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Gorillas in our Midst: Gorilla.sc, a new web-based Experiment Builder

View ORCID ProfileAlexander Anwyl-Irvine, Jessica Massonnié, Adam Flitton, Natasha Kirkham, Jo Evershed
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/438242
Alexander Anwyl-Irvine
1Cauldron Science: Cauldron.sc
2MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
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  • ORCID record for Alexander Anwyl-Irvine
Jessica Massonnié
3Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London
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Adam Flitton
1Cauldron Science: Cauldron.sc
4Human Behaviour and Cultural Evolution Group, University of Exeter
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Natasha Kirkham
3Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London
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Jo Evershed
1Cauldron Science: Cauldron.sc
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  • For correspondence: Jo.Evershed@cauldron.sc
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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.

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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.
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Posted October 22, 2018.
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Gorillas in our Midst: Gorilla.sc, a new web-based Experiment Builder
Alexander Anwyl-Irvine, Jessica Massonnié, Adam Flitton, Natasha Kirkham, Jo Evershed
bioRxiv 438242; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/438242
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Gorillas in our Midst: Gorilla.sc, a new web-based Experiment Builder
Alexander Anwyl-Irvine, Jessica Massonnié, Adam Flitton, Natasha Kirkham, Jo Evershed
bioRxiv 438242; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/438242

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