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NeuroTechX / neurodoro

:tomato: A dynamic brain-responsive pomodoro timer
MIT License
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Add more instructions for the participants during the attention data collection #28

Open zhongLxyz opened 6 years ago

zhongLxyz commented 6 years ago

I got to try the data collection experiment in Neurodoro during the first NeuroTechTO hack night this year. And because I didn't exactly follow the expected procedure during the data collection, Dano suggested me to create an issue here about what other instructions could be given to the participants before they start their data collection.

I think the first thing is that it should say that the participants should try to be focused on the task, and be void of as much distraction as possible. This includes walking around, listening to other things etc. My concern is that the participants may not realize how much attention they actually need to pay to the task in order to complete it well before they click start, and they could be listening to music/talking with friends during the experiment even when they actually want to contribute good data.

And the other thing I was wondering when I was completing the task was, whether we should just rely on an instinct ("feel like...") to determine the answer, or we should actually try our best to think hard and strike for the closest answer as possible, especially for the harder (both pictures in the pair have a large amount of dots and the difference between the number is small) comparisons. Maybe I wasn't supposed to think about this question at all, but I did it because I supposed the two different processes would involve different brain mechanisms and I wasn't sure which one the experimenter was tapping at. After I talked to Dano I understood the second approach is correct. I am not sure if the other participants would have the same question as me, but if so I suggest giving an instruction to "try as hard as possible to get the correct answer in the allowed time".

I hope I did not include anything that's already there in the experiment instruction. And am I right that the main goal of the experiment is to put the participants into the state of being very focused on a task, and then collect their EEG data? If so, I wonder if this can be indicated directly to the participants as well before the start of the experiment, so that they have a guiding principle to determine the answers to any questions they may have.

jdpigeon commented 6 years ago

Thanks for this, Zhong.

I think we'll benefit a bit from having a bit more exposition before the test. We already have a text heavy screen explaining the privacy of the EEG data, so we can just extend that.

To summarize your concerns, I think we should include these in the run-up text to the test:

  1. "Good signal quality is extremely important for us to able to measure your brain activity. Please ensure you have good signal quality before beginning the test and avoid unnecessary movements during the test."
  2. "Our goal is to be able to detect when your mind is successfully focused on a task you are applying yourself to. Thus, while you are taking the test, please give the test your full attention (as much as you can) and avoid engaging in other activities."
zhongLxyz commented 6 years ago

Sorry for my late reply! I agree with adding the two points that you mentioned. But I am just wondering, would they be added to a separate page, or to the end of another piece of text that would be about something else? I am just asking this because I thought that people would be more likely to read them if they are in a shorter paragraph.