter
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Natasha Kirkham
Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jo Evershed
Cauldron Science: Cauldron.sc
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: Jo.Evershed@cauldron.sc
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Behavioural researchers are increasingly conducting their studies online to gain access to large and diverse samples that would be difficult to get in a laboratory environment. However, there are technical access barriers to building experiments online, and web-browsers can present problems for consistent timing - an important issue with reaction time-sensitive measures. For example, to ensure accuracy and test-retest reliability in presentation and response recording, experimenters need a working knowledge of programming languages such as JavaScript. We review some of the previous and current tools for online behavioural research, and how well they address the issues of usability and timing. We then present The Gorilla Experiment Builder (gorilla.sc) a fully tooled experiment authoring and deployment platform, designed to resolve many timing issues, and make reliable online experimentation open and accessible to a wider range of technical abilities. In order to demonstrate the platform’s aptitude for accessible, reliable and scalable research, we administered the task with a range of participant groups (primary school children and adults), settings (without supervision, at home, and under supervision, in schools and public engagement events), equipment (own computers, computer supplied by researcher), and connection types (personal internet connection, mobile phone 3G/4G). We used a simplified flanker task, taken from the Attentional Networks task (Rueda, Posner, & Rothbart, 2004). We replicated the ‘conflict network’ effect in all these populations, demonstrating the platform’s capability to run reaction time-sensitive experiments. Unresolved limitations of running experiments online are then discussed, along with potential solutions, and some future features of the platform.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted October 13, 2018.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Gorilla in our Midst: An online behavioural experiment builder
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
Share
Gorilla in our Midst: An online behavioural experiment builder
Alexander Anwyl-Irvine, Jessica Massonnié, Adam Flitton, Natasha Kirkham, Jo Evershed
bioRxiv 438242; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/438242
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Gorilla in our Midst: An online behavioural experiment builder
Alexander Anwyl-Irvine, Jessica Massonnié, Adam Flitton, Natasha Kirkham, Jo Evershed
bioRxiv 438242; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/438242

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Neuroscience
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (1544)
  • Biochemistry (2500)
  • Bioengineering (1757)
  • Bioinformatics (9727)
  • Biophysics (3928)
  • Cancer Biology (2990)
  • Cell Biology (4235)
  • Clinical Trials (135)
  • Developmental Biology (2653)
  • Ecology (4129)
  • Epidemiology (2033)
  • Evolutionary Biology (6931)
  • Genetics (5243)
  • Genomics (6531)
  • Immunology (2207)
  • Microbiology (7012)
  • Molecular Biology (2782)
  • Neuroscience (17410)
  • Paleontology (127)
  • Pathology (432)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (712)
  • Physiology (1068)
  • Plant Biology (2515)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (647)
  • Synthetic Biology (835)
  • Systems Biology (2698)
  • Zoology (439)