Research Methods, Assessment, and iScience, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, D-78464, Konstanz, Germany.
Differential Psychology, Assessment, and Research Methods, Department of Education Studies and Psychology, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany.
Behav Res Methods. 2021 Aug;53(4):1710-1730. doi: 10.3758/s13428-020-01527-9. Epub 2021 Feb 2.
Undertaking an experience-sampling study via smartphones is complex. Scheduling and sending mobile notifications often requires the use of proprietary software that imposes limits on participants' operating systems (whether iOS or Android) or the types of questions that can be asked via the application. We have developed an open-source platform-Samply-which overcomes these limitations. Researchers can access the entire interface via a browser, manage studies, schedule and send notifications linking to online surveys or experiments created in any Internet-based service or software, and monitor participants' responses-all without the coding skills usually needed to program a native mobile application. Participants can download the Samply Research mobile application for free from Google Play or the App Store, join a specific study, receive notifications and web links to surveys or experiments, and track their involvement. The mobile application leverages the power of the React Native JavaScript library, which allows it to be rendered in the native code of Android and iOS mobile operating systems. We describe Samply, provide a step-by-step example of conducting an experience-sampling study, and present the results of two validation studies. Study 1 demonstrates how we improved the website's usability for researchers. Study 2 validates the mobile application's data recording ability by analyzing a survey's participation rate. The application's possible limitations and how mobile device settings might affect its reliability are discussed.
通过智能手机进行体验采样研究很复杂。安排和发送移动通知通常需要使用专有的软件,这会限制参与者的操作系统(无论是 iOS 还是 Android)或可以通过应用程序提出的问题类型。我们开发了一个开源平台-Samply-它克服了这些限制。研究人员可以通过浏览器访问整个界面,管理研究,安排和发送通知,链接到任何基于互联网的服务或软件创建的在线调查或实验,并监控参与者的反应-所有这些都不需要通常用于编写本地移动应用程序的编码技能。参与者可以从 Google Play 或 App Store 免费下载 Samply Research 移动应用程序,加入特定的研究,接收通知和调查或实验的网络链接,并跟踪他们的参与情况。移动应用程序利用了 React Native JavaScript 库的功能,该库允许它在 Android 和 iOS 移动操作系统的本机代码中呈现。我们描述了 Samply,提供了一个进行体验采样研究的分步示例,并展示了两项验证研究的结果。研究 1 展示了我们如何提高研究人员对网站的可用性。研究 2 通过分析调查的参与率来验证移动应用程序的数据记录能力。还讨论了应用程序的可能限制以及移动设备设置如何影响其可靠性。