Quiz-o-Matic: A free Web-based tool for construction of self-scoring on-line quizzes

Increasingly, educators are using the World-Wide Web (the Web) and related technology to supplement their traditional teaching materials. In this paper, we present a free tool that has been placed on the Web to enable educators to create Web pages that present self-scoring quizzes. Such Web-based practice quizzes provide students with an opportunity for interactive assessment and review of course material. The tool, Quiz-o-Matic, uses active server pages to build the HTML and JavaScript code for each quiz, without requiring the user to edit any code. We present evidence that students judge the self-scoring quizzes to be useful and worthwhile additions to a course.     

Use of HyperCard to create pages on the World-Wide Web

A variety of commercial and shareware programs are now available to assist in creating HTML pages for a World-Wide Web (WWW) site. However, users with some knowledge of HTML coding and a simple programming language, such as the HyperTalk language in HyperCard, can create custom tools that will simplify the task of creating and maintaining multiple-page WWW sites. This paper presents examples of two such tools and describes the basic steps they use to create HTML documents.     

The Observer: A software system for collection and analysis of observational data

The Observer is a general-purpose software package for event recording and data analysis in behavioral research. It allows any IBM-type personal computer to serve as an event recorder. In addition, The Observer can generate dedicated event-recording programs for several types of non-IBM-compatible portable and hand-held computers and transfer files between the PC and such computers. The user specifies options through menus. The configuration can be either used directly for event recording on the PC or passed on to a program generator that creates a program to collect data on a hand-held computer. Observational data from either type of computer can be analyzed by the program. Event-recording configurations can be tailored to many different experimental designs. Keys can be designated as events, and modifiers can be used to indicate the limits of an event. The program allows grouping of events in classes and distinction between mutually exclusive versus nonexclusive events and duration events versus frequency events. Timing of events is accurate to 0.1 sec. An on-line electronic notepad permits notes to be made during an observation session. The program also includes on-line error correction. User comments as well as independent variables can be stored together with the observational data. During data analysis, the user can select the level of analysis and the type of output file. The Observer calculates frequency of occurrence and duration for classes of events, individual events, or combinations of events. For analysis of concurrence, one can select the number of nesting levels and the order of nesting. Output can be generated in the form of sorted event sequence files, text report files, and tabular ASCII files. The results can be exported to spreadsheet and statistical programs.     

Computer programs to facilitate detailed analysis of how people study text passages

Three computer programs are described for an IBM Personal Computer; these programs enable the gathering of detai3led data on reading and study processes. The programs (A) present any text of the experimenter’s choosing and permit subjects to study the lines and pages of that text in any order; (B) allow for the subject’s use of a light pen to record study time per line, to answer questions, and to indicate lines that are, for instance, important or difficult by “highlighting” them (i.e, changing them to reverse video); (C) allow for multiple study sessions and a review session; (D) present and score multiple-choice questions; (E) permit the use of fill-in test items; (F) calculate 176 values, including detailed data on highlighting, quality of study, testing, and times and frequencies on 18 different categories of lines in study and in review; and (G) make a printout of the raw data and the 176 summary statistics. Also described is one example of a 28-page text and a test that have been used in conjunction with the programs. Data are provided to illustrate the usefulness of the programs.     

Operate your own World-Wide Web server

Although many researchers wishing to use the World-Wide Web for academic purposes rely on centralized Web services, they should be aware that it is neither expensive nor difficult to operate their own server. Doing so provides research-related benefits such as complete control over their host name and documents provided, the guaranteed ability to execute common gateway interface and server-side include programs, immediate access to their collected data, and the ability to better control who participates in their experiments. This paper surveys Web-server software features likely to be of interest to psychologists and conceptually summarizes their operation and use. The basic steps required to set up a Web server on popular microcomputers are reviewed, and security issues concerning Web-server operation are discussed. An accompanying resource Web page can assist users in setting up their own servers.     

Signal-processing software for teaching and research in psychoacoustics under UNIX and X-Windows

A package of software is described that generates, analyzes, stores, and displays sampled waveforms. The package is designed for use under UNIX and includes C source code, UNIX manual pages, and tutorial documents. The programs interact via UNIX pipes using an ASCII-text data format, which enables the user to view the data in numerical form as well as through the use of plotting programs. Among many other functions, the programs can do the following: efficiently generate linearphase FIR filters with arbitrary transfer functions; generate impulse responses for rectangular rooms of specified dimensions; convolve waveforms with each other; perform Fourier transformation and inverse Fourier transformation; filter waveforms in the Fourier domain; filter waveforms according to the peripheral frequency selectivity of the human auditory system; cross-correlate waveforms; autocorrelate waveforms; synthesize complex waveforms, including vowel sounds and white noise. The software can read and write a variety of commonly used waveform file formats. The data can be plotted on an X-Window display using thegnuplot software, which has been included in the package. The complete software package is available via anonymous ftp from ftp.ihr.mrc.ac.uk in ~ftp/pub/johncu/wave.tar.Z     

Fractional Design Wizard: A computer program for cost-effective experimental research design

The computer program Fractional Design Wizard creates fractional factorial designs that are cost-effective and especially useful for discarding irrelevant factors from a large number of possible candidates. The program is intended for researchers who are relativelynew to the field of fractional design and who want to acquaint themselves with the use of fractions for the reduction of large experimental designs. Fractional designs allow estimation of main effects, and sometimes two-way interactions, without one’s having to examine all treatment conditions. The program needs Microsoft Windows 95 or better and 32 MB of memory. In a step-by-step fashion, the user can specify the required properties of the fractional design. When there are more valid designs, the user can generate these successively If necessary the user can go back to diminish the requirements. The output can be copied, printed, and saved. The program generates all the information that is needed for the use and interpretation of fractional designs. A help file explains the use of the program and also the purpose, the analysis, and the interpretation of fractional designs. The program, which is written in Object Pascal, is available as freeware on www.fss.uu.nl/ms/hl/fracdes.htm.     

TelEMA: a low-cost and user-friendly telephone assessment platform

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA), or the repeated assessment of individuals’ behaviors and experiences over time, is a methodologically advantageous approach to the study of psychological constructs. Recently, advances in computer technology have allowed for EMA research to be conducted in a more convenient, automated, and secure manner by administering surveys on participants’ telephones and storing the results directly to a central server. The present article introduces TelEMA, an easy-to-use, low-cost telephone assessment platform for clinical and research applications. A single server running TelEMA can be shared among many experimenters, studies, and participants simultaneously. TelEMA routes telephone calls and text messages through a third-party service, so experimenters may conduct studies with no up-front cost or technical expertise. TelEMA provides a secure Web interface for experimenters or clinicians to design studies, enroll participants, monitor compliance, and collate response data from anywhere. Participants complete surveys using their own telephones. Surveys may contain keypress or voice recording questions, and the timing and content of each survey may be randomized and customized. A pilot study was conducted in which individuals used the TelEMA system to complete four randomly timed surveys per day for one week; the surveys assessed state affect and social anxiety. Results indicated that participants found TelEMA easy to use and secure, and compliance rates were on par with other EMA methods using mobile devices. Overall, TelEMA is a practical and robust system that enables fast and inexpensive deployment of EMAs.     

The impact of salient advertisements on reading and attention on web pages

Human vision is sensitive to salient features such as motion. Therefore, animation and onset of advertisements on Websites may attract visual attention and disrupt reading. We conducted three eye tracking experiments with authentic Web pages to assess whether (a) ads are efficiently ignored, (b) ads attract overt visual attention and disrupt reading, or (c) ads are covertly attended with distraction showing up indirectly in the reading performance. The Web pages contained an ad above a central text and another ad to the right of the text. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3A the task was to read for comprehension. Experiment 1 examined whether the degree of animation affects attention toward the ads. The results showed that ads were overtly attended during reading and that the dwell times on ads were the longest when the ad above was static and the other ad was animated. In Experiments 2 and 3, the ads appeared abruptly after a random time interval. The results showed that attention (i.e., the time when the eyes first entered an ad) was related to the ad onset time. This happened especially for the ad to the right, indicating that ads appearing close to the text region capture overt attention. In Experiment 3B the participants browsed the Web pages according to their own interest. The study demonstrated that salient ads attract overt visual attention and disrupt reading, but during free browsing, ads were viewed more frequently and for longer time than during reading.     

The Psychology Graduate Applicant’s Portal (www.psychgrad.org)

Applying to graduate school in psychology can be an intimidating process. Many obstacles must be overcome, such as applying to a program appropriate to the specific applicant, getting good GRE scores, submitting a clear and well-written statement of purpose, and obtaining letters of recommendation, to name just a few. Much information is available to assist applicants in these tasks, but finding this information can cause problems even for experienced Internet users. The goal of this project is to create an easily accessible Web clearing house of information on applying to graduate school in psychology. This Web site, called the Psychology Graduate Applicant’s Portal (or PsychGrad.org), contains targeted links to other Web pages with valuable information, book recommendations on the application process, polls to measure issues important to the graduate applicants, site-unique advice on graduate programs, a message board to exchange information and experiences, and other information relevant to the application process.     

Effects of headings and familiarity with a text on strategies for searching a text

College students were videotaped while they searched chapter-length texts for answers to specific questions. The texts either did not contain headings or contained one of three types of headings that varied in the information that they provided about text organization and content. Familiarity with the text was varied by manipulating (1) the number of prior searches of the text and (2) whether or not the text was read before searching. Measures were taken of the time spent examining each page and of the sequence of examination of pages. Cluster analyses of the search measures revealed that familiarity with the text influenced a searcher's strategy for selecting which pages to examine. Once a page was selected for examination, both headings and familiarity influenced how the page was inspected.     

Reading and cognitive capacity usage: Adjunct question effects

Cognitive capacity usage during reading was measured in two experiments. During reading of a 27-page passage on marine biology, text-relevant inserted questions, irrelevant questions, or no questions were answered by undergraduates. Cognitive capacity usage increased when text-relevant questions began but not when irrelevant questions began or when no questions were given. The increase in cognitive capacity usage was largest on pages immediately following questions. Cognitive capacity is used in the elaborative stages of text processing.     

Evaluation of a Web-based introductory psychology course: II. Contingency management to increase use of on-line study aids

In a Web-based general psychology course, students were observed to postpone use of on-line study aids until 2 days prior to examinations, thus negating any influence of advance organizers (Taraban, Maki, & Rynearson, 1999). We attempted to modify this behavior by providing course credit in the form of short quizzes as rewards for using on-line study aids to preview each chapter. Some students received quizzes after previewing frequently asked questions (FAQ); other students received quizzes after previewing chapter outlines. Students who received quizzes for previewing FAQ pages accessed those pages more frequently than did students who received quizzes for previewing outline pages. Increased access to FAQs was associated with higher scores on FAQ-related midterm examination questions. However, the advantage on examination items was not apparent on a cumulative final examination. Navigational structures and reward values need to be considered when one is managing contingencies in Web courses.