Generating and - saving - random values from responses.xls files

[lpike]

[note: thread title changed by moderator]

I've been advised that MediaLab is a good tool to use for factorial surveys. I've searched the user guide but can't find any mention of them- can anyone advise me about how to construct one? I'm new to MediaLab so basics are very much appreciated.

[Trevor Newell]

The manual doesn't actually mention factorial surveys, because it has enough power to do factorial surveys, as well as many other types of experiments.

Have you tried creating a questionnaire or experiment file yet? You may want to take a look at the samples while first starting out - from there, try building your own questionnaire.

[lpike]

Hi newell,

Thanks for the advice, I've just had a look at the samples. I've almost found what I need- this bit:

You can insert the value of a subject's prior response to any fill-in-the blank or scale response item by typing the appropriate variable name surrounded by < > within any question wording text. For example, if you had previously asked subjects about their race using a fill-in-the-blank question or a scale response and you had called this variable race, then you could insert the subjects response in a subsequent question wording like this: What percentage of your friends are <race>? For scale responses, the text label of the selected response is used.

is going on the right lines but I don't want to use participants' prior responses in the instruction text, I would like to use options that will be randomly chosen by the program. I'm aiming to create vignettes with different variables that are randomly selected, e.g. " you are working with a <15/35/55> year old <man/woman> with <a learning disability/ a physical disability/ no disability> " etc - these variables would contribute to making decisions (in the format of scale responses or other simple meaures) about actions that could be taken. Can you advise further?

Many thanks,

[jarvis24]

Try taking a look at the section on Advanced Features--especially the subsection on calculated values. You could create variables that would be "stand-ins" for the vignette values. For example, you could generate the three values for each the three items in your example by using Excel's conditional logic and randomization function (e.g., to select one from 15/35/55 and one from man/woman, etc) . Take a look at that section and the accompanying sample and see if you can get the gist of that functionality. If it seems in the ballpark let us know and we could elaborate on how to proceed.

[lpike]

Hi Jarvis,

Thanks for the advice, I've had a look at Excel's conditional logic and it does what I'm hoping for- I just need to find out how to transfer it to Medialab now. The formulas I've used are:

=RANDBETWEEN(1,3)

=LOOKUP(A45,{1,2,3},{"A PHYSICAL DISABILITY","A LEARNING DISABILITY","NO DISABILITY"})

=RANDBETWEEN(1,3)

=LOOKUP(A47,{1,2,3},{"PHYSICAL ABUSE","FINANCIAL ABUSE","INSTITUTIONAL ABUSE"})

etc, then

=CONCATENATE("You are working with a ",A50," with ",A46,". You suspect that ",A52," ",A48," is occurring. ")

which translates to a combination of the above, i.e.
You are working with a WOMAN with A PHYSICAL DISABILITY. You suspect that SEVERE PHYSICAL ABUSE is occurring.

Is there is way to link to the excel spreadsheet, or do you have to create a Medialab file with the above info in it?

Many thanks,

Lindsey

[Trevor Newell]

Hi Lindsey,

As Blair has noted, you'll want to use the 'advanced features' that MediaLab supports. See the following link for more information:
http://www.empirisoft.com/medialab/h...d_features.htm

MediaLab has the ability to harness the power of excel through 'responses.xls'. This workbook allows a user to modify their experiment to communicate with excel during each screen. When a response is created, it can be written and passed through excel's coniditional logic - which will then allow for complex variables and skip patterns to be written and occur, respectively.

Take a look at the above link and try out the advanced features sample. These items should be able to help point you in the right direction. Let me know how it goes!

Regards,
Trevor