Creating an Online Laboratory
Abstract
Existing online experimental research uses customized software integrating with specific, predefined subject pools such as Mechanical Turk to perform single experiments. The weakness of this decentralized, ad hoc approach to online experimentation is a continued dependence on specific subject pools, experiments that remain difficult to replicate or transfer to other researchers, and a continuous re-inventing the wheel as every social scientist must solve the same problems such as recruiting and managing large numbers of participants. Since 2011, we developed a robust, scalable, and flexible platform called Volunteer Science (http://volunteerscience.com) for designing, testing, and running experiments online. This platform addresses numerous challenges with online research and laboratory experimentation in general, making it easy to implement, modify, elaborate on, validate, replicate, and audit research. In addition, we built a diverse set of subject recruitment strategies including integrating with social media, Amazon's Mechanical Turk, and class-based research participation. Finally, we implemented and tested six experimental platforms from across disciplines to perform our own research and validate the platform.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 18, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA623271
Entities
People
- David Lazer
- Jason Radford
- Waleed Melies
Organizations
- Northeastern University