Examples Web-based experiments

1 examples

1.1 use in psychology
1.2 use in economics
1.3 use in political science
1.4 use in internet studies

examples
use in psychology

a wide range of psychology experiments conducted on web. web experiment list provides way recruit participants , archives past experiments (over 700 , growing). resource designing web experiment free wextor tool, dynamically creates customized web pages needed experimental procedure , remarkably easy use. web experiments have been used validate results laboratory research , field research , conduct new experiments feasible if done online. further, materials created web experiments can used in traditional laboratory setting if later desired.

interdisciplinary research using web experiments rising. example, number of psychology , law researchers have used web collect data. lora levett , margaret bull kovera examined whether opposing expert witnesses effective in educating jurors unreliable expert evidence. rather sensitizing jurors flaws in other expert s testimony, researchers found jurors became more skeptical of expert testimony. in experiment, led more guilty verdicts. levett , kovera s research used written transcript of trial, participants read before making decision. type of stimulus has been criticized researchers lacking ecological validity—that is, not closely approximate real-life trial. many recommend use of video possible. researchers @ new york university conducting psychology , law study uses video of criminal trial.

researchers @ university of salford conducting number of studies online explore sound perception. sound experiments on web particularly difficult due lack of control on sound reproduction equipment.

salganik, dodds, , watts conducted experiment measure social influence, in popularity rating of songs. use of internet allowed them collect on 14,000 participants , examine relationship between individual , collective behavior.

use in economics

as more experiments have been conducted in economics, questions appropriate methodology , study organization has been raised. jerome hergueux , nicolas jacquemet developed online laboratory compare social preferences , risk aversion online , in person. administered risk aversion assessment, public game, trust game, dictator game, , ultimatum game groups both online , in lab way of assessing internal validity of web-based experimentation in economics.

use in political science

an online field experiment conducted on 61 million facebook users tested whether receiving information voting, polling places, , voting behavior of 1 s friends led individuals seek out political information, influenced political self-expression, , changed real-world voting behavior.

use in internet studies

web-based experiments have particular salience in studies of how online communities operate. internet studies, including studies of online communities , social networks, have used natural , field experiments understand effects of informal rewards in peer production on wikipedia, impact of recognition , support on future successes on kickstarter, change.org, epinions, , wikipedia. experiment looked @ effect on edit rates of introducing program of intelligent task assignment on wikipedia.