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WELCOME TO PROTOGENIE
Start slashing the costs of expensive programming to support your research today. Enjoy the powerful and easy-to-use research toolkit on the Web. Learn the many exciting ways that ProtoGenie virtually reinvents the way software is created to support research.
The heart of ProtoGenie is the ProtoGenie Composer/Editor. ProtoGenie Composer/Editor is the authoring program that enables you to create new protocols or to edit your own protocols on the Web to support both qualitative and quantitative research. The first screen after logging on contains ProtoGenie Startup Options. From there, you are on your way.
Remember the ProtoGenie motto: "Share unto others as you would have them share unto you." Make your protocols available to other ProtoGenie users.
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Contact Information
Contact us by Mail
Pasadero, Inc.
2043 E. Libra Drive
Tempe, AZ 85283-3321
To Email us, Click Here:
You can also find this contact information by clicking on Contact in the top menu of the ProtoGenie home pages.
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INTRODUCTION TO PROTOGENIE
The following section provides an overview of ProtoGenie, including:
ProtoGenie Highlights
Why is ProntoGenie Necessary?
Why Is ProtoGenie On The Internet
What is ProtoGenie World?
Who Can Use ProtoGenie?
About the Developers
Remember the ProtoGenie motto: "Share unto others as you would have them share unto you." Make your protocols available to other ProtoGenie users.
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ProtoGenie Highlights
ProtoGenie is a revolutionary research toolkit that reinvents the way research software is created to support experiments, clinical trials, human factor, industrial, surveys and other kinds of research and evaluation. ProtoGenie slashes the costs of old-fashioned computer software by eliminating highly specialized coding and inflexible one-shot programs. ProtoGenie's friendly and intuitive interface is grounded in the logic of scientific method and the familiar look and feel of the traditional desktop interface. All of this enables programmers and non programmers alike to build powerful, configurable, and recyclable research support applications at radically lower costs.
The word "Proto" in ProtoGenie is shorthand for "protocol" which refers to the plan of a scientific experiment or treatment." A protocol is a set of instructions to guide the conduct of an experiment. ProtoGenie automates protocols so that the computer will administer and record experimental sessions effectively, accurately, and reliably. "Genie" is the name of the mythical spirit that looks after its master. It is also French for "genius." Both are light-hearted metaphors for the way ProtoGenie helps the researcher overcome obstacles and makes good things happen.
Exciting ProtoGenie Features
Expandable to all research methods
Supports on-line and off-line studies
Offers confidentiality and sharing
Open source architecture
Platform independence
Menu-based authoring
Configurable protocols
Full-featured Help
Large library of protocols
Outputs results in familiar formats
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Why Is ProtoGenie Necessary?
There is a fundamental disconnect between the process by which research is designed and the process by which software is "programmed." Developing software for research is fundamentally an iterative process. The typical instruction to a software engineer is "Please do X, Y, and Z." Weeks later, researchers receive the program only to discover that Z was not correctly understood or is not right for what they want to do. So, the researchers say, "Please change Z to W." Weeks later, they try it again and it crashes or does something bizarre because the engineers did not anticipate the effect of the change on other parts of the code. Back to the engineers it goes and so on and so forth until deadlines and budgets have been trashed and the researchers are angry with the programmers and programmers are angry with the researchers.
The dreamer's solution is for software engineers to be researchers or for researchers to be software engineers. Obviously, neither is realistic. But, what if researchers could create their own software without becoming software engineers? This is exactly what ProtoGenie makes possible by re-using existing protocols, by making protocols configurable, and by making all composing operations menu-based and easy to do.
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Why is ProtoGenie On The Internet?
Online application liberates researchers from expensive shrink-wrapped applications and irritating and distracting self-maintenance and upgrades.
Online uniquely provides universal access independent of equipment and operating systems.
Online provides a standard and familiar user interface and an open architecture consistent with the philosophy of ProtoGenie.
Online provides for an integrated researcher forum and an integrated help system.
By the very nature of the Internet, online implementation fosters the decentralization of research and encourages small science as a remedy to monopolized science.
Last but not least, its Web-centric application easily supports ON-LINE studies, such as on-line surveys and on-line experiments.
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What is "ProtoGenie World?"
Community of Researchers
PG World is a secure worldwide research environment for researchers brought together by ProtoGenie online user forum to share software and information and to reduce dependence on software engineers and costly fixed applications. The Internet makes this rich research environment possible. It is designed to grow and evolve with universal access and open source tools. A central principle is the conservation of software effort through the recycling of protocols. In other words, ProtoGenie treats protocols as research CAPITAL to be exploited, not wasted. PG World makes the application of this principle possible. See ProtoGenie Users Forum
Signing up for ProtoGenie World Forum
Check out this tool for sharing your experience, problems, and software with other ProtoGenie users.
ProtoGenie Users Forum
See also ProtoGenie World under Key Concepts/Definitions online.
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Sharing Protocols
To make your protocol available to other ProtoGenie users, log on to ProtoGenie. Click on the title of the protocol that you wish to share. In the User Action Menu, click on . On the Permissions Page under Protocol Options, click on "Public."
Remember that "public" does not mean that others can change your original protocol or get at your data or findings. It simply means that others can make a copy from which to shape their own protocol.
If you prefer to provide access to a protocol on a person-to- person basic with the option to specify the level of access, type in the person's email address under "Add a User to Your Protocol" and under that specify the access options you wish him/her to have.
Keep in mind that the ProtoGenie motto is "Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
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Who Can Use ProtoGenie?
Anyone can use ProtoGenie who can operate a computer and has an Internet connection and access to a computer with average power and memory. This includes programmers and non-programmers, experienced researchers and inexperienced researchers from all fields and disciplines, college students, high school students, and elementary school students.
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About the Developers
To visit the Origins and History of ProtoGenie Webpage, Click here
Eight years in the making, ProtoGenie Online was designed and developed by Pasadero, Inc., under the direction of Dr. Lawrence H. Boyd. Dr. Boyd was a Professor, School of Social Welfare, The University of California at Berkeley and co-owner of Berkeley Systems, Inc. He is owner and President of Pasadero, Inc., Tempe, Arizona.
Development was funded in part by the Small Business Innovation Research Grant Program of the National Eye Institute, Phase I and II, R44 EY12444- (01-02), entitled "Software Toolkit for Basic & Applied Vision Research." Without this support, it is likely that ProtoGenie would not have happened. Read or download Final Report
The School of Optometry, The University of California at Berkeley, provided critical field assistance and consulting on the computer support needs of researchers under the enthusiastic leadership of Dr. Ian Bailey and with the professional and equally enthusiastic assistance of Dr. Scott Fitz and Dr. Kuang-Mon Tuan, also of the School of Optometry.
Wesley L. Boyd, former president of Berkeley Systems, Inc. and President, Moveon, Inc., Berkeley, California, looked into the future and created the pioneering Web-centric architecture of ProtoGenie. He was assisted by Dr. Scott Fitz, School of Optometry, The University of California at Berkeley and Stephen Boyd, President, Webdraulics, Tucson, Arizona, both of whom shared the Web-centric vision of ProtoGenie.
Dr. Scott Fitz, School of Optometry, The University of California at Berkeley also wrote the code for ProtoGenie Online with the talented art & graphics assistance of Stephen Boyd, Webdraulics, LLC, Tucson, Arizona.
Stephen Boyd, President, Webdraulics, Tucson, Arizona, gave ProtoGenie the rare combination of Web mastery and project understanding to create the Introductory and promotional pages of ProtoGenie online, assist in the development and application of the toolkit on the Web, assist development of the online help files, and host and maintain the ProtoGenie Website.
William Boyd, Professor, College of Law, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, provided expert consulting on ProtoGenie applications in the law.
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SETTING UP AN ACCOUNT
The following section covers signing up signing up for a membershipand the related topics of system requirementsand logging on.
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
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System Requirements
- Windows or Linux based PC.
- Pentium 2 processor or greater.
- High speed internet connection. (Recommended)
- Flash 6 Plug In.
- * The Java Plug In.
- Internet Explorer v 5.5 or higher.
* The Java Plug In is necessary for a special application of ProtoGenie. You can download it below.
Download the Java Plug In
Note: ProtoGenie does function on the Apple Macintosh with Safari and UNIX-based platforms, but it has not been systematically tested on these platforms. Testers are welcome.
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Signing up for a ProtoGenie Membership
A ProtoGenie membership is free and entitles you to use ProtoGenie Composer/Editor to create and modify protocols for your research, to copy any ProtoGenie protocols that are assigned public status, and to store results in the ProtoGenie database.
You also may want to sign up on the World of ProtoGenie forum to communicate with other users, post questions, find answers or simply show off your protocols.
To set up an account up:
1. Open the ProtoGenie website at http://www.protogenie.com
2. Click on the Sign Up link at the top of the ProtoGenie home page and follow instructions.
Your email address will be your login name and you will create a password.
After submission you will receive a confirmation email that states that you are a member with all attendant privileges.
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How to Log On
To Log onto the ProtoGenie Composer/Editor:
1. Open the ProtoGenie website at http://www.protogenie.com
2. Click Log On at the top of the ProtoGenie home page or any other page of the Website.
3. This will bring up a box containing fields for your log on name (email address) and your password.
Enter this information and click Log On. This will open the Start Up Options Page of the ProtoGenie Composer/Editor containing a number of start up options, including working with a protocol from ProtoGenie's libraries (personal, general, and typical designs), starting with a blank protocol, restoring a backup file, and using a ProtoGenie tutorial.
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PROTOGENIE HELP FEATURES
This section describes the full-featured help system provided by ProtoGenie. Topics include:
ProtoGenie Tutorials
Context-Sensitive Help
On-Screen Prompts
Mouse-Over Help (Under construction)
Online Help System
Table of Contents
Online Help by Index of Keywords
ProtoGenie Printable Manual
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
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Help Features
ProtoGenie provides a full-featured online help system including tutorials, context-sensitive help, contents by topic, a searchable index, and a printable manual. To browse these help features, use the Forward and Back links at the top of these pages. To go to the Help System in the ProtoGenie website, click on the Support link in the top menu of the home page at http://www.protogenie.com.
For the Contents by Topic and Index, click on "Contents" or "Index" above or in the left margin.
In combination with ProtoGenie's familiar Web-based interface the ProtoGenie Help system makes learning and using ProtoGenie to create powerful research protocols easy and enjoyable.
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ProtoGenie Quick Start and Tutorials
Quick Start - Make an Online Survey in 10 Minutes
This single page of online instructions demonstrates how you can make a program (protocol) in a few short minutes to conduct an online spot survey on the question whether the United Stated should exit or stay in Iraq. Click here to go to the Quick Start Tutorial.
Level 1 New User Tutorial
This tutorial creates a protocol for a quickie on-line survey to demonstrate the most basic concepts and operations of ProtoGenie. Click here to go to Level I Tutorial
Level 2 New User Tutorial
This tutorial converts the on-line survey of Level I into a simple on-line experiment to introduce the basic concepts of groups, treatment, and measurement events in an experimental design. Click here to go to Level II Tutorial.
Level 3 New User Tutorial
This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions to create a ProtoGenie protocol for a typical pretest-posttest classical experimental design covering more advanced operations such as context specification, scheduling, and extended support operation. Click here to go to the Level III Tutorial.
Classroom Special Project Psychology Experiments Tutorial
(All welcome)
This tutorial was developed in a collaborative effort with Dr. Kathryn LaFontana, Chairperson of the Psychology Department, Sacred Heart University, Connecticut and Pasadero, Inc., makers of ProtoGenie. This tutorial involves an experiment that studies the effects of verbal descriptions on opinions about the physical attractiveness of individuals in photographs. Click here to go to this tutorial.
Qualitative Research Method Tutorial - Under development
This tutorial will provide step-by-step instructions to create a ProtoGenie protocol for a study that uses qualitative research methods in a typical focus group.
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Context-Sensitive Help
This help feature provides three kinds of immediate help on the current screen.
1. The first consists of how-to assistance when you take an action for the first time. These on-screen prompts will automatically appear in the Events Editor Panel below the Events window.
2. The second kind of immediate context-sensitive help is the mouse-over. As the mouse pointer crosses over a heading or action, a short definition and/or instruction will appear.
Other help options include, contents by topic, and a searchable help index.
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On-Screen Prompts
On-Screen Prompts are how-to instructions and explanations that automatically appear (generally with yellow background) under the Group and Events window when you take an action for the first time. For example, when you first open the Composer/Editor, an on-screen prompt will tell you that you must add a group and define it before you can add treatment, measurement, or control events.
Additional context-sensitive help is provided by Mouse-Over help.
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Mouse-Over Help
(This help feature is under construction.)
As you cross over headings and action labels with the mouse pointer, the mouse cursor will turn into a finger-pointing hand and a definition or instruction will appear near the hand. Additional context-sensitive help is provided by on-screen prompts.
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Online Help System
The ProtoGenie help system includes the option to view the help file as a Table of Contents with topic descriptions or to search an Index of Key Words.
To go to the Help system in the ProtoGenie website, click on the Support link in the top menu of the home page at http://www.protogenie.com.
Other ProtoGenie help options include, tutorials, context-sensitive help, a searchable help index, and a printable manual.
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Online Help by Topic (Contents)
ProtoGenie Help Features include the familiar contents and search by topic capability of popular applications. To use the Contents feature, click on the label "Context" to the right of the label "Contents" at the top of the panel on the left side of the screen. Click on your topic of choice.
Note that the ProtoGenie Home Pages also have a Search feature. To use this, click on the word "Search" at the top left of the home pages and enter a key word to locate in the home pages.
Other help options include, tutorials, context-sensitive help, online contents by Index of keywords, and a printed manual.
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Online Help by Index of Keywords
ProtoGenie Help Features include the familiar index and search capability of popular applications. To use the Index feature, click on the label "Index" to the right of the label "Contents" at the top of the panel on the left side of the screen. Go to your web browser Edit drop down menu and choose Find (on this page) and type the term(s) you want to search for into the "Find What" text field.
Note that the ProtoGenie Home Pages also have a Search feature. To use this, click on the word "Search" at the top left of the home pages and enter a key word to locate in the home pages.
Other help options include, tutorials, context-sensitive help, online contents by topic, and a printed manual.
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ProtoGenie Printable Manual
ProtoGenie help system includes the option to download a printable manual. If you would like a printable manual, click here. In the ProtoGenie website, click on the Support link in the top menu of the home page at http://www.protogenie.com.
Other help options include, tutorials, context-sensitive help, online contents by topic and a searchable help index.
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HOW TO WITH PROTOGENIE - OVERVIEW
This section provides an overview how to use ProtoGenie. How to Create a Protocol: Overview Related topics include:
Selecting a Protocol to Use as a Template
Personal Library of Protocols
Blank Protocol
Typical Designs Library
General Library of Protocols
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
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How to Create a Protocol: Overview
There are six basic steps to creating a protocol.
1. Log On
2. Select a protocol to use as a template
3. Add Groups
4. Add Events
5. Sequence groups and events
6. Save protocol and set permissions.
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SELECTING A PROTOCOL TO USE AS A TEMPLATE
This section describes ProtoGenie sources of protocols for use as templates. Topics include:
Selecting a Protocol to Use as a Template
Selecting a Research Method
Personal Library of Protocols
Blank Protocol
Typical Designs Library
General Library of Protocols
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
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Selecting a Protocol to Use as a Template
The first page after logging on is the Startup Page.
This page contains six options for starting a session.
Access your Personal Library of Protocols
Start New Protocol From Scratch (Blank Protocol)
Search The ProtoGenie Library of Protocols
Select a Typical Design to Use as a Template
Restore a Protocol From a Previously Downloaded Backup File
Open menu of Tutorials for New Users
The first four are sources of protocols from which you can select templates for starting new protocols.
Personal Library
If you have a protocol in your personal library that you wish to use as a template, click on "Access your Personal Library of Protocols." This brings up a list of protocols in your personal library of protocols. To begin work on one of them, click on the protocol title. This brings up a menu containing the actions that you can perform on the selected protocol.
Starting from a Blank Protocol
If you decide to start with a blank startup protocol click on "Access your Personal Library of Protocols." This takes you directly to a Research Methods page, where you select a research method most suited to your study. Then, you are on the Edit Protocol Page of the Composer/Editor ready to construct your new protocol.
ProtoGenie Library of Protocols
If you wish to search the ProtoGenie Library of Protocols for a protocol to use as a template, click on "Search The ProtoGenie Library of Protocols." This takes you to the Search Page, where you can search by title, author, key words, research method, and protocol ID. When you find one that looks interesting, you can browse the protocol in the Composer or you can run it to see if it will fit your needs as a template.
Typical Design Library (Under Construction)
If you intend to start with a protocol from the Typical Design Library, click on "Select a Typical Design to Use as a Template."
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Selecting a Research Method
When starting a completely new protocol from scratch you need to specify the research method fitting your study. A research method also must be specified when searching your personal library and the general library and when browsing the typical design library. The reason for designating a research method is to characterize your protocol for future reference and for future users (if you make the protocol public). Also, construction options and procedures differ somewhat from method to method. For example, while the basic concepts of surveys and classical experiments are similar, procedures will sometimes be different.]
A dropdown menu for selection of a research method appears on the Search Protocols Page.
To designate a research method, simply click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on the one closest to your study.
A dropdown menu for selecting a research method also appears on the Research Methods Page of the Composer and in the popup Protocol Description Window on the Edit Protocol Page.
For details on ProtoGenie's classification and description of research methods, see Research Methods in the ProtoGenie Website.
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Archival Research
Archival research involves the analysis of data from existing data archives, such as the U.S. Census, economic & political surveys, genealogical archives, & public records. These sources are often used for new primary analyses. They are also used as baseline and comparative data in studies using other methods, as in combined methods research.
A dropdown menu for selection of a research methods appears on the Research Methods Page of the Composer. It also appears on the Search Protocols Page and in the popup Protocol Description Window on the Edit Protocol Page. To select a research method, simply click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on the one closest to your study.
If your study fall in the category of Archival Research, click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on "Archival Research."
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Case Study
Case studies involve the description and analysis of a single person, group, system, process, or other entity in great detail often to determine how it works and to identify the factors or dynamics that lead to success or failure. The case study method is frequently thought of as a "qualitative research method" and so it also appears in the list of "types" under "qualitative research methods." For more on qualitative research methods, click here.
A dropdown menu for selection of a research methods appears on the Research Methods Page of the Composer. It also appears on the Search Protocols Page and in the popup Protocol Description Window on the Edit Protocol Page. To select a research method, simply click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on the one closest to your study.
If your study falls in the category of Case Study Research, click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on "Case Study Research." Alternatively, you can click on "Qualitative Research Methods" and then on Case Study Research.
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Classical & Quasi-Experiment
Classical experiments seek to measure the causal effects of treatment variables on response variables through random assignment of subjects to experimental groups and through the manipulation of the treatment variables. Sometimes these experiments are referred to as "laboratory experiments" because of high degree of control over settings. They are commonly used in psychology and related disciplines and in clinical settings, law and other professions.
Studies that do not permit high levels of control are generally known as "Quasi-experiments" and are generally used in field settings such as schools and other institutions. Classical experiments create situations as close to real as possible. Quasi-experiments compensate for lack of controls through matching, placement and withdrawal of treatments, and statistical analysis.
A dropdown menu for selection of a research methods appears on the Research Methods Page of the Composer. It also appears on the Search Protocols Page and in the popup Protocol Description Window on the Edit Protocol Page.
If your study is a classical or quasi-experimental design, click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on "Classical & Quasi-Experiment.
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Clinical Trials
A clinical trial is a study that follows selected individuals forward in time from a pre-set baseline, some receiving an intervention and some not. A clinical trial typically measures the effects of medical interventions, including therapeutic agents, devices, regimens, and procedures. Clinical trials are most commonly used in medical, pharmaceutical, and public health research. A major component of design is generally the provision of mechanisms and procedures for maximizing and assessing "compliance," as in taking a medication daily or weekly in the prescribed amount at the prescribed times.
A dropdown menu for selection of a research methods appears on the Research Methods Page of the Composer. It also appears on the Search Protocols Page and in the popup Protocol Description Window on the Edit Protocol Page.
If your study is a clinical trial, click on the dropdown list of research methods on the Search & Select Protocol Page and click on "Clinical Design."
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Cohort Research
Cohort research generally involves observations of the same people or people of the same description over a long period of time. A common form of cohort research tracks a group of children from their birth and records a wide range of information about them. The difficulty and challenge is to stay in touch with all members of the cohort. Some studies continue for years. Clinical trials are a form of shorter term cohort studies.
Random assignment to treatment and control groups is very desirable, but not always possible.
A dropdown menu for selection of a research methods appears on the Research Methods Page of the Composer. It also appears on the Search Protocols Page and in the popup Protocol Description Window on the Edit Protocol Page. To select a research method, simply click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on the one closest to your study.
If your study falls in the category of Cohort Research, click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on "Cohort Research."
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Combined Methods Research
Combined methods research involves the use of more than one method. One form of combined methods research is in collateral methods designs in which methods are for the most part used separately in complementary. Generally, different measurement and treatment instruments are administered and results are compared. For example, a study may compare data from a data archive with the results of an experiment. Another multiple method situation is the case study, which might combine observational tools, archival analysis, survey research, and a natural experiment. Another kind of combined methods research involves integrated methods designs. As the name implies, methods are merged - often in the same instruments. For example, different wordings or formats for a survey question might be given to experimental and control groups to test their effects on responses. In this example, the objective may be to test the validity of survey items or to test the effects of such things as labels like "Democrat" or "Republican" on issue response consistency.
Another important kind of combined research methods integrates qualitative research methods and quantitative research methods, as in the case of an exploratory phase followed by a quantitative phase. For more on qualitative research methods, click here.
A dropdown menu for selection of a research methods appears on the Research Methods Page of the Composer. It also appears on the Search Protocols Page and in the popup Protocol Description Window on the Edit Protocol Page. To select a research method, simply click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on the one closest to your study.
If your study falls in the category of Combined Methods Research, click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on "Combined Methods Research."
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Laboratory Trials Research
Laboratory trials typically involve repeated presentations of stimuli (interventions or treatments) and measurements (trials). They often use equivalent materials to control the effects of memorizing. Stimuli are often presented on visual and auditory devices. They are commonly used in vision, cognitive, and human performance research. Laboratory trials also are used in materials research and testing. Examples include testing the effects of colored text and backgrounds on reading speed and comprehension and testing the effects of distractors on target detection and recognition. An industrial example might test the effects of variable temperatures on the properties of a material or product.
A dropdown menu for selection of a research methods appears on the Research Methods Page of the Composer. It also appears on the Search Protocols Page and in the popup Protocol Description Window on the Edit Protocol Page.
If your study falls in the category of Laboratory Trials Research, click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on "Laboratory Trials Research."
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Observational Research
Observational research is the systematic, usually first-hand observation of some event in progress, such as a classroom, gang activity, legislative body, or discussion group. Designs range from virtually unstructured, as in participant observation, for exploratory purposes, to tightly structured observations of specific behaviors. This kind of research is generally guided by questionnaires, check lists of anticipated events or phenomena, and comment fields for entering unanticipated events or phenomena as they occur.
An example of an application of ProtoGenie in an observational study in vision science is a systematic recording of observations of accident avoidance behaviors and confrontations in a busy corridor at a convention for blind people.
Observational methods are frequently thought of as a "qualitative research methods" and so Observational Research also appears in the list of "types" under "qualitative research methods." For more on qualitative research methods, click here.
A dropdown menu for selection of a research methods appears on the Research Methods Page of the Composer. It also appears on the Search Protocols Page and in the popup Protocol Description Window on the Edit Protocol Page. To select a research method, simply click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on the one closest to your study.
If your study fall in the category of Observational Research, click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on "Observational Research."
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Survey Research
Survey research is the study of attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of people and their settings through questionnaires administered by mail, handouts, personal and, telephone interviews, and the Internet.
Surveys typically range from one question spot polls to large-scale studies and sometimes employ panels and time samples. Today, the Internet enables surveys to be conducted completely online. Surveys are frequently used in national and local studies of political and economic attitudes and reported behavior. Surveys are used to identify important variables, to increase understanding, and sometimes to promote a change through education. Unlike the experiment, there is no conscious attempt to intervene to determine causality.
Classical experiments have been imbedded in surveys to study measurement problems associated with the wording and format of questions. This is an example of a "Combined Research Method." For more on combined methods, click here.
A dropdown menu for selection of a research methods appears on the Research Methods Page of the Composer. It also appears on the Search Protocols Page and in the popup Protocol Description Window on the Edit Protocol Page.
If your study fall in the category of Survey Research, click on the dropdown list of research methods and click on "Survey Research."
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Qualitative Research Methods
ProtoGenie developers are currently launching a development program that will build on ProtoGenie's generic foundation to support qualitative research methods. Many qualitative method researchers feel that the benefits of statistically-based "quantitative" research are seriously limited because, in their opinion, the formal logic of quantitative research ignores context and concentrates on fragments of phenomena instead of phenomena as wholes. Moreover, these critics contend that the users of quantitative research methods tend to make the mistake of believing that their models "are" reality rather than formalistic "depictions of reality" and do not recognize that such depictions are heavily influenced by subjective perceptions and predispositions.
Nevertheless, most researchers agree that both qualitative research and quantitative research are necessary. There continues to be considerable specialization in one or the other method through personal and disciplinary preference and philosophical dispositions. However, there is a trend toward using both methods in the same study. One version of this employs the methods sequentially, as in the case of an "exploratory" phase from which population information and null hypotheses are gleaned for use in a quantitative phase. Other studies use these methods in combination, as in gathering contextual information using qualitative research methods for use in quantitative models.
To develop a strong capability to support qualitative research methods, ProtoGenie has added another "category" of research methods called "Qualitative Methods" to our original list of methods, which included archival research, case study research, clinical trials, classical & quasi experimental designs, cohort research, laboratory experiments, observational research, and combined methods research.
Among the "Types" of methods that will be supported under qualitative research methods are:
Participant Observation
Direct Observation,
Unstructured Interviewing
Case Studies
Content Analysis
Focus Groups
The capability to conduct qualitative research already exists to a considerable extent in ProtoGenie's generic design and wide-ranging tools. For example, ProtoGenie supports "seat-of-the-pants" or "on-the-fly" operations such that researchers at any time can stop the execution of a protocol, change a stimulus or measurement, and resume the protocol. The next step is to build on the generic design of ProtoGenie and its wide array of tools and to add features to support specific operations as in conducting focus group or participant observation studies.
We welcome the input of researchers who are experienced in qualitative research and we are looking for opportunities to work with individuals and groups in institutional settings toward the development of qualitative applications in those settings. To contact us with your suggestions for this program or to express your interests in participating in the collaborative development of ProtoGenie to fit your departmental or institutional needs, click here.
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ProtoGenie Libraries
There are three ProtoGenie libraries of protocols as follows:
Personal Protocol Library
This is a directory of your own protocols. Of course, you are permitted to make a copy of a protocol from this library to use as a template for a new protocol. To take some action on a particular protocol, click on the Action dropdown menu to the right of the title and select the action you wish to perform. Actions include Run, Edit, Edit Copy, Users, Results, Backup, and Delete. To use a protocol from this library as a template for a new protocol, click on Edit Copy. This will bring up the ProtoGenie Composer/Editor page containing a copy of the desired protocol ready for changes required by your new protocol.
Generally, you can browse your list of protocols and find what you are looking for, so that it will not be necessary to search your own library of protocols. However, if you have been principle investigator on many projects, it is conceivable that you will have an extraordinarily long list of protocols in your personal library. In that case, you can use the ProtoGenie search feature at the top of your list of protocols.
ProtoGenie General Library of Protocols
The General Library of Protocols is a ProtoGenie archive of protocols that have been created using ProtoGenie Composer/Editor. This archive is searchable by author, ID number, title, research method, and key words. Each protocol is given a status of private or public by the author when it is created. The default status is "Private" unless the author resets the status to "Public." With Public Protocols created by users other than yourself the only Actions available are Run and Edit Copy. If you use Edit Copy, save that copy, and make it Public, all Actions available to an Author (Run, Edit, Edit Copy, Users, Results, backup, and Delete ) will be action options when you access the Saved Copy.
Typical Designs Library (Under development)
The Typical Designs Library is an archive of partially completed protocols organized by research method. After users select the research area most appropriate to their studies their list of typical design protocols will contain the designs most associated with their selected research area. For example, a typical design for classical control group experiments is the popular pretest-posttest control group design in which one group receives a treatment with measurements before and after the treatment while the other group gets only the pre and posttest measurements.
In typical designs protocols, the locations in the specific designs where groups, measurements, and treatments are to be presented contain place holders labeled "unspecified ( event )". For example, where a treatment is to be defined in the protocol the label will simply be "Unspecified Treatment." The same goes for measurements, control events, and groups.
Since typical design protocols are organized by research method, then the only search criterion is research method and the number of protocols under research methods is relatively small, then you only have to designate the research method that most applies to your study.
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What are Typical Design Templates?
(Under Development)
Typical design templates are simply skeletons of designs in protocol format. Place holders labeled "unspecified" ( ) mark the specific locations where group, measurement, and treatment events are to be presented. For example, where a treatment (intervention) is to be presented or administered in the protocol the label will simply be "Unspecified Treatment." The same goes for measurements, control events, and groups. The task for the user is to specify (define) these unspecified events to create a new protocol. Design diagrams are displayed for the selected typical design and step-by step tutorials for building a custom protocol are provided for each group and event in the design.
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Browsing & Searching the Typical Designs Library
(Under Development)
The Typical Designs Library contains partially completed protocols organized by research method. In typical designs protocols, place holders labeled "unspecified" ( ) mark the specific locations where groups, measurements, and treatments are to be presented For example, where a treatment is to be presented in the protocol the label will simply be "Unspecified Treatment."
Typical design templates are organized by research method, as follows:
Typical Classical Experiment Designs
Typical Survey Designs
Typical Observational Designs
Typical Laboratory Designs
Typical Case Study Designs
Typical Archival Analysis Designs
Typical Qualitative Research Designs
Browsing or Searching the Typical Design Library
1. Log on to ProtoGenie.
2. Select Typical Designs Library.
3. Select the research method closest to your study method.
4. Click on Go. This will give you a list of typical designs for the selected method with a brief description. For example, if you selected "Classical & Quasi Experimental Designs," you would get a list of ten typical classical designs and their descriptions.
5. To search the Typical Design Library for all methods, enter a keyword and click Search.
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USER ACTIONS MENU
This section covers the operations that are available to users in ProtoGenie Composer/Editor and how to open protocols in ProtoGenie.
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
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User Actions Menu
The first page that a user sees after clicking on the title of a protocol in any protocol library or search list is a menu of operations that can be performed on the selected protocol.
The specific operations in this menu will vary according to the permissions that the original authors attached to the protocol. Protocols in one's personal library will have all the actions, which are:
Run - Execute selected protocol in the list (must be in a Personal Library or designated Public).
Edit - Edit selected protocol in the list (must be in personal library).
Edit Copy - Make a copy of selected protocol in the list (must be in personal library or have a public security status).
Users - This is a list of people who have been added to the Designated User List attached to selected protocol..
Results - This option enable you to look at the results of previous runs of selected protocol.
Backup - This option provides the capability to locally back up a server copy of a ProtoGenie file for safe-keeping
Delete - This enables you to delete the selected protocol.
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Opening Existing Protocols
To open a protocol in any ProtoGenie protocol library:
Log on.
In the Start Up Page, click on the library that you what to access. For example, for your own personal library, click on "Access Personal Library of Protocols."
Click on the protocol title. This brings up a menu of operations that are available to you for that protocol. For your own personal library, they are Run, Edit, Edit Copy, Users, Results, Backup, and Delete. To edit a protocol you are working on, click Edit. To make a new protocol, click Edit Copy.
These steps take you to the ProtoGenie Editor/Composer on the Edit Protocol Page, where the first screen automatically presents a popup Protocol Description Window, where you can enter or edit the description of the protocol. If you have already filled out this documentation window and do not what to make any changes, close the popup window for a full view of the Edit Protocol Page ready to modify your protocol to your specifications.
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COMPOSING & EDITING PROTOCOLS
This section covers the following topics:
Composing & Editing Protocols
Protocol Description Popup Window
The Heart of ProtoGenie Composer -
Logic of the Protocol Construction Process
Events Versus "Event Names"
Deciding on a Protocol Construction Strategy
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
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Composing & Editing Protocols
After logging in and selecting a startup option from the Startup Page, you are ready to begin composing a new protocol from a copy of the old or from scratch using a blank protocol.
The first screen after logging on contains six start up options. If you are want to start with a blank protocol, click on you Blank Protocol and you will go directly to the main page of the Composer, called the "Edit Protocol Page." When this page comes up, a Protocol Description Window automatically pops up to underscore the importance of documenting your protocol. If you prefer this window not to pop up automatically when you come on the Edit Protocol Page, you can click the check box that hides this window until you manually bring it up in the top menu.
If you are starting with an existing protocol for a template, you first go to the library list that you requested (personal, general, or typical designs) or a list produced by a search. In this list, click on the title of the desired protocol.
Clicking on a protocol listing in a library will bring up a menu of user actions available to you for that protocol. The full access list of options contains "Run, Edit, Edit Copy, Users, Results, Backup, and Delete."
If you select the Edit or Edit Copy option, that will take you to the Edit Protocol Page, where you are ready to begin to compose or edit your protocol. A typical Edit Protocol page looks like this:
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Protocol Description Popup Window
The purpose of the Protocol Description window is to provide information in sufficient detail to help other ProtoGenie users decide whether your protocol would make a good template for their intended studies. This information can be entered or modified at any time by clicking on Description in the top menu of any composer/editor page.
The Protocol Description window contains fields for the title, description of the study, topic/field, keywords, author, protocol ID, when created, last modified, category of research, public access status, and current user.
If this window has not been filled out, enter the following:
1. In the field labeled "Title," enter the name of your protocol.
2. In the field labeled "Description," enter a brief abstract of the study for which the current protocol will be used.
3. In the field labeled "Topic/Field," enter a topic or field name to be associated with the current protocol.
4. In the field labeled "Keywords," enter as many words separated by commas as necessary to enable effective searches by other ProtoGenie users.
The login name of the principle author of the protocol will automatically appear under "Author." Note that under search options, you can search protocols by author's name. There is no input field associated with "Protocol ID" because this number will be automatically assigned at the point you Save your protocol to the database. The dates "Created" and "Modified" are filled automatically by ProtoGenie.
There are two dropdown menus in the lower right-hand quadrant of the Protocol Info Panel that are particularly important to other potential users. The first is labeled "Category of Research Method." A category will have been selected (showing in the window) by you when you selected a protocol to use as a template or by the original author of the protocol. Generally, you will want to leave this on the research method selected. If for some reason it is not the method you wish to use, then you can change it here.
The dropdown menu labeled "Public or Private" has two options, "Public" and "Private." The default setting is "Private," meaning that no one can access the protocol without your express permission. If you know that you would like to permit all ProtoGenie members to copy and use the current protocol as a template for their own studies, then select "Public." This permission status can be changed at a later time should you desire.
If you do not want this window to pop up when you open the composer again, click the check box for this option. You can display this window anytime you wish by clicking on "Description" in the top menu of the composer/editor. When you are finished with the Description window, click the close box and the Edit Protocol Window will be fully displayed.
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The Heart of ProtoGenie Composer
The first screen after logging on contains six start up options. In the case of starting with a blank protocol, you will enter your Research Method and go directly to the main page of the Composer. This page is called the "Edit Protocol Page." In the case of using an existing protocol for a template, you will go to the library list that you requested or a list produced by a search. In that list, you will click on the title of the desired protocol and that will bring up a menu of user actions available to you for that protocol. When you select the Edit or Edit Copy option you will go to the Edit Protocol Page under the Groups tab, where you are ready to begin composing your protocol. A typical Edit Protocol page would look like this:
The Edit Protocol page contains three tabs beginning on the left with the tab called Groups. The second tab is Events and the third tab is Sequencing. Groups and events are made under the first two tabs and their names are listed and sequenced under the third tab. When you first arrive at the Edit Protocol Page, you will always be looking under the Groups tab.
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Logic of the Protocol Construction Process
Study the Edit Protocol Page containing the three tabs and you should recognize the basic logic of ProtoGenie. In a nutshell, the process of building a protocol boils down to:
Defining groups for the Execution List Window.
Defining Measurement, Treatment, and Support Events for the Event Names Window.
Entering names of events from the Event Names Window into the groups in the Execution List Window in the order that they will be executed.
Also, a powerful feature of ProtoGenie is the ability to duplicate individual events and whole sets of events, thereby eliminated the need to create all groups and events from scratch.
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Events Versus "Event Names"
ProtoGenie distinguishes between "events" as they appear in the Event Specification Table of the Events Window and "names (or labels) of events as they appear in the Event Names Window and the Execution List Window. An event name in the execution list simply points to an event that you have created. Consequently, you can enter the same name in more than one place in a group and in more than one group and the actual event will execute when the protocol comes to that name, wherever it might appear and as many times as it might appear.
This feature of ProtoGenie eliminates the need to create the same event every time an identical event appears in a research design. If you make a change in the actual event, the name refers to the modified event. If you change the name (label) of the actual event, the name (label) of the event will automatically change.
This feature is consistent with the re-cycling philosophy of ProtoGenie, which is aimed at eliminating the practice of using software or parts of software once and throwing it away. In future versions of ProtoGenie, events will be stored for use (by name) in any protocol by the same user and by any users (given the consent of the authors).
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Deciding on a Protocol Construction Strategy
There are two distinct sets of operations in the making of a protocol. The first is the creation of groups and events. The second is the sequencing of event names in groups. Consequently, when there are many groups and many events as there often are, there are several different ways one might choose to create the lists of events in groups in a protocol.
Strategy 1: Groups First, Then Events
Create all of the groups and all of the events in them.
Enter the event names in the groups.
Strategy 2: First Group and Events, Then Second Group, Etc.
Create the first group.
Create all of the events for that group.
Enter the event names in that group.
Create the next group and repeat this procedure.
Strategy 3: First Group, First Event, Then Second Group
Create the first group.
Create the first event for that group.
Enter the event name for that event in the group.
Create the next event and repeat the above.
Special Case: Random Assignment of Subjects to Groups at Run-time
Create a Super Group
Create a Random Assignment Event by Treatment
Other Considerations Involving Strategy
Another variation on the strategies above is sometimes effective because of the fact that it is often useful to create and list the names of the Treatment and Control Events before creating and listing the Support Events in the groups. Doing it this way can help clarify what kind of support events are needed and where they event names should be inserted.
Keep in mind that when there are two or more events in a design that are identical you need not make separate events for each of them. Instead, you can simply enter the same event names wherever they are needed.
Also, keep in mind that instead of creating an event from scratch when it is similar to one that already exists, you can Duplicate the one that is similar, customize it to fit, enter the event name in the execution list, and delete the event name that is not correct.
There is also another powerful time-saving ProtoGenie feature that enables authors to Duplicate an entire group, thereby making another set of events that can be customized to fit specifications. This is done under the Edit menu of the Groups page.
You can also duplicate the list of event names in a group. This is done under the Actions menu of the Sequencing Page.
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CREATING GROUPS
This section covers the use of experimental groups, differences between treatment and control groups, and how to create groups for a protocol. It also covers the random assignment of subjects to groups online at run-time.
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
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Why Use Groups?
Treatment Groups
If more than one treatment is being tested, groups are frequently used to sort out the effects of each treatment and combinations of treatments. In this situation, each treatment is assigned to a specific group. Consequently, they are referred to as "Treatment Groups."
Control Groups
Groups are used in experimental research to help distinguish between effects on subjects that are due to treatments and effects that are due to history and other threats to validity. Therefore, subjects in the typical control group are not presented any treatment.
Also, groups are used to determine whether a treatment has greater effects on one population than another. For example, a teaching method might be more effective with males than it is with females. In this case, there might be three groups: one consisting of male subjects, one consisting of female subjects, and one consisting of males and females who do not receive the treatment. These groups are generally called "Control Groups."
Random Assignment of Subjects to Groups at Run-time
See Random Assignment to Groups.
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Experimental Groups
Groups of subjects are often defined for controls and comparisons in experiments. Subjects may be assigned to different groups based on subject attributes or they may be randomly assigned to groups that will receive different treatments.
Experimental Groups are used to compare the effects of an intervention (treatment) in one population to the effects in another. For example, one might be interested in the question of whether there are differences between the memories of people diagnosed as dyslexic and "non-dyslexic" people.
If subjects are randomly assigned to groups, as in "true experiments," then effects observed in the groups will be statistically independent among groups, thereby making it easier to interpret the specific effects of different treatments and controls.
A special category of treatments is "no-treatment." Groups given no-treatments are generally called "control groups." Consequently, the major categories of experimental groups are Treatment Groups and Control Groups. In an important sense, "no treatment" is also an event because something is always going on between measurements. To demarcate the time period involved, a "Null Event" is inserted in the Control Group at the location corresponding to the location of the treatment in the Treatment Group.
In some research fields, "treatments" are called "interventions" and in others, they are called "Stimuli." Consequently, groups in which an intervention or a stimulus is presented are called "intervention groups" and "stimulus groups," respectively.
Random Assignment of Subjects to Groups at Run-time
See Random Assignment to Groups.
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How to Create Groups
Groups are used mostly in experimental research, although "Panels" are frequently used in surveys and other research methods. There are basically two kinds of groups in experiments, Treatment Groups and Control Groups.
To add a group to a protocol that already exists, log on and go to the personal or public library that contains it. Click on the title of the protocol. In the User Action Menu, click on Edit. This takes you to the main page of the Composer called the "Edit Protocol Page."
Click on the Groups tab. In that window, click on Create (New Group).
This inserts a new group in the list of groups in that window. Its temporary label is "New Group." Click on this label and change it to the name that you wish to use. If you look under the "Sequencing Tab," you will see your new group listed in the Execution List of this window. If you open it by clicking on the drop down icon, you will see that there are no new events attached to that group as yet.
You should fill in the columns immediately to the right of the Group Label in the Groups Window, including a description of the group you just created.
Sometimes the properties of groups differ only slightly and so it can be a great time-saver to add a copy of an existing group and modify it to fit. To make a copy of a group, click on the group that you wish to copy in the "Make & Edit Group Window," click on Edit, and then on Duplicate.
To remove a group from the current list of groups, click on the group to be removed in the "Make & Edit Window," click on Edit and then on Delete.
Generally, sessions for groups will begin at the same time, so that the order of the groups in Execution List Window does not matter. However, if you want groups to start at different dates and/or times, you can order them the way you wish in the Execution List Window using the Move menu and using the Support Event "Scheduling" to specify dates and times.
Random Assignment of Subjects to Groups at Run-time
See Random Assignment to Groups.
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Saving As You Go
It is a good practice to give your new protocol a title and save it immediately after choosing and opening a startup protocol (either blank or from a ProtoGenie library) and save it after every major step. Also, after every major work session, it is a good practice to make and save a copy of it as a backup protocol in case you make radical changes and then find that they were not what you thought you wanted.
Saving protocols should be distinguished from saving the Results (data) of the execution of protocols. At the completion of an execution of a protocol, you should click on SAVE in the top menu.
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CREATING EVENTS
A critical part of designing experiments and other studies is the specification of what is supposed to happen, including interventions (treatments/Stimuli), measurements, and controls. This section provides instructions for adding these events.
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
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How to Create Events
There are three types of EVENTS that you can create from scratch for use in a protocol. They are measurement events, treatment (intervention) events, and control (procedural) events.
Note: There is one unique kind of Event, which is a combined Treatment and Measurement Event. This simply means that the Treatment (such as a picture) appears on the same page as the Measurement. It is called a "Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement event. For details on this special kind of event, click here.
To create an event, log on and go to the personal or public library that contains it. Click on the title of the protocol. In the User Action Menu, click on Edit. This takes you to the main page of the Composer called the Edit Protocol Page.
Click on the Events Tab and then on Create at the top left of the Event Specification Table. From the dropdown list, select a category of events (Measurement, Treatment, or Control) and then within that category, select a Type from that category. For example, select "Measurement" as the category and "Multiple Choice" as the type of measurement.
This new event will appear in the "Event Specification Table." For the example of the measurement event, the new event would be called "New Measurement Event." In the first column of this row, there will be an "M" in a circle indicating that this event is a Measurement. To its right and under Event Type it will say "Multiple Choice."
In the column labeled "Variable," enter a name that will be used by the database (all one word). In the column labeled Keywords, enter words that refer to this event. In the column labeled "Event Description," enter a description of the event.
To remove an event, click on Edit and Delete.
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How to Make New Events From Old
In the spirit of recycling software and time-saving, ProtoGenie provides a powerful feature enables users to create identical copies of existing events that can be customized to specifications.
To duplicate an event, log on, select the protocol containing the event you wish to duplicate from a library or search list of protocols, click on the title of the protocol, and select Edit from the menu of user actions. This brings up the Edit Protocol Page of the ProtoGenie composer/editor.
Click on the Events tab. Select the event that you wish to duplicate. Click on the Edit menu above the Events Specification Table and click Duplicate. Having created a replica of the event, you will then edit the description of the event to fit your needs.
Generally, customizing an event to fit your needs simply means changing descriptive text in the Events Specification Table. The exception is when the event you need requires a different TYPE (instrument) in the event. For example, instead of a multiple choice question, you may need a ranking instrument. You can do this, by selecting the event in the Events Specification Table, clicking on Edit and then on Convert Instrument. There, you can select the event category and type of event that you wish. Note that instead of going through the process of duplicating an event and then changing the category and type of that event, you might elect to create a new event from scratch.
Also, keep in mind that if events in different places and groups are identical, there is no need to make duplicate copies of them. Instead you can simply insert the name for them into the Execution List of the Sequencing Page as many times as you need and they will be executed in the order in which they appear.
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How To Duplicate Events for Entire Groups
Not only can individual events be duplicated, whole groups including every event in them can be duplicated such that the events in the groups are events that can be customized to fit the groups in question. This can be a great time-saver when there are large numbers of events across groups that are the same in some parts, but different in other parts, such that time can be saved by not having to do every part from scratch.
To make a new set of events for an existing group, click on the Groups tab of the Edit Protocol Page. In the Group Specification Table, select the group that you wish to duplicate. Click on the Edit menu and select Duplicate.
Now, a duplicate of the original group appears in the Group Specification Window under the label "Duplicate of 'Group Name'." Rename the group and make changes where necessary in the listing for the new group in the Group Specification Window.
Using this procedure produces duplicate events in the Events Window and the Event Names window of the Sequencing Window. These events are given the temporary names "Duplicate of [name of original]" These variables can be customized the same way that duplicated individual events can be customized.
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How to Duplicate Entire Lists of Events
Another time-saving strategy is made possible by the ability to duplicate entire execution lists of events and put them in a new group. Remember that the list of events in the Execution List Window are not events per se, they are pointers to events and cannot be modified without modifying the events to which they point. However, considerable time can be saved by duplicating events that are similar but not the same as the ones that are not exactly right, entering their names into the execution list and deleting the event names that are not right.
To copy an entire group, click on the Sequencing tab of the Edit Protocols Page. Click on the group that you wish to copy. Click on the Actions menu and select Copy. Now, a new group will appear in the Execution List. It will simply be called "New Group." Looking inside the group by that name in the Execution List of the Sequencing Page, you will see the same list of events by the same names as in the original group. These are not actual events and as such they do not appear in the Event Names Window or the Events window. They are simply names of events that cannot be changed unless the events for which they were named were changed - in which case, every instance of the names in the Execution List also would be changed.
To change the name of the new group, click on the Groups tab. In the Group Specification Table, change the name from "New Group" to the name of your choice.
While the names in the execution list cannot be changed, they can be deleted and names can be inserted. To illustrate, lets suppose that you are created the Control Group in the Execution List by duplicating the list of event names in the Treatment Group. Since there is no treatment in a control group, the name of the treatment event in the new group can be deleted and replaced by the name of a new event called a "Null Event."
To make a null event, click on the Events tab and above the Event Specification Table click on Create. Select Treatment and under that "Unspecified Treatment." Now, change the event label in the Event Specification Table from "Unspecified Treatment" to "Null Event." Return to the Sequencing page and select the Control Group. In the Event Names Window, click on "Null Event" and then on the right arrow called "Enter Event Name."
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What are Measurement Events?
In surveys a measurement event is an action taken to determine attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, skills, memory, dispositions, and feelings. In experiments a measurement event is an action taken to determine whether something happened or changed in an experiment in response to a treatment (intervention or stimulus).
Measurements generally involve things you want to learn about in your study and are usually referred to as "dependent variables" or "response variables" because they depend on or are responses to other factors that you want to explore, evaluate, or use to produce a change. Examples of dependent variables are "jury verdicts," "reading performance," and "reaction time." Variables must be "operationalized," meaning that one must specify exactly how they are measured. For example, a question might be asked or a blood pressure might be taken. These actions are measurement events.
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Types of Measurement Events
Measurement Types are sometimes referred to as measurement "instruments" because they measure knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs in a survey, observations in observational research, or the effects of a treatment in an experiment or clinical trial. There are twelve types of measurements available in ProtoGenie, as follows:
1. Checkbox
2. Drop-down Menu
3. Fill in the blanks
4. List Box
5. Matching
6. Multiple Choice
7. Ranking
8. Rating Scale
9. Short Answer
10. Slider Bar
11. True-False
12. Unspecified Measurement
Note: There is one unique kind of Event, which is called a "Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement Event." This simply means that the treatment stimulus (such as a picture or text) appears on the same page as the Measurement. For details regarding this special kind of event, click here.
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How to Create Measurement Events
There are three ways to create a measurement event. The first is to make it from scratch. The second is to duplicate an existing event and customize it to fit. See Duplicating Events. The third way does not actually create an event. When measurements are identical, an event can simply be copied from the Event Names Window of the Sequencing Page to the groups where they will be executed in the order that they appear.
To create a measurement event from scratch," click on the Create menu at the top left of the "Event Specification Table" and then "Measurement." To illustrate, select "Multiple Choice" as the type of measurement event.
Now there should be a new event (row) in the "Event Specification Table." In the first column for this row, there should be an "M" in a circle indicating that this event is a Measurement. To its right and under "Event Type" it should say "Multiple Choice." Under Event Label, it should say "New Multiple Choice Measurement." To illustrate the procedure, change this label to "Subject Mood."
In the column labeled "Variable," enter "subjectmood" (all one word). In the column labeled "Keywords," enter "mood, depression, well-being." In the column labeled "Event Description," enter "This event asks subjects whether they are feeling depressed.
Scroll down to the Instrument Construction Area under the heading "Subject Mood." In the box labeled "Number of check boxes to Show to respondent," set the number to "2" (for "YES" and "NO."). Immediately below this, set the "Number of responses the respondent is allowed to check" to "1."
In the text box, enter:
"Are you feeling depressed?"
Immediately below the question, there are two boxes for responses. In the first field, type the word "YES." In the second field, type the word "NO."
This might be followed up by a measurement that seeks to determine how much the subject feels depressed. This could be done by creating another measurement event and selecting a rating scale or sliderbar to measure the extent of depression.
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Testing As You Go
As in all programming, it very important to test your work as you go.
This will ensure that each event will execute the way that you want. Frequently, you will decide to change the format or even the choice of instruments used. Also, when you test the protocol frequently as you compose it you will ensure that events execute in the order that you wish.
There are two ways to test as you go. The first is to run only the event that you just constructed. This is the "Preview Event" option at the top of the Instrument Construction Area in the "Events" Page of the Composer. The second option executes the protocol from beginning to end (where you left off) and returns to where you were in the Composer. This is the regular Execute (run) option in the top menu bar of every page in the Composer.
When you are creating an event, you will generally want to test only the current event to see if it does what you want. However, there will be times when you want to see the progression of the protocol from one event to another, in which case, you should use the Execute option.
Naturally, after you have completed a protocol, you will need to run it repeatedly to make sure that it is working as it should. At any intermediate point in development, it can take a long time to run the whole protocol, so you will frequently use the "Preview Event" option.
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What are Treatment Events?
A treatment event is an action taken to manipulate something in your experiment to study its effects on your dependent variable. For example, you might be interested in studying the effects of drinking coffee on reading performance. Treatment variables are called "treatments," "interventions," "change variables," and "stimuli," depending on the nature and setting of the study. The statistical term for these variables is generally "Independent variables," although this may be deceiving since variables are seldom independent of other influences. Treatment variables can be categorical in measurement as in "gender" or continuous, as in "letter contrast." In statistical analysis, categories are generally called "levels," and these are often treated as separate treatments. For example, one might investigate and compare the effects of blue, green, gray, and no filters on reading speed. The planned manipulation of an independent variable is a treatment event.
Same-Page Stimulus and Measurement Presentation Options
There are two special page formats for presenting visual treatment (stimuli) events and one generic format for more complex multiple-event screens. The first special format is called "Image Stimuli" and the second is called "Text Stimuli." Both are contained in the list of treatment types under Treatments under the Create menu in the Events window of the Edit Protocol Page of the PG Composer. These presentation options provide an easy way to present a stimulus and a measurement on the same page. For details, see, click here.
For a more general way to present multiple-events on the same page, see PG Executable Forms.
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How to Create Treatment Events
To create a treatment event," click on the Create menu at the top left of the "Event Specification Table" and then "Treatment." To illustrate, select "Intervention Administrated by the subject" as the type of treatment event.
Now there should be a new event (row) in the "Event Specification Table." In the first column for this row, there should be an "T" in a circle indicating that this event is a Treatment. To its right and under "Event Type" it should say "Intervention Administrated by the subject." Under Event Label, it should say "New Intervention Administrated by the subject Treatment." To illustrate the procedure, change this label to "Medication Treatment."
In the column labeled "Variable," enter "medicationtreatment" (all one word). In the column labeled "Keywords," enter "treatment, medications." In the column labeled "Event Description," enter "The event involves the self-administration of the medication being tested in this study."
Scroll down to the "Instrument Construction Area" under the heading "Medication Treatment." Fill in the text boxes to define the treatment.
To use the "Image Stimuli" treatment event or the "Text Stimuli" treatment event to present a treatment and measurement on the same page, click here.
To create more complex multiple-event screens known as "PG Executable Forms," see Serial Versus Same-Page Formats For Event Presentations and PG Executable Forms.
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Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement Presentation Options
There are two special page formats for presenting visual treatment (stimuli) events. The first is called "Image Stimuli" and the second is called "Text Stimuli." These presentation options provide an easy way to present a stimulus (image or text) and a measurement on the same page.
Image Stimuli Presentation Options
Options available with this special event include the following:
1. Present Stimulus (picture) with an accompanying block of text - such as a description of or comment about something in the image.
2. Present stimulus (picture) with a measurement event, such as a multiple choice question.
3. Enable automatic next page and set desired time interval.
4. Enable (manual) user activated NEXT. With this option selected, you can elect to have the interval between start and finished timed. (Set timer).
For instructions, see How to Create Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement Events
Text Stimuli Presentation Option
This event works essentially the same way as the Image Stimuli event except instead of an image one can use a letter, number, or string of text using standard text operations. This obviates the need to convert text stimuli into image formats.
Complex Multiple-Event Same-Page Screens (PG Executable Forms)
To create more complex multiple-event screens known as "PG Executable Forms," see Serial Versus Same-Page Formats For Event Presentations and PG Executable Forms.
Related Topics
Serial Versus Same-Page Formats For Event Presentations
How to Create Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement Presentation Options
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How to Create Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement Events
Creating an "Image Stimuli" Same-Page Event
1. Use an existing JPEG (or other standard image format) image or create one. Publish it on your host server and get the URL address for that file.
2. Enter the Composer/Editor by clicking on the Edit or Edit Copy link in the User Actions Menu. This will bring up the Edit Protocol Page containing the Three tabs, Make & Edit Group, Events, and Sequencing. Click on the Events tab. This brings up the Events Specification Table containing the columns, Event Label, Event Type, Variable, Event Description, and Key Words.
3. Click on CREATE. Click on Treatments in the drop-down list. In the drop-down list of treatment options, select "Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement." A new row will appear in your Events Specification Table. Under Event Type, you will see "Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement." Give this event a name under Event Label (such as "Picture A) and fill out the other fields, such as Event Description.
4. Click on the name of your new event (Picture A) and look down below your Events Specification Table and you will see a field labeled "Type the url of your picture here." Type in that url.
5. If you want to present a block of text with the picture, type the text you intend in the field labeled "Type text to accompany picture."
6. If you want to present a measurement on the same page as your picture, click the drop-down box labeled "Present Measurement." This will present a list of measurement options beginning with "No measurement" and then the standard list of measurement options, such as "Multiple Choice." Click on your choice of measurements and you will be presented a screen containing the setup for that measurement.
7. Click on Preview to see if you have the screen presentation as you want it.
8. If you have more than one of these Same-Page Stimulus-Measurement events, repeat the procedure above.
9. When you are ready to sequence your events for execution, click on the Sequencing Tab. Select the group if applicable. Select an event in the events list at the left of the screen and click the right arrow to make the event name appear in the sequence list (under the designated group). Click on MOVE and use the UP and DOWN arrows to rearrange the sequence if necessary.
Creating a Text Stimuli Same-Page Event
The Text Stimuli option works essentially the same way as the Image Stimuli option (see above) except instead of inserting an image one can use a letter, number, or string of text using standard text operations. This obviates the need to convert text stimuli into image formats.
Creating More Complex Multiple-Event Screens
To create more complex multiple-event screens known as "PG Executable Forms," see Serial Versus Same-Page Formats For Event Presentations and PG Executable Forms.
Related Topics
Serial Versus Same-Page Formats For Event Presentations
Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement Events?
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What Are Null Events (Time-Slot holders)?
Generally speaking, a null event replaces the treatment event in a control group. Unlike a treatment, measurement, or support event, nothing happens when the program is executed and a Null Event is encountered. The purpose of inserting null events in protocols is to fill the time intervals in which other groups are presenting treatments (and sometimes measurements and support events). This aligns the events in one group with events in another thereby assuring that measurements and treatments are presented at the appropriate time in each group. This helps control for effects of history.
In some studies, instead of a null event, the event could be a placebo or other treatment. In this sense, a null event can be thought of as a "time-slot holder." If it is not important that treatment, measurement, or control events in one group are "aligned" (taken at the same time as their counterparts in other groups), then null events may not needed.
How to Create a Null Event
Since null events are generally associated with a treatment (or more accurately the absence of a treatment), we can create a null event as follows:
Click on the Events tab and above the Event Specification Table click on Create. Select "Treatment" and under that "Unspecified Treatment." Now, change the event label in the Event Specification Table from "Unspecified Treatment" to "Null Event." Fill out the event specification table for that event, scroll down to the Instrument Construction Area and simply describe this event as a substitute for a treatment event.
Immediately, or at a point in which you have created a number of events, you will enter the name of the null event in the control group into the Execution List Window. To do this, select the Control Group and select the null event in the Event Names Window. Then, click on the right arrow labeled "Enter Event Name."
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What are "Support Events?"
The "tactical" or "operational" part of research protocols (by which we mean treatments and measurements) is vital in a study protocol, but much of what has to be done in the conduct of a study involves support and management - and these tasks have to be carefully spelled out too.
Unlike treatment or measurement events in a protocol, "Support Events" are events strategically placed to make ready, facilitate, guide, or otherwise manage a study.
There are nine major types of "Support Events." They are:
Guidance Events
Branching Point
Calendarize Events
Event Iteration Events
Event Array
Study Context
Unspecified Support Events
Randomized Event
Goodbye Event
In the general case, Support Events are the same for all groups. Logically, if Support Events were different across groups, then they might act as "interventions" (treatments) and thereby confound the results of the experiment. However, there are times when support events will vary from group to group.
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How to Create Support Events
To create a support event," click on the Create menu at the top left of the "Event Specification Table" in the Make & Edit Page of the composer/editor. Click "Support" and then select a type of Support, such as "Guidance."
Now there should be a new event (row) in the "Event Specification Table." In the first column for this row, there should be an "S" in a circle indicating that this event is a Support Event. To its right and under "Event Type" it should say "Guidance Event." Under Event Label, it should say "New Guidance Support Event." To change this label, select it and enter the name that you want to call this event. Fill in the other columns of the table, including a description of the event.
Scroll down to the Instrument Construction Area and follow the guidelines associated with the type of support event involved.
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Guidance Events
A Guidance Event is one of nine types of Support Event (Guidance Events, Branching Point Event, Calendarize Event, Event Iterations, Event Array, Study Context Events, Unspecified Support Events, Randomized Event, and Goodbye Event.
Broadly speaking, the Support Event type called Guidance Events amounts to the investigator narrating what is going on and saying what should be done next in a study while it is in progress. This includes alerts, status reports, explanations, prompts, and instructions. Some of these events are as short as a screen that says, "Ten Minute Intermission" or as long as instructions for creating a sample for the study. Some events will occur before data collection begins and some will occur after.
A simple example of a guidance type support event would be a welcome screen with instructions to the subject or to the session supervisor. To make this event click on the Events tab and then on Create. From the dropdown menu, select Measurement, Support, and then Guidance Event.
Note that a new event called "New Guidance Support Event" now appears in the six column table called "Event Specification Table." In this table, the first (narrow) column contains an "S" in a circle indicating that this is a "Support Event." The "Event Type" (second column) is "Guidance." Click on the temporary label "New Guidance Support Event" and enter the name you wish to call this event.
Scroll down to the Instrument Construction Area.* On the top left, you will see the name that you gave this event. In the text field below the name, you might enter something like:
"Greetings Session Supervisors
(Instructions)
* Note that this the Instrument Construction Area is a floating window that you can reposition on your screen. For example, to move it up, click anywhere on the top bar and drag it while holding down the mouse. When you leave this page and return, it will remember this position.
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Branching Point Events
A Branching Point Event is one of nine types of Support Event (Guidance Events, Branching Point Event, Calendarize Event, Event Iterations, Event Array, Study Context Events, Unspecified Support Events, Randomized Event, and Goodbye Event.
A branching event is an event that is defined and placed in the sequence of events in the execution list of the Sequencing Window which directs the execution down alternative paths depending on the value returned for the test. Alternative paths are defined as collections of events arranged in the desired sequence. Specifically, one of the paths is followed if the test passes and the other is followed if the test fails.
To create a branching event, click on the Create menu under the Events Tab (in the Edit Protocol Page), then click Support, and then Branching Point. In the Events Table name the branching event. Click on it and scroll down to the Instrument Construction Area. On the top left, you will see the name that you gave this event. See screen shot of the construction area for the branching point event.
Defining the Test
To define the test, you will 1) select the name of the event that you will use for testing, 2) select the operator that you will use in the test, and 3) enter the value you will be testing for.
For example, To test for whether someone taking a survey is over the age of 18, you would create a branching point event and in the Define Test window, you would select the measurement event (in the first field) in which the name of the respondent was asked. Then, in the second field, you would select the operator ">=" (greater than or equal to) and then enter the number "18" in the third field. When this event is reached in the execution, if the test passes (the respondent is older than 18), then the subsequent execution would proceed down one specified path, otherwise it would proceed down the other specified field.
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Calendarizing Events
A Calendarize Event is one of nine types of Support Event (Guidance Events, Branching Point Event, Calendarize Event, Event Iterations, Event Array, Study Context Events, Unspecified Support Events, Randomized Event, and Goodbye Event.
Routine (Sequential) Ordering of Event Presentations
The routine ordering of events is done in the Execution List Window under the Sequencing tab of the Edit Protocols Page. The order in which events are executed is the order in which events are listed in their groups. The order can be changed as necessary by clicking on the Move menu at the top of the list. This does not involve the Calendarizing of events, below.
Description
A Calendarize Event involves the specification of sets of events that will be executed in multiple sessions with offline intervals between them. This is particularly common in clinical trial and other studies that run for months and even years. An important feature of ProtoGenie for adding this time dimension to protocols is the ability to close a protocol at specified points and to re-open it at subsequent specified points and resume exactly where it left off. A protocol might be closed and the computer shut down at night or at the completion of a set of event and resumed on a scheduled date to repeat those events or execute a new set of events.
Creating a Calendarize Event
To create a Calendarize Event,
1. Click on the Create menu under the Events Tab (in the Edit Protocol Page), then click Support, and then Calendarize Event. In the Events Table name the calendarize event. Click on it and scroll down to the Instrument Construction Area. On the top left, you will see the name that you gave this event. See screen shot of the construction area for the calendarize event.
2. Define the set of events to be executed in the first session by moving selected events from the window on the right to the window on the left. When the calendarize event is reached during the execution of the protocol, this set will be executed and the session will end. All of the data collected to that point will be saved.
3. At the specified time, open the protocol and the data gathered so far will be restored from the database. If there will be another break, create another Calendarize Event and define the set that will be executed under it.
Future Developments
Future developments include the option to calendarize events by specifying a start date and time and specified intervals between the events or by assigning specific dates and times to events.
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Event Iterations
How to Cycle (Repeat) Events
Event Iterations is one of nine types of Support Event (Guidance Events, Branching Point Event, Calendarize Event, Event Iterations, Event Array, Study Context Events, Unspecified Support Events, Randomized Event, and Goodbye Event.
The normal sequencing of events in the Execution List assumes that each event will be presented once. However, in many designs, the same treatments and events are executed more than once and often many times, as in human or materials performance testing. Imaging a car door slamming 10000 times and taking a materials fatigue test after each slam. We would have an impossibly long list of events in the Execution List. Other examples include Clinical Trials, where for two years an experimental drug is taken every two days followed by a blood pressure test.
ProtoGenie gives users the ability to cycle any event in the Execution List the desired number of times. This is much like using a "For/Nest" or "Do Loop" with an incrementer in basic programming to repeat an operation a given number of times. For the simple situation of the slamming car door or the experimental drug, simply click on the button labeled "Cycle Events" located between the Assembly and Event Names areas. In the box labeled "Number of cycles), set the number to the desired number of repetitions and that is all that is there is to it. In both of these cases, there are still only two events in the Assembly widow (plus support events).
Other situations require more options. For example, consider a typical times series study in which there is a sequence of the same measurement, a treatment, and another sequence of the same measurement. This situation is different from the clinical trial situation because the two events in the Execution List are cycled individually and the measurement event cycle is presented twice.
To set this sequence of events, select the event that is cycled first (which in this case, was the measurement) and click on "Cycle Events." Set the number of cycles to the desired number (e.g. 10). Return to the Execution List and click on the next event to be cycled and repeat the procedure above. Then, repeat all of the above for the measurement again. Now, when this protocol is executed, 10 measurements will be presented. Then, the treatment will be presented followed by another 10 measurements.
Other common situations in human performance testing get more complicated. In those studies, we are usually talking about what is called "Cross over designs" which means that the same person gets the same treatment more than once. One complexity is that measurement cannot be identical because subjects will tend to memorize and recognize the measurement when it comes up. This requires the presentation of the same basic measurement but on different but "equivalent materials." An additional complexity is that experimenters may want to cycle groupings of treatments and measurements rather than individual events. Both of these situations are treated on the next page under Sequencing In Repeated-Event Laboratory Testing.
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Cycling In Repeated-Event Laboratory Testing
Sequencing can be quite complex in repeated-event laboratory testing, as in vision research, cognitive research, and human factor research. One complication is that a subject gets the same treatment and measurement combination more than once and often more than one treatment and measurement combination more than once. These are sometimes called "crossover designs." One consequence is that subjects will memorize repeated measurements and that can undermine the validity of the tests.
What is generally required is the same basic measurement, but with "equivalent materials." To illustrate this problem, think of the presentation of a large matrix of letters where the subject's task is to count the occurrences of a particular letter. Obviously, if the same matrix were presented in every cycle with the same test letter, subjects would soon recognize the matrix and the locations of the test letter. Therefore, the matrix of letters must be randomly re-constructed every cycle and the subject must be given a randomly generated test letter. These are "equivalent material measurements" They should not be confused with treatments (stimuli), which, for example, might be something like font type, background color, or illumination.
Another example would be in a reading speed and comprehension study in which a subject is presented a passage of text and then presented a question about the contents of the passage. Obviously, the passage of text would have to be different for every event cycle and the comprehension questions would have to be coupled to specific passages.
Another potential complication is that experimenters may want to cycle groupings of treatments and measurements rather than individual events. To handle this situation, click on the "Cycle Event" button to the right of the Execution List. On the right side of the dialog is the list of events that you copied into the current group. To make a "grouping" of events from this list, click on the first event and then on the left arrow. That event now appears in the window on the left. Repeat this process until you have your grouping defined. Note that "groupings" are simply run-time collections of events are have nothing to do with experimental groups, such as a treatment group or control group.
An example of a "grouping" in a study of the effects of color on reading performance might consist of three events, using tinted lenses, tinted display background, and standard black with white background. This "grouping" can now be cycled two ways. The first is to present each event in order K times. The second is to present the grouping (list) K times. These options are presented in the cycle events dialog.
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Event Arrays
For Workspace Management
An Event Array is one of nine types of Support Event (Guidance Events, Branching Point Event, Calendarize Event, Event Iterations, Event Array, Study Context Events, Unspecified Support Events, Randomized Event, and Goodbye Event.
An Event Array is a collection of ordered events under one label or name. A useful analogy from computer programming is a "variable array" which is a collection or battery of variables under one name with a subscript indicating the position of each variable in the array.
The primary functions of event arrays are to organize events, manage the working space of ProtoGenie pages, and to implement the option to present multiple events on a single Webpage rather than one event to a page (as in normal serial presentation). See Form Formatting Option.
Using Event Arrays to Organize Events and Manage Workspace
Obviously, a 100 question questionnaire would load up the Execution List of the Sequencing Page. Situations requiring long lists of measurements are very common in research, as in a survey or in building the baseline measurements for a clinical trial, which could involve a number of arrays.
To address this problem, ProtoGenie enables you to separately create all of the events that logically tend to go together, as in a questionnaire, and represent that collection by a single name. That name rather than the names of every event in the array goes into the Execution List of the Sequencing Page.
To visualize this kind of situation, consider a posttest only control group design consisting of a treatment event "T", a blood pressure test "B," and a 100 question posttest "Q(K)". Instead of 102 items in the Sequencing Window, there would be 3. A design diagram of this would look like the following:
T B Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 ... Q100
Letting "AQ" represent the questionnaire array, we would have in the execution list of sequencing window:
T B AQ
The example above illustrates a Measurement Array. However, there can be Treatment Arrays and Support Arrays. For example, a treatment may consist of a whole battery of separate treatment events. Support Arrays are probably required less frequently. Conceivably, there also could be arrays that combine measurement, treatment, and support events.
Note that Event Arrays are events. Like other events, you will enter the array name where you want them to be executed in the Execution List of the Sequencing Page.
Another important use of Event Arrays is to create ProtoGenie "Executable Forms" or more precisely, "Same-Page Multiple-Event Presentations." See ProtoGenie Executable Forms.
Using Arrays to Set Up a PG Executable Form
See PG Executable Forms.
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PG Executable Forms
PG Executable Forms refers to the presentation of multiple events on a single scrollable Web page. In effect, a PG Executable form is an electronic form for collecting and processing data. For example, a PG Executable Form might contain a 30 question questionnaire on a single Web page or it might contain a treatment stimulus and any number of measurements. PG Executable Forms are created using the Array builder under Support events in the Create menu and checking the "Present Array Events on Same Page To Make a PG Executable Form" checkbox in the Instrumentation Construction window of an array event.
The following illustrates how to create a PG Executable Form using the 30 question questionnaire example:
1. Make the events that it will contain the same way that you make any events. That is, click on the Events tab of the Edit Protocols Page. Click on the Create menu above and to the left of the Event Specification Table. Then, select Measurement and the type of measurement (for example, short answer). Complete the event. Repeat this procedure for all 30 questions of the questionnaire.
2. To gather up the events you have created in the Event Specification Table into an array, click on the Create menu, select Support, and then Array. Give this array a name, such as "Survey Questionnaire." This brings up a dialog containing the entire list of events that you have created in one panel (on the right) and an empty array panel (on the left). To make the array, select an event in the list and click on the arrow pointing to the array panel. Repeat this for each event that should be in the array in the order that they should appear from top down in the PG Executable Form.
3. To insert them into a single page PG Executable Form, check the "Present Array Events on Same Page To Make a PG Executable Form" checkbox in the Instrumentation Construction window of the array event called "Survey Questionnaire."
4. When you are ready to enter the PG Executable Form (array) into the Execution List Window, click on the Sequencing tab. In the Event Names Window, select the Array Event name in the Event Names Window. Select the group in which you want the name to appear. Click on the right arrow labeled "Enter Event Name." In this case, the event name is "Survey Questionnaire."
When the protocol reaches this event array name during execution, all thirty questions will be presented in the order that they appear in the array.
Future Development of PG Executable Forms
Currently, all events in a PG Executable Form are presented from top to bottom in the order that they appear in one column of the width of the Web page in the array. In the future, there will be options to place events in multiple columns with variable fonts and styles, as in jazzy form layouts and "looks."
Related Topics
Serial Versus Same-Page Formats For Event Presentations
How to Create Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement Events
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Study Context Events
A Study Context Event is one of nine types of Support Event (Guidance Events, Branching Point Event, Calendarize Event, Event Iterations, Event Array, Study Context Events, Unspecified Support Events, Randomized Event, and Goodbye Event.
Context Specification refers to the physical setting of the research and the properties (natural or artificial/simulated) of that setting. Sometimes these properties are called "experimental conditions" or "study environment." At one extreme, the context of the study is completely natural and there are no attempts to control it, as in most survey designs. At the other extreme, the context is created FOR the study and is carefully controlled throughout the study, as in many laboratory experiments. An example of a context designed and conducted explicitly for a study of juror behavior would be a simulated criminal trial, sometimes called a "mock trial." Context construction must be done before sessions begin and data is collected.
To create the context specification support event, click on the Events tab. Click on Create in the Event Specification Table. Click on "Support" and then "Context Specification Event." Note that a new event called "New Context Specification Support Event" now appears in the six column table called "Event Specification Table." In this table, the first (narrow) column contains an "S" in a circle indicating that this is a "Support Event." The "Event Type" (second column) is "Study Context." Click on the temporary label "New Guidance Support Event" and enter the name you wish to call this event. For example, it might be "Instructions Trial Context."
Scroll down to the Instrument Construction Area, which will have the name of your context specification event at the top. In the text box with the instruction "Define Study Condition Below," click on Actions and then on New. Name this first condition and enter complete instructions for creating that condition. For example, you might write "Set ambient room temperature at 20 degrees C and maintain through out session. If your study requires more than one condition, repeat the above. For example, you might write "Set ambient lighting to such and such."
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Unspecified Support Event
An Unspecified Support Event is one of nine types of Support Event (Guidance Events, Branching Point Event, Calendarize Event, Event Iterations, Event Array, Study Context Events, Unspecified Support Events, Randomized Event, and Goodbye Event.
The purpose of unspecified support events is primarily for use in protocols that are created to help new users to write protocols of a certain design to fit their specific studies.
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Randomized Events
A Randomized Event is one of nine types of Support Event (Guidance Events, Branching Point Event, Calendarize Event, Event Iterations, Event Array, Study Context Events, Unspecified Support Events, Randomized Event, and Goodbye Event.
This event is a simple randomizer for such things as randomly assigning subjects to treatment groups at run-time.
To make the random treatment assigner event, click on CREATE and then on Support. Under the support menu, select "Randomized Event."
A new row will appear in your Events Specification Table. Under Event Type, you will see "Randomized Event." Under Event Label type "Random Treatment Assigner." Under Variable name, type TreatmentAssigner.
Click on Random Treatment Assigner and look down below your Events Specification Table to the Protocol Construction Area.
Here, you will see two fields. The field on the right side is labeled "Events Available For Transferring Into The Collection." The two fields are connected by an arrow labeled "Transfer" and this arrow points from the field on the right to the field on the left. The field on the right will contain all of the events that you have created. The field on the left will contain the events to be randomly presented to subjects at run-time.
An example of the application of this support event might involve a study that calls for the random assignment of subjects to treatment groups online at run-time. In this case, you would click on the treatment events in the right column and move them to the "Collection" on the left.
Screen Shot of Collection of Treatment Events
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Creating Goodbye Events
A Goodbye Event is one of nine types of Support Event (Guidance Events, Branching Point Event, Calendarize Event, Event Iterations, Event Array, Study Context Events, Unspecified Support Events, Randomized Event, and Goodbye Event.
A Goodbye Event is essentially the same as the more generic "Guidance Event." The only difference is that it signals the end of the execution of a protocol and automatically save the results.
This page can be used to thank subjects for participating in the study and other concluding information.
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HOW TO SEQUENCE EVENTS
Composing ProtoGenie protocols involves two major sets of operations. The first is to create groups and events. The second is to sequence them in the Execution List Window.
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
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How to Enter Event Names Into The Execution List
Click on the Sequencing tab of the Edit Events Window in the ProtoGenie Composer/Editor. Click on the group in which you want to put the event. Click on the name of the event in the Event Names Window that you wish to appear in that group. Click on the arrow called "Enter Event Name" that points from the Event Names Window to the Execution List. Open the group in the Execution List Window and note that this group now contains the name of the event you selected in the Event Names Window. If you want to enter the same event name in a different group, select the name again in the Event Names Window and repeat the procedures above.
Repeat this process for each event name that you want listed in the Execution List.
When the protocol is executed, events will be executed in the order in which the event names appear in the Execution List.
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Changing the Order of Event Execution
After you have created a list of events in the Execution List Window, it is important to make certain that they will execute in the proper order. Events are executed in the order in which event names appear within each group in the Execution List of the Sequencing Page.
To change the order of presentation, select an event that you want to move, click on the Move menu above the Event Specification Table, and use the UP and DOWN options to move the event where it should be in the proper order of execution.
To ensure that events are being presented in the order that they you want them to occur, click on Execute in the top menu bar of every composer page and run the protocol.
Note that groups (unlike events) may or may not begin sessions in the order that they appear in the Execution List. Generally speaking the ideal is for groups to begin sessions at the same time. In any case, the actual start up dates and times for groups to commence sessions are set by the support event called "Scheduling."
Alternative Screen Formats For Event Presentations
This section covers alternative formatting options for event presentation, including serial, multiple-events same page presentations, blocked, and mixed presentation format.
Related Topics
Serial Versus Same-Page Formats For Event Presentations
Setting Up Same-Page Form Formats For Multiple Event Presentations
Serial Versus Same-Page Formats For Event Presentations
Default Format: Serial - One Event To a Page
ProtoGenie provides the tools to create and sequence events (measurement, treatment, and support) and to present them upon execution one event to a Webpage. One-to-a-page is the normal or default presentation mode. However, ProtoGenie also enables users to present multiple events on the same page. There are two special formats and one generic multiple-event options for doing this.
Two Special-Purpose Same-Page Treatment/Measurement Options
There are two special page formats for presenting visual treatment (stimuli) events on the same page as a measurement. The first is called "Image Stimuli" and the second is called "Text Stimuli." These presentation options enable an easy way to present a stimulus (image or text) and a measurement on the same page.
These two options provide a quick and easy way to set up a common experimental procedure in which a stimulus (like a JPEG image) is presented along with a measurement and other options. On this same page, you can choose one, both, or none of the following options:
Present Stimulus (picture or text) with an accompanying block of text - such as a description of or comment about something in the image or text stimulus.
Present stimulus (picture or text) with a measurement event, such as a multiple choice question.
For details, see What Are Same Page Stimulus & Measurement Events and How To Create Same Page Stimulus & Measurement Events
PG Executable Form Presentations For Complex Same-Page Multiple-Events Presentations
See PG Executable Forms.
Same-page formats are NOT limited to measurement events, as in survey questionnaires. For example, the form format can be used to present a one-page checklist of events that are to be performed by a subject. This checklist might contain measurement events such as self-reports of the intensity and duration of headaches or they contain treatment events, such as instructions to take a prescribed medication or do a certain exercise - or they might involve combinations of the two kinds of events.
The selection of same-page formats does not affect the author's experience in the ProtoGenie Composer/Editor where protocols are created. It only affects the subject's or respondent's experience when a protocol is executed. That is, in form format, a subject/respondent may at times view multiple questions on a single scrollable Web page and respond to them on that page.
Related Topics
Same Page Stimulus & Measurement Events
How To Create Same Page Stimulus & Measurement Events
PG Executable Forms For Complex Same-Page Multiple-Event Screens
Same-Page Form Format For Multiple Event Presentations
This multiple event presentation formatting option is the most general and flexible way to present complex multiple events on the same page and to do custom mixed serial and form presentations. For details, see How to Create Same-Page Form Formats For Multiple Event Presentations and PG Executable Forms.
Related Topics
Same Page Stimulus & Measurement Events
How To Create Same Page Stimulus & Measurement Events
How to Create Mixed Format Same-Page Presentations
PG Executable Forms presents ALL events on a single scrollable Web page. Combinations of multiple-event and serial presentation formats provide two other format options, namely the Blocked Form Presentation and the Mixed Presentation.
All of these presentations are set up in the same way - which is by making the events that you wish to be presented on a single Webpage into routine ProtoGenie Event Arrays. See PG Executable Forms. To create an array, create the individual events and click on Support Events in the Create Events dropdown menu and select Event Array. In the dialog that comes up, the events that are to be members of the array are collected and given an Array Name.
To instruct ProtoGenie to present these selected events on the same page, click on the checkbox "Present Events On The Same Page To Create a PG Executable Form." Selection of this option will present the events in the order that they appear in the array in a single column one page wide. Development of capabilities to arrange multiple events in more complex layouts on a single page, as in multiple columns and in different fonts and styles, is on the drawing board.
Complex presentation patterns are simple applications of the above procedures. For example, suppose that you wish to present the events in your protocol in the following way:
Block 1 Ten questions on one page (as in a questionnaire)
Single Q. One question by itself
Block 2 Thirty questions on another page
Single Q. One question by itself
Create the 10 questions Block 1 and make it an array and give it a name like "Block 1." Create the 30 questions for Block 2 and make it an array and give it a name like "Block 2."
Now, under the Sequencing tab of the Protocol Composer/Editor, click on the event (array) "Block 1" and click on the arrow to move it to the execution list. Click on the name of the first variable to be presented by itself and put it in the execution list. Do the same for Block 2 and the second single question. Make certain they are in the order that they should be executed.
Related Topics
Serial Versus Same-Page Formats For Event Presentations
Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement Events
How to Create Same-Page Stimulus & Measurement Events
ProtoGenie Home Page
HOW TO SAVE AND EXECUTE PROTOCOLS
This section describes how to save protocols and how to execute (run) them. Keep in mind that saving a protocol is different from saving the results of an execution of a protocol.
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
ProtoGenie Home Page
How to Save Protocols
To save a protocol, click on the SAVE or SAVE AS link located in the top menu bar of every screen in the Composer/Editor. If you select SAVE AS, you can change the name of the protocol. This is another way to make a back up protocol.
It is a good practice to give your new protocol a title and save it immediately after choosing and opening a startup protocol (either blank or from a ProtoGenie library) and save it after every major step. Also, after every major work session, it is a good practice to make and save a copy of it as a backup protocol in case you make radical changes and then find that they were not what you thought you wanted.
Saving protocols should be distinguished from saving the Results (data) of the execution of protocols.
ProtoGenie Home Page
How to Execute (Run) a ProtoGenie Protocol
Once you have selected a protocol from a ProtoGenie library or search list and have entered the composer/editor, you can run it at any time during the composing and editing process. Whatever screen you are working on will have an Execute button in the top menu bar. You can also execute a protocol from the User Actions Menu by selecting "Run."
The title of the protocol which you are about to run is just below the ProtoGenie logo. Immediately below that is a large left arrow with the instruction "Return to editing this protocol," immediately above it. As indicated, if you decide to return to editing the protocol instead of running it, you would click on the large red left arrow.
Select Group for This Run
Remember that your protocol is custom built to fit your design, which may call for different events for different groups.
In the yellow panel to the right of the red arrow, there are two dropdown boxes. The top one is labeled "Choose group:" This is where you select the group for which you will run the protocol. If you are simply refining the protocol for later use, you should look in the Choose Group dropdown selection box to ensure that all of the groups that you previously defined are contained in that list.
Select Subject
Immediately below the Choose Group selection box is a "Choose Subject" selection box. Select the subject category for this run from the following three options.
Use (Subject's Name) as a Subject
This option will have the name of the composer of the protocol and will generally be used for testing.
Have the User Log In to ProtoGenie - This option will be used when you have given permission to a third party to use the protocol.
Anonymous Subject
This option will be selected when your study involves an on-line survey or experiment that is self-administered by respondents who are qualified to take the survey or participate in the experiment. In these situations, subjects go directly into the start screen and will not see any results at the end of the session.
Execute the Protocol
When you are ready to run the protocol, click on the large green right arrow with the word "Execute" at the tail of the arrow.
ProtoGenie Home Page
IMPLEMENTING PROTOGENIE RESEARCH
Because ProtoGenie protocols are built on the Web and executed on the Web, we have entirely new ways to conduct research. Now, we can tap vast pools of subjects and respondents to participate in surveys and experiments without having to be present or in direct personal contact. Therefore, we have two major modes of protocol implementation: Supervised and Self-Administered. The mode that your study calls for will determine what specific access permissions you will need to provide to complete your study.
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
ProtoGenie Home Page
Implementation Options
There are five major modes of protocol implementation.
Supervised implementation
Supervised implementation applies to most conventional research, where the principle investigator, project manager or a project staff member is present to take the survey, administer the treatment and take measurements, or whatever is required to implement the research. This research may be implemented in a single local setting or be implemented in multiple-locations. In this situation, the permission to run the program is provided by the principle investigator in the
Designated User List that is attached to the protocol. See also, Protocol Security and Data Protection. Supervised implementation may be local or in many location.
Supervised Local Implementation
In this mode, protocols are executed in or from a single local laboratory or field setting. The authors of the protocols automatically have the necessary permissions to execute the program (and if necessary to modify it). If assistants or other professionals will supervise the implementation, then the principle investigator must either be present to log-in and open the appropriate protocol or provide run-only access to the implementors in the Designated User List that is attached to the protocol. See also, Levels of Protocol Access.
Supervised Multiple-Location Implementation
Studies are often implemented simultaneously in a number of geographic areas. For example, a survey of entertainment preferences might be conducted in a number of major cities across the country. In these cases, project managers are often assigned to each city. These project managers require the permissions necessary to meet their responsibilities in the project. This is done by the principle investigator by adding their names to the designated user list and specifying there what level of access they have. In larger projects, project managers in other cities might need to enlist a number of general staff people to implement the research and needs the authority to give them run-only access to the protocol. The principle investigator can give this authority to project managers by giving them the title of Project Manager (PM) in the designated user list.
Self-Administered Implementation
Self-administered implementation applies to research made possible by the Internet, including on-line surveys and even more recently on-line experiments. Protocol access for unsupervised implementation, as in on-line surveys, is provided for by Direct Access URLs that takes a remote subject or respondent directly to the execution of the protocol. The option to randomly assign anonymous subjects to groups at run-time can be used, if desired. See Randomized Event.
Testing and Demonstration Modes
The testing of ProtoGenie protocols is done in several ways. It may be done by persons who are given permissions enabling them to make changes. In other cases, testers may be given only the permission status to Run a protocol. See Levels of Access and Special Access Permissions. In certain situations, the primary author may want to enable another researcher to execute a protocol in order to demonstrate some feature or to get expert feedback on the suitability of the process for certain population groups. In those situations, you can "make" a special URL that can be run only in execution mode, which you can send to the intended user. See Direct Access URLs.
ProtoGenie Home Page
How to do a Self-Administered On-line Survey or Experiment
Self-administered on-line surveys
These are basically questionnaires that you compose on ProtoGenie in the usual way and then ask for volunteers (usually on-line) from a target population to complete the questionnaire at their own computer stations and submit it on-line to the ProtoGenie Database. Care must be taken in selecting and reaching the population you wish to survey and in screening that population to fit your study. Since there is no direct supervision, clear and complete instructions are very important.
Self-administered on-line experiments
These are experiments that you compose on ProtoGenie then ask for volunteers (usually on-line) from a target population to execute the protocol at their own computer stations and respond on-line. Care must be taken in selecting and reaching the population you wish to survey and in screening that population to fit your study. Since there is no direct supervision, clear and complete instructions are very important. The great advantage of this new form of experiments is access to virtually unlimited pools of subjects. The most severe problem is control. Consequently, creative designs that provide controls or compensate for the lack of control are critical.
Using Direct Access URLs
To conduct an on-line survey or experiment, you will generally create a "Direct Access URL" on ProtoGenie that remotely located respondents and subject can open on their own systems.
ProtoGenie Home Page
DATA MANAGEMENT
This section covers the following topics:
Managing The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Viewing Single-Session Results
Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run
Using the All-Session Index Table
Viewing The All-Sessions Data Table
Creating Formatted Data Files
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
Downloading Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Downloading Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
ProtoGenie Home Page
Organizing & Using The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Broadly speaking, there are three things that a researcher will want to do with the results of ProtoGenie data collection:
Save Session Results
Save Results
View Results (interim and final)
View results for individual sessions
View results for all sessions
Format Results for Statistical Analysis and Data Sharing
Create standard data files for input to data analysis software of choice
Related Topics
Viewing Single-Session Results
Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run
Using the All-Session Index Table
Viewing The All-Sessions Data Table
Creating Formatted Data Files
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
Downloading Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Downloading Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
ProtoGenie Home Page
Viewing Single-Session Results
A session consists of a ProtoGenie run from beginning to end for one subject or respondent or in the case of an observational study, one researcher. Generally, a session represents a "case," "subject," or "respondent."
Viewing Results for a Single Session
Results for a ProtoGenie run are presented in a page called Single-Session Results. This page reports the results of all data collection actions specified in the protocol plus any comments made by the conductor regarding unusual or unanticipated events.
Three Ways to Reach The Single-Session Results Page
There are three pathways to the Results Window for a single session. The first occurs by default at the completion of a normal execution of a protocol (except when the protocol is executed from a run-time URL, as in an online survey). That is, a Single-Session Results screen will come up automatically at the completion of the run. This screen gives the researcher a preliminary look at research results. In exploratory designs, a researcher may in fact revise the protocol in light of results as in midstream.
It also is very important to Save session data at this point by clicking on Save Data at the top of the Results screen. For details on saving results see Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run.
The second pathway to results for a particular session is through the All-Session Index page. This page contains a list of all sessions completed and saved. One route to the All-Session Index page is through the User Action Menu. That is, open the protocol and click on RESULTS in the User Actions Menu. Then, click on the cell labeled "Get Session Details" for the current session number, which will be a row in the All-Sessions Index. For details on the All-Sessions Index, see All-Sessions Index.
The third pathway to the results for a particular session assumes that you are already viewing a single session results page and wish to look at results for a different session. In this case, you can simply click on the link at the top of the page labeled View All Related Sessions. This link takes you to the All-Sessions Index where you can click on the cell labeled "Get Session Details" for the session results (row) you wish to see. For details on use of the All-Sessions Index, see All-Sessions Index.
Two Viewing Options For The Single-Session Results Page
Users have a choice of viewing Single-Session Results window in an abbreviated format or in a full detail format. These options are presented at the top of the Single-Session Results page. The first and default option is View All Information. This option presents virtually everything recorded in the database for the selected session, including event type (such as "measurement"), event instrument (such as "multiple choice"), the full text of instructions, questions, and response categories.
The second viewing option is the View Only Data Rows. The major difference between this view and the full view is that it does not present supplementary information as in listing all of the categories of a multiple choice question and instead presents only the respondent's choice.
Related Topics
Managing The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run
Using the All-Session Index Table
Viewing The All-Sessions Data Table
Creating Formatted Data Files
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
Downloading Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Downloading Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
ProtoGenie Home Page
Saving Results of a Run
After practice runs, the user may or may not choose to save the results. After real runs, results must be saved immediately after the completion of the run. If you attempt to leave the first screen after completion of the run without saving changes, a message will pop up asking you whether you want to save the results. If you leave without saving the results, they are not recoverable. Also, if you do not save, you will not be able to use ProtoGenie's viewing options, including the all-session view, because these viewing options draw the data from the archives of the ProtoGenie server.
To save the results after the execution of a ProtoGenie protocol, click on Save Data at the top of the Results page.
For the security of your saved results files, no one can access the files except the ProtoGenie database manager.
Saving the results of protocol executions should be distinguished from saving protocols, which is done electively by the authors of the protocols.
Saving individual session results should also be distinguished from saving delimited data files, which is an option presented when you click on the link to download a data file from the server. That is, you can open a data file, modify it, and save it for later use.
Related Topics
Managing The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Viewing Single-Session Results
Using the All-Session Index Table
Viewing The All-Sessions Data Table
Creating Formatted Data Files
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
Downloading Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Downloading Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
ProtoGenie Home Page
Function of The All-Session Index Table
Contents of The All-Session Index Table
Keeping in mind that a session consists of a ProtoGenie executed for one subject or respondent (or one researcher in the case of an observational study) from beginning to end, the All-Session Index Table consists of a table in which the rows represent individual sessions (cases, subjects, respondents) and in which the columns contain session identification information, a column containing links to the corresponding Single-Session Results pages, and a column indicating the name of the group associated with each session.
Two Ways to Open the All-Session Index Table
There are two ways to open the All-Session Index Table. The first is from within a Single-Session Results Window. The second is from the User Action Window presented at the opening of a protocol in the ProtoGenie Composer/Editor.
Opening the "All-Sessions Index Table" From Within the Single-Session Results Window
The Single Session Results Window contains a menu link called View All Related Sessions. "Related" in this label, makes it clear that "all sessions" means sessions created by the same protocol. This link is the third of the options listed above the Single-Session Results Window and after the links for View All Information and View Only Data Rows (which apply only to single-session results). This link takes you to the All-Session Index Table for the active protocol.
Opening the "All-Sessions Index Table" From The User Action Window
This option allows the author or authorized person to go directly to the cumulative results of protocol runs in a study. This is done by logging on, selecting the Personal Library of Protocols, and then clicking on the appropriate protocol. This brings up the User Action Page containing a menu of alternative actions to take on that protocol. To open the All-Sessions Index Table, simply click on the link labeled RESULTS.
Viewing The All-Session Index Table
At the top left of the All-Sessions Index page, you will read "All Sessions Associated With Protocol Number (number)." Below this, there is a table consisting of seven columns and as many rows as there are sessions. The headings of the columns are Session ID, Subject ID, Experimenter ID, Case ID, Date, More Session Info, and Group. In each row of the column labeled "More Session Info," there is a link labeled "Get Session Details." These links take you to the Single-Session Results window for the corresponding session (row).
Above and to the right of the All-Sessions Index Table there are three links. They are:
View all sessions as a single data table
Download Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Download Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
The first of these links (View all sessions...) opens an All-Session Data Table in which rows represent individual sessions and columns contain the results for each event in the active protocol. This is a standard data table. For details, see All-Sessions Data Table.
The second two links enable authors to create standard data files for use in data analysis programs of choice. See Creating Formatted Data Files.
Related Topics
Managing The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Viewing Single-Session Results
Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run
Viewing The All-Sessions Data Table
Creating Formatted Data Files
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
Downloading Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Downloading Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
ProtoGenie Home Page
Viewing The Screen Formatted Data Table
The Screen Formatted Data Table enables you to look at the results of the execution of all of the sessions in a study on the computer screen. It is opened from within the All-Sessions Index Table by clicking on the first of the three links:
View all sessions as a single data table
Download Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File.
Download Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
The Screen Formatted Data Table is a standard data table in which rows represent sessions (runs, cases, subjects, respondents) and columns represent variables (which are the results of events specified in the protocol).
In this table, the first column contains the session ID (number) and the top row contains the "variable labels" assigned to events in the Composer/Editor. If these labels are not provided during protocol construction, ProtoGenie assigns them the number of the column in which they reside.
The Screen Formatted Data Table cannot be edited. It can be saved as an HTML file by going to the top menu of your browser and clicking on Save. But, the preferable format for storing, printing, and/or manipulating the data is one of the data file downloading options (above). The Screen Formatted Data Table cannot be printed for offline perusal. However, either of the data file downloading options (above) eventuate in a data file that can be displayed and printed. In other words, the Screen Formatted Data Table is really only a read-only temporary screen for preliminary examination.
To edit and save a data file of session results for storage, recoding, printing, and data analysis you must download a specially formatted data file from the database in the ProtoGenie server. This is done by clicking on the second or third of the links (above) on the All-Sessions Index Page. For details, see Creating Standard Data Files.
Related Topics
Managing The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Viewing Single-Session Results
Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run
Using the All-Session Index Table
Creating Formatted Data Files
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
Downloading Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Downloading Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
ProtoGenie Home Page
Creating Formatted Data Files
Researchers can examine the results of a study on-screen by clicking on the link called View all sessions as a single data table at the top of the All-Sessions Index Table (which contains a list of all sessions completed and saved). However, they cannot modify these data, perform statistical analyses on them, export them to other software programs, or transmit them to other researchers. For this, the data must be downloaded from the data archives on the ProtoGenie server in a format that supports these research tasks.
Data File downloading and construction is executed by clicking on one of two links located immediately above the All-Sessions Index Table. One creates a comma delimited results file while the other created a results file that uses a delimiter of your choice. When one of these options is selected, a results file download option arranges study results into a standard data table in which the rows consist of sessions (subjects, respondents, etc.) and the columns represent variables (events). For example, a study may consist of 10 sessions and 20 variables (events) with each cell representing the response of the Kth Subject (sessions) to the Vth event (such as a multiple choice question).
More specifically, ProtoGenie Separates Events Into Columns. This requires the specification of a file "delimiter." Delimiters can be most any alpha-numeric character or character set, such as commas, semicolons, or quotation marks. These delimiters indicate where one event ends and the next event begins.
In the data file construction process, ProtoGenie also puts event names In the top row of the data table. These names are the "variable names" that the author provides during protocol construction. If the author has left any of these variable name fields blank, then ProtoGenie assigns them the number of the column. These names and numbers can be edited later if there are many variables and better event identification is desired. Also included as a "variable" name is "Group Name." In this column, for each session (subject/respondent/row) is the name of the group in which the session took place.
Another operation that ProtoGenie automatically performs in the construction of data files is to scan the response data for instances in which characters used in subject responses are the same as the selected delimiter and to replace them with a neutral character or set of characters. If this is not done, then the program will interpret instances of the delimiter as an event break and separate the text immediately before the delimiter character and immediately after the delimiter character into two variables, thereby corrupting the alignment of columns (event variables) in the data file. This solves the "file delimiter problem."
The three options for creating (downloading) formatted data files are selected by clicking on one of the three links appearing above the All-Session Index Table. See below. For details click on one of the following:
View all sessions as a single data table.
Download Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Download Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Related Topics
Managing The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Viewing Single-Session Results
Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run
Using the All-Session Index Table
Viewing The All-Sessions Data Table
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
Downloading Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Downloading Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
ProtoGenie Home Page
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
The "Delimiter Problem" and its ProtoGenie Solution
Alpha-numeric character delimiters work fine for separating event results (column variables) in a data file - except when the designated delimiter is embedded in the results. For example, if the selected delimiter is a comma, every time a comma appears in the results, the program will interpret it as an event (variable) break and separate the text immediately before the comma and immediately after the comma into two variables - thereby corrupting the alignment of columns (event variables) in the data file.
The general solution to the delimiter problem is for ProtoGenie to go through the results and replace any instances of the selected delimiter in the results with a word, character, or character set that the program will then read as real text and thereby not cause unintended breaks in columns (event variables). For example, every time a real comma in encountered in the results, it might be replaced by the text "This is a response comma." In the data file downloading option called "Down Loading Comma Delimited Results Files," this pre-editing of results is done automatically by ProtoGenie and commas are replaced by the text "USER_COMMA." If desired, incidences of these converted commas in subject/respondent text can be edited out by the researcher.
Related Topics
Managing The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Viewing Single-Session Results
Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run
Using the All-Session Index Table
Viewing The All-Sessions Data Table
Creating Formatted Data Files
Downloading Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Downloading Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
ProtoGenie Home Page
Downloading Comma Delimited Results Files
In order to perform statistical analyses on the results of ProtoGenie studies, to export them to other software programs, or to transmit them to other researchers the data must be downloaded from the data archives on the ProtoGenie server in a format that supports these research tasks. In particular, these files must indicate where one event ends and the next event begins. This information is conveyed in what is called file "delimiters." Delimiters can be most any alpha-numeric character or character set.
A popular format for data files is the comma delimited results file, in which rows separate the results for each session and commas separate (delimit) the results on the variables (events). This format displays the extension .csv, standing for "comma separated values." This comma delimited file format option supports most popular statistical and data analysis programs, including standard spreadsheets and most widely-used analysis software like SPSS.
To avoid the data file delimiter problem in the comma-delimited results file, ProtoGenie automatically scans results for all sessions and replaces commas embedded in results with the text "USER_COMMA." If desired, incidences of these converted commas in subject/respondent text subsequently can be edited out by the researcher.
Also, ProtoGenie automatically inserts in the top row of the data table the "variable labels" assigned to events in the Composer/Editor. If these labels are not given during protocol construction, the number of the column in which the event resides is used instead.
The comma delimited results file is downloaded from the All-Sessions Index Table page by clicking on the second of the three links appearing above the All-Session Index Table. See below.
View all sessions as a single data table.
Download Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Download Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
When the link called "Download Comma Delimited Results File" is selected, a dialog box will ask whether you want to SAVE or OPEN this file. If you click OPEN, a .csv file will open and display the formatted results. This file can be edited and it can be saved under a name of your choice and under a format (file extension) of your choice. For example, you might save the data file as a standard text file with a .txt extension.
If you click on SAVE, a standard Save dialog will appear containing a temporary file name made up of the alphanumeric string "ProtocolData####," where #### is the number of your protocol. For example, this file name may be ProtocolData3402. Before saving, you need to indicate where you want the file to be saved on your system and you can change the file name if desired.
Related Topics
Managing The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Viewing Single-Session Results
Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run
Using the All-Session Index Table
Viewing The All-Sessions Data Table
Creating Formatted Data Files
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
Downloading Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
ProtoGenie Home Page
Downloading Results Files With Delimiter of Your Choice
In order to perform statistical analyses on the results of ProtoGenie studies, to export them to other software programs, or to transmit them to other researchers the data must be downloaded from the data archives on the ProtoGenie server in a format that supports those research tasks. In particular, these files must indicate where one event ends and the next event begins. This information is conveyed in what is called file "delimiters."
Because of the popularity of comma delimiters, ProtoGenie provides a special option that applies the comma delimiter. See Comma Delimited Results Files. However, delimiters can be most any alpha-numeric character or character set. However, there are times when a user needs or simply prefers the ability to format a data file using a delimiter different from commas. For example, a user may wish to use tabs, spaces, semi-colons, quotation marks, ampersands, and so forth for delimiters. Whatever the author selects as a delimiter will be used to separate events (variables) in the data file. Naturally, your choice of delimiters should anticipate what delimiters your intended data analysis program will accept.
To avoid the data file delimiter problem in the results file, ProtoGenie automatically scans results for all sessions for characters embedded that are the same as your designated delimiter and replaces them with a character or set of characters of your choice. If desired, instances of these converted delimiters in subject/respondent text subsequently can be edited out by the researcher.
Also, ProtoGenie automatically inserts in the top row of the data table the "variable labels" assigned to events in the Composer/Editor. If these labels are not given during protocol construction, the number of the column in which the event resides is used instead.
Formatted results file are downloaded from the All-Sessions Index Table page by clicking on the third of the three links appearing above the All-Session Index Table. See below.
View all sessions as a single data table
Download Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Download Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
When the link called "Download Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice" is selected, a dialog box will request that you enter the delimiter that you wish to use in your formatted data file and it will also request that you enter a character or set of characters that you wish to replace instances of your delimiter in the study results. For example, you might chose to use a question mark as a delimiter and then specify that the letters "QQ" should appear every time a subject or respondent uses a question mark in his/her responses during a session.
After you have entered this information and clicked on OK, a dialog will come up that asks you whether you want to SAVE or OPEN this file. If you click OPEN, a .csv file will open and display the formatted results in the standard row and column table. This file can be edited and it can be saved under a name of your choice and under a format (file extension) of your choice. For example, you might save the data file as a standard text file with a .txt extension.
If you click on SAVE, a standard Save dialog will appear containing a temporary file name made up of the alphanumeric string "ProtocolData####," where #### is the number of your protocol. For example, this file name may be ProtocolData3402. Before saving, you need to indicate where you want the file to be saved on your system and you can change the file name if desired.
Related Topics
Managing The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Viewing Single-Session Results
Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run
Using the All-Session Index Table
Viewing The All-Sessions Data Table
Creating Formatted Data Files
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
Downloading Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
ProtoGenie Home Page
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
Assuming that you have already created a formatted data file from your ProtoGenie results, simply open Excel or your favorite data analysis program. Click on Open File or Import Data. Browse to and select the name of your formatted data file. Enter the delimiter used in the file, click OK, and you will be ready for your statistical analysis.
Related Topics
Managing The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Viewing Single-Session Results
Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run
Using the All-Session Index Table
Viewing The All-Sessions Data Table
Creating Formatted Data Files
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
Downloading Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Downloading Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
ProtoGenie Home Page
Using StatCrunch With ProtoGenie
Using Online StatCrunch Statistical Analysis
A direct link to STATCRUNCH ONLINE enables ProtoGenie users to move effortlessly from online data design and data collection to online data analysis. The advantage of this facility is the easy move from research results to statistical analysis. Also, like ProtoGenie, Statcrunch is online and will feel very familiar and easy to use. To preview StatCrunch, click here. This also is a good time to sign up and get a log in name and password for StatCrunch. StatCrunch now charges a nominal fee of $5.00 for six months or $8.00 for 12 months.
The advantages of the ProtoGenie/StatCrunch combination are mutual in the sense that together they complete the research cycle from research design to data collection to statistical analysis. StatCrunch adds a back end to ProtoGenie while ProtoGenie adds a front end to StatCrunch.
Assuming that you have already created a standard comma-delimited data file (or a file in which you selected the delimiter), simply open StatCrunch, click on DATA and then on FILE. Browse and select the name of your data file, select the delimiter used in your file, click OK, and you will be ready for your statistical analysis.
Related Topics
Managing The Results of ProtoGenie Data Collection
Viewing Single-Session Results
Saving Results of a ProtoGenie Run
Using the All-Session Index Table
Viewing The All-Sessions Data Table
Creating Formatted Data Files
File Delimiter Problem and Solution
Downloading Comma Delimited (RxC) Results File
Downloading Results File Using a Delimiter of Your Choice
Porting Results To Your Favorite Data Analysis Program
ProtoGenie Home Page
How to Share ProtoGenie Protocols
Community of Researchers
PG World is a worldwide network or "secure research environment" of researchers brought together by ProtoGenie online user forum to share software and information and to reduce dependence on software engineers and costly fixed applications. The Internet makes this rich research environment possible. This environment is designed to grow and evolve with universal access and open source tools. A central principle is the conservation of software effort through the recycling of protocols. In other words, ProtoGenie treats protocols as research CAPITAL to be exploited, not wasted. PG World makes the application of this principle possible.
Signing up for ProtoGenie World Forum
Check out this ProtoGenie tool for sharing your experience, problems, and software with other ProtoGenie users.
ProtoGenie Users Forum
Sharing Protocols
To make your protocol available to other ProtoGenie users"
1. Log on to ProtoGenie.
2. In the Startup Page, select "Access Your Personal Library."
3. In your list of protocols, click on the title of the protocol you wish to share. 4. In the User Action Menu, click on Users.
5. On the Permissions Page under Protocol Options, click on "Public."
Remember that "public" does not mean that others can change your original protocol or get at your data or findings. It simply means that others can make a copy from which to shape their own protocol.
6. If you prefer to provide access to a protocol on a person-to-person basis with the option to specify the level of access, type in the person's email address under "Add a User to Your Protocol." If this person is not already a registered user, you will get a form on which to add them and his/her name will appear under "Current Users Associated With This Protocol." If he/she is already a registered user, then his/her name will appear under "Current Users Associated With This Protocol."
Remote Access for Demonstration and Online Applications
In certain situations, you may want to enable another researcher to execute a protocol to demonstrate some feature or to get expert feedback on the suitability of the process for certain population groups. In these situations, you can "make" a special URL that can be run only in execution mode, which you can send to the intended user. To make a special URL for execution mode, do the following:
1. Log into ProtoGenie,
2. Click on the protocol in your Personal Library of Protocols that you wish to provide access to in demonstration mode.
3. Click on the words "Get URL" in the top menu.
4. Under the dropdown menu labeled "Group," select the experimental group to which the demonstration run will apply.
5. Under the dropdown menu labeled "Log in?," select "Have the Subject Login to Existing ProtoGenie."
6. Click on "Generate URL." A long URL beginning with http will appear in the window below the "Generate URL" button.
7. Highlight this URL and copy it using Ctrl/C or right mouse button and select "copy."
8. Paste this URL into a message to send to the person to whom you want to demonstrate the Run mode of the selected protocol.
9. Upon receipt of the URL, the intended viewer will paste it into the "Open" field of his/her browser and press "Go." This will bring up the first page of the protocol run.
ProtoGenie Home Page
PROTOCOL SECURITY AND SHARING
Sharing protocols is an important an important part of ProtoGenie design, but confidentiality and security of protocols also are important. Topics covered in detail in this section are:
Protocol Security and Data Protection
How to Share ProtoGenie Protocols
Special Access Permissions
Designated User List
Security Titles
Levels of Access to Protocols
Direct Run-Time URLs
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
ProtoGenie Home Page
Protocol Security and Data Protection
Protocol Access Status
All protocols are designated Public or Private by the Principle Author. Private means that no one but the principle author and people on their designated user lists (see below) can access the protocol.
Every new protocol that is created from scratch has the default access status of "Private." In other words, if the "Blank" startup option was used to create the protocol, then the access status is "Private." However, if a new protocol is created by modifying a copy of a "Public" protocol, then the access status for that protocol will remain "Public." If new authors want these protocols to be "Private," then they must manually change them to "Private." See How to Make Public Protocols Private. If the authors of protocols they have designated "Private," make copies, then the status of those protocols will remain "Private."
"Public" means that the protocol will appear in protocol searches by other ProtoGenie users and can be copied and it means that copies can be opened in the Composer/Editor, run, and edited. When copies are made of public protocols to use as templates, they will have new titles and security status will be tied by log in to the new Principle Author.
However, even when the security status is "Public," originals cannot be opened or modified in any way This means that only the principle author or his designated users (see below) can view the original protocol and any results data associated with that protocol.
Only protocols designated "Public" will appear in the results of keyword searches by other ProtoGenie users. Individuals must have an account with ProtoGenie in order to log in and use ProtoGenie.
Only the principle author can change the security status of a protocol from "Private" to "Public." For instructions on how to change the protocol security status from "Private" to "Public" or back again.
Exceptions to the "Private" Security Status
Obviously, there will be times when principle authors need to provide special access to their protocols to develop, test, and implement them. Exceptions include Project Managers and Project Staff (testers and implementors). These people are given access when they are added to the principle author's designated list of users. When these additions are made, the level of access for each is clearly specified. Levels of access are as follows:
View. If designated users are permitted to "View" the protocol, they are authorized to open it in the Composer/Editor and see how it was set up.
Edit Copy. If designated users are permitted to "Edit Copy" the protocol, they are authorized to make a copy of it and modify it to fit their needs.
Run. If designated users are permitted to "Run" the protocol, they are authorized to execute it.
Edit. If designated users are permitted to "Edit" the protocol, they are authorized to make changes in the original.
Users. This option allows the person with this permission to look at and modify the list of designated users.
Delete. This permission allows the principle author and only the principle author to delete an original protocol.
Individuals other than the principle author cannot add other users to the designated user list.
Special (Run-Only) Access for Unsupervised (On-Line) Applications
Subjects in online surveys and experiments need enough access to RUN the protocol, but that is all they need. Also, they should not see anything but the first screen of the protocol execution. This is done is through the creation of a special URL that is opened online by the designated or volunteer subject and that takes him/her directly to the first screen of the run. This special URL is created by clicking on the GET URL link at the top of the first page of the Composer/Editor.
ProtoGenie Home Page
To Give Access for Demonstration and Online Applications
In certain situations, you may want to enable another researcher to execute a protocol to demonstrate some feature or to get expert feedback on the suitability of the process for certain population groups. In these situations, you can "make" a special URL that can be run only in execution mode, which you can send to the intended user. To make a special URL for execution mode, do the following:
1. Log on to ProtoGenie.
2. In the Startup Page, select "Access Your Personal Library."
3. In your list of protocols, click on the title of the protocol to which you want to provide access in demonstration mode.
4. In the User Action Menu, click on Edit.
5. Click on the link in the top menu called "Get URL."
6. Under the dropdown menu labeled "Group," select the group to which the demonstration run will apply.
7. Under the dropdown menu labeled "Log in?," select "Have the Subject Login to Existing ProtoGenie."
8. Click on "Generate URL." A long URL beginning with http will appear in the window below the "Generate URL" button.
9. Highlight this URL and copy it using Ctrl/C or right mouse button and select "copy."
10. Paste this URL into a message to send to the person to whom you want to demonstrate the Run mode of the selected protocol.
11. Upon receipt of the URL, the intended viewer will paste it into the "Open" field of his/her browser and press "Go." This will bring up the first page of the protocol run.
ProtoGenie Home Page
How to Make "Public" Protocols "Private"
Changing "Public" to "Private"
There may be occasions when a ProtoGenie user wishes to change the access status of his/her protocol from "Public to "Private." For example, when a new protocol is created by modifying a copy of a "Public" protocol, then the access status for that protocol will be "Public." If you want to change the access status to "Private," then you must manually make that change. See below.
1. Log on to ProtoGenie.
2. In the Startup Page, select "Access Your Personal Library."
3. In your list of protocols, click on the title of the protocol in which you wish to change the public/private status.
4. In the User Action Menu, click on Users.
5. On the Permissions Page under Protocol Options, click on "Private."
ProtoGenie Home Page
Special Access Permissions
The most general way to share a protocol with other users and to provide the necessary permissions is to set the access status of the protocol to "Public." This allows all ProtoGenie users to access that protocol and the right to make a copy of it for their own purposes. In some cases, a researcher may be willing to share a protocol with others even before his/her research is complete. Others may prefer to wait until after the research is completed and instead of throwing the software away make it available to other ProtoGenie users.
However, there are situations that require "Special Access Permissions." There are three such situations: Person-to-Person, Remote Access for Demonstrations, and Remote Access for Online Applications. For each of these situations, see below.
Person-to-Person Permissions
If you would like to give one or more specific individuals the right to use your protocol with or without restrictions and you do not want to make it available to all ProtoGenie users, do the following:
1. Log on to ProtoGenie.
2. In the Startup Page, select "Access Your Personal Library."
3. In your list of protocols, click on the title of the protocol you wish to share. 4. In the User Action Menu, click on Users.
5. On the Permissions Page (see below) under Protocol Options, check that the "Private" option is checked. Note that there may be special circumstances in which your Protocol is Public, but your intended special user is not a member of ProtoGenie and you do not wish to require that the intended user sign up and log in. In this case, leave this option on "Public."
6. Under "Add a User to Your Protocol" type in the person's email address and under that specify the access options you wish him/her to have Options are: Run, Edit Copy, Edit, Users, Results, Backup, and Delete. Generally speaking, one would not check the Edit permission unless the situation involved a collaboration or team effort because this option allows the added user to make changes in the original copy. Run means execute, only. Edit Copy means that the added person can make a copy and change it at will. Users allows persons with that permission to look at and modify the designated user list. Results gives the authorized person the ability to view the results of sessions conducted with that protocol.
Remote Access for Demonstration
In certain situations, you may want to enable another professional to execute a protocol to demonstrate some feature or to get expert feedback on the suitability of the protocol for certain population groups. In these situations, you can "make" a special URL that can be run only in execution mode, which you can send to the intended user. To make a special URL for execution mode, do the following:
1. Log into ProtoGenie,
2. Click on the protocol in your Personal Library of Protocols that you wish to provide access to in demonstration mode.
3. Click on the words "Get URL" in the top menu.
4. Under the dropdown menu labeled "Group," select the experimental group to which the demonstration run will apply.
5. Under the dropdown menu labeled "Log in?," select "Have the Subject Login to Existing ProtoGenie."
6. Click on "Generate URL." A long URL beginning with http will appear in the window below the "Generate URL" button.
7. Highlight this URL and copy it using Ctrl/C or right mouse button and select "copy."
8. Paste this URL into a message to send to the person to whom you want to demonstrate the Run mode of the selected protocol.
9. Upon receipt of the URL, the intended viewer will paste it into the "Open" field of his/her browser and press "Go." This will bring up the first page of the protocol run.
Remote Access for Online Applications
Self-administered on-line surveys
These are basically questionnaires that you compose on ProtoGenie in the usual way and then ask for volunteers (usually on-line) from a target population to complete the questionnaire at their own computer stations and submit it on-line to the ProtoGenie Database. Care must be taken in selecting and reaching the population you wish to survey and in screening that population to fit your study. Since there is no direct supervision, clear and complete instructions are very important.
Self-administered on-line experiments
These are experiments that you compose on ProtoGenie then ask for volunteers (usually on-line) from a target population to execute the protocol at their own computer stations and respond on-line. Care must be taken in selecting and reaching the population you wish to survey and in screening that population to fit your study. Since there is no direct supervision, clear and complete instructions are very important. The great advantage of this new form of experiments is access to virtually unlimited pools of subjects. The most severe problem is control. Consequently, creative designs that provide controls or compensate for the lack of control are critical.
Using Direct Access URLs
To conduct an on-line survey or experiment, you will generally create a "Direct Run-Time URL" on ProtoGenie that remotely located respondents and subjects will open on their own systems.
ProtoGenie Home Page
Designated User List
Attached to every protocol and modifiable only by the Principle Author (PA) is a list of people who are authorized to use the protocol and the specific access permissions that each is given. All users other than the Principle Author, regardless of their specific role or responsibilities in the project, are given the title of "Co-Author." What distinguishes the status of Co-Authors by role and responsibility is the specific permissions given them by the Principle Author. The Principle Author automatically appears at the top of the list with full permissions and only the Principle Author can add users to the designated user list and assign them permissions.
Examples of project staff members who will need to be added to the list of user include composers (programmers) and testers. Sometimes a Principle Author will sketch out a study design and have someone else actually create the ProtoGenie protocol. This person or persons will be added to the list of users. Their ProtoGenie title is Co-Author and their permissions will generally include View, Copy, Run, and Modify. On occasion, there will be separate "Testers." They too must be added to the designated user list by the Principle Author as Co-Authors, but their permissions will generally be limited to Run and View.
At some point, the protocol is ready to implement. In some circumstances, the same people who composed the protocol will be the people who implement it, so they will already have the authorization to open and execute the protocol. In other circumstances, different people will actual conduct the sessions and so they will have to be accompanied by an authorized user or they will have to be added to the designated user list. If implementers need access to run a study, they generally will not require authority to Edit, Edit, Copy, Users, Results, or Delete and so only the Run box may be checked.
Another option to give implementers the ability to run a protocol is to create a special URL. For this special URL, the Principle Author must log in, click on the desired protocol and click on the "Get URL" item in the top menu of the composer/editor.
The special URL access option is used for Online studies in which anonymous Internet users are given the ability to run a protocol. It can also be used when a Principle Author would like a colleague or professional contact to have a look at the run mode of a protocol and does not want to bother adding this person to the designated user list and having to instruct the special guest on how to use ProtoGenie.
ProtoGenie Home Page
Security Titles
There are only three security titles, Principle Author, Co-Authors, and Guests/Subjects. The principle author adds co-authors to the designated user list and assigns the permissions appropriate to their security needs and responsibilities. Guests and Subjects are not generally on the designated user list. Instead, they are given limited access to Run a protocol from a special URL.
Unlike pre-ProtoGenie days when there was a vast gulf between the researcher and the research software engineer, principle authors frequently maintain a hands-on relationship to the creation of the software and its implementation. This is what is meant by research software created by and for researchers. However, a principle author can give as many people access to a protocol as necessary with necessary permissions by adding people to the designated user list. Access is often required in multiple location studies where they are responsible for administration of the study in their locations.
ProtoGenie Home Page
Levels of Access to Protocols (Permissions)
There are six levels of access to a protocol. These correspond to the permissions assigned a user in the designated user list.
Run. If designated users are permitted to "Run" the protocol, they are authorized to execute it.
Edit. If designated users are permitted to "Edit" the protocol, they are authorized to make changes in the original.
Edit Copy. If designated users are permitted to "Edit Copy" the protocol, they are authorized to make a copy of it, see how it was set up, and modify it to fit their needs.
Users. This option allows the person with this permission to look at and modify the list of designated users.
Results. This the permission holder to view the results of protocol runs - summary and individual sessions.
Delete. This permission allows the principle author and only the principle author to delete an original protocol.
If the principle author changes the access status of a protocol from "private" to "public," then all members of ProtoGenie have full access rights to a COPY of the protocol, meaning that after saving the protocol under their ID numbers they have complete authority to Run, Edit, Edit Copy, Users, Results, Backup, and Delete that copy. Nothing can be done to change the original.
If the principle investigator keeps the "private" access status of the protocol, but gives specific users special access rights by adding them to the Designated User List, then the specific levels of access are assigned to each added user and these levels apply to the original protocol. For example, one added user might have full access (excluding Delete) while another added user might have only the right to execute (run) the protocol. If designated users have the right to Edit the protocol, then they have the right to change the original. Likewise, if designated users have the right to Run a protocol, then the results of the run will be entered into the database even if there are no values attached to the run.
ProtoGenie Home Page
Direct Access URLs
Direct Access URLs are created by the Principle Investigator to take a designated user or subject directly to the execution of a protocol. Direct Access URLs are used in two major circumstances - self-administered surveys and experiments and run-time demonstrations.
Unsupervised On-Line Surveys and Experiments
Self-administered on-line surveys are questionnaires that you compose on ProtoGenie in the usual way and then ask for volunteers (usually on-line) from a target population to complete the questionnaire at their own computer stations and submit it to the ProtoGenie Database. See How to do a Self-Administered On-line Survey or Experiment.
Run-Time Demonstrations and Reviews of ProtoGenie Protocols
There are times when a principle investigator (author) of a protocol would like a colleague or other professional in another location to look at the run-time execution of the protocol without making the protocol accessible to everyone or adding that person to the designated user list for that protocol or asking them to apply for a ProtoGenie membership, log on, find the protocol, and run it. Instead, the PI can create a URL that takes the recipient of that URL directly to the execution of the protocol for the group selected by the PI.
How to Create a Direct Access URL
To create a direct access URL, do the following:
1. Log on to ProtoGenie.
2. In the Startup Page, select "Access Your Personal Library."
3. In your list of protocols, click on the title of the protocol to which you want to provide direct access.
4. In the User Action Menu, click on Edit.
5. Click on the link in the top menu called "Get URL."
6. There are two sets of options in this panel. The first is the selection of the group that you would like to be run for the recipient. The second is to choose whether the subject will be anonymous, as in a self-administered survey or experiment, or whether the person running it will not be the subject, as in the colleague situation, above.
7. Click on the Create URL button and the direct run-time access URL of your specifications will appear in the url field. This URL can be copied by highlighting it and using Ctrl/C (or right click). Then, it can be pasted into an email to your intended receiver (colleague or anonymous subject). The anonymous subject would get this URL in an email about the experiment (if the recipient fit the screening requirements).
8. Upon receipt of the URL, the intended viewer will paste it into the "Open" field of his/her browser and press "Go." This will bring up the first page of the protocol run.
To illustrate this feature, a direct access URL was created for a hypothetical online experiment and pasted below. Click on it, if you would like to see an example of direct run-time access.
Example URL
ProtoGenie Home Page
FILE & DATA SAFETY
This section describes how ProtoGenie is designed to provide high levels of protection for protocols and data, including redundant backup server systems and local backup capabilities.
Remember the ProtoGenie motto:
"Share unto others as you would have them share unto you."
ProtoGenie Home Page
Protocol and Data Safety
How safe from accidental loss are my ProtoGenie protocols and results data?
Safety of Protocol Data on the ProtoGenie Server
Protogenie.com has redundant back up systems in place to protect against data loss due to drive failure and other server related malfunctions.
All data is routinely backed up on a nightly basis.
ProtoGenie's Local Backup Capability
While data on the ProtoGenie server is well protected, ProtoGenie provides additional protection independent of the server in the form of a local backup system that enables a user to save a copy of all information associated with a specific protocol in compressed and encrypted format on a local hard drive or storage device. If necessary, this information can be easily and completely restored to the ProtoGenie database. For instructions on how to create and restore local back up ProtoGenie files, see How to Backup and Restore ProtoGenie Protocol Files.
ProtoGenie Home Page
How to Locally Backup and Restore Protocol Files
ProtoGenie Protocol Local Back Up Feature
ProtoGenie has a back up and restore feature that enables Authors and Co-Authors with appropriate permissions to create and download a compressed and encrypted zip file of any given protocol. If needed, this zip file can be uploaded to the server via the ProtoGenie protocols interface back into the database thus replacing that protocol. You can restore both existing and deleted protocols.
To locally back up a protocol:
1. Log on to ProtoGenie.
2. In the Startup Page, select "Access Your Personal Library."
3. In your list of protocols, click on the title of the protocol that you wish to locally back up.
4. In the User Action Menu, click on Backup. You will get a Download File window asking if you want to download the file.
5. Click Save. When the file has been downloaded you will get a "Download Complete" window.
6. Click on the Close option. Now you can give the file a name of your choosing to keep track of and find downloaded files. The last 4 digits in the original file name is the protocol ID.
Note: Although you can try to open the file, you will not be able to do anything, such as editing, with the encoded zip file except download it to the server if necessary. That is, the sole function of this file is to replace a protocol that has accidently been deleted or unwanted changes were inadvertently saved. This provides additional security of your protocols and data.
To Restore A Protocol
1. Log on.
2. On the Start Up Options, click on the option named "Restore Protocol." You will get the Protocol Restore page.
3. Select the Browse button and navigate to the backup file you wish to restore.
4. Select the file and click Open.
5. Next click the Restore >From Backup button.
You will get a "Protocol Restored" message. If you get some kind of error message please copy it and email it to us using the form on the Contact Page of the ProtoGenie Website.