There are numerous possible approaches to remote testing. Some involve completely custom investigator-designed procedures and stimulus/response apparatus; others leverage existing general-purpose computing platforms, e.g. for presenting surveys on the web. In this section, we use the term "Platform" to refer to any hardware/software/network system that can be used to support remote testing. Platforms vary tremendously: some are comprehensive online tools that support recruiting, consenting, screening and paying participants, presenting and manipulating experimental stimuli, collecting, tabulating, and transmitting response data, and even tracking project progress; others are limited to one or more of these activities. Platforms also vary based on the level of support (commercial vs open source vs in-house), goals, and capabilities. Some of those differences are discussed in abstract terms on the Platform Considerations page.
In May 2020, the Psychological and Physiological (PP) Acoustics Technical Committee of the Acoustical Society of America formed a Task Force on Remote Testing. Their discussions resulted in this Wiki and an evolving detailed description of the platforms available for Remote Testing. The descriptions in this section focus is on describing the specific capabilities of identified platforms, as obtained via a survey of users conducted by the PP Remote Testing Task Force. These descriptions were accurate as of July 8, 2020 – to the best of our knowledge – and will be updated as platforms are created, become obsolete, and otherwise evolve.
The survey is open to reviews of all types of platforms which might be of interest to ASA PP investigators, whether the platforms are intended primarily for perceptual, cognitive, or other research (e.g. marketing), clinical / telehealth applications, or other types of remote data collection (e.g. noise exposure monitoring). Readers are invited to use the survey to provide the task force with information on additional/emerging platforms, updated features, or any other relevant information. To do so, please visit the following link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T8SCJVN). Please provide your name and contact information in case there are followup questions, but otherwise feel free to complete only those survey questions relevant to the information you want to provide. (I.e. don’t feel obligated to complete every survey question if the requested information already exists, etc.)
–> Access the Platform Data <–
List of platforms
Below is a list of platforms for remote testing that are known (italics) or have been reviewed (bold) by the PP Remote Testing Task Force as of July 8, 2020. Platforms in bold are described in more detail, including reviews, on the Platform Descriptions page. For links to the reviewed platforms, see the descriptions page or the Resources page.
Browser-based platforms (fully online)
- Amazon MTurk
- Cognition
- Concerto
- Custom Site (e.g., developed in-house with Django
- FindingFive
- Gorilla
- Ibex Farm
- Inquisit
- ispring
- jsPsych
- lab.js
- Labvanced
- MATLAB Online / MATLAB Web App Server
- Pavlovia
- Prolific
- PsychoPy/PsychoJS
- Psychstudio
- PsychTestR
- PsyToolkit
- Qualtrics
- SoSci Survey
- SpeakPipe
- TeamHearing
- Testable
Tablet-based platforms (take-home or download)
- hearX
- Jacoti
- Lively
- PART
- SHOEBOX
- TabSINT
- custom app (developed in-house or consultant)
Desktop platforms (take-home or download)
- Compiled MATLAB
- Psychtoolbox
- E-Prime
- custom app (developed in-house or consultant)
- Other
- LENA
- OSF
- RedCap