Customer Reviews (case 22515)

[jarvis24]

DirectRT is truly an outstanding response time program! It is extremely user friendly, allowing people with little-to-no computer programming knowledge to quickly and easily design their own response time experiments. Other key advantages of the program include permitting multi-level randomization of stimuli, allowing for the presentation of high-end graphics, and writing data on to files that can be easily read by Excel or SPSS. Perhaps most important, the program is very sensitive in its recording of response times, maximizing response time accuracy. For anyone interested in conducting response time experiments, this is the program to use!

Christine Page,
Skidmore College

[jarvis24]

MediaLab and DirectRT are programs that clearly have been designed by a psychologist for psychologists to use. Compared to other similar software I have used, the programs meet all of my needs, from the way trials and questionnaires can be randomized to the type of stimuli that can be presented and the varieties of responses that can be collected. The many facets of the program have on occasion even prompted me to come up with study ideas I might not have otherwise. Also, the customer support that Empirisoft offers is unparalleled. They have without exception responded to my queries promptly and patiently, and do an excellent job of troubleshooting from afar. Furthermore, when DirectRT once did not meet the needs of a study I was designing in terms of the type of responses it would accept, he was able to rewrite the program for me very quickly so that it would. Getting custom-made software was definitely a new experience for me.

Abigail Marsh,
Harvard University

[jarvis24]

I found both programs to be very user friendly and easy to learn. The instruction manuals for both programs were very well written and easy to follow. The examples were helpful to see what the end result would look like, as well as to use for practice in learning the programs. To be honest, I was a little worried when my supervisor asked me to learn the programs, as I did not really have a lot of programming experience. Once I started reading the manuals and trying things out for myself, my worries subsided. And when I needed help with something that I could not figure out myself, Blair Jarvis himself was very helpful. He was very patient with me an explained things very clearly and was able to help me solve any problems, just from my descriptions of what was not working. These were usually little things I had forgotten to do, and so a little reminder was sometimes all that was needed. As well, the fact that the input files are created in Excel was helpful, since I am familiar with that program. This also made making changes to the experiment easy. Many of the subjects commented on the fact that the experiment looked nice, since were able to create instruction screens using PowerPoint (which allowed us to incorporate all of the capabilities of PowerPoint as well). Finally, the data merging capability of the programs is wonderful, as it saves a lot of time for the experimenter. In summary, I would definitely recommend the programs to others and feel that they make programming experiments an easy and fun experience (even for those of us who have not done any programming previously).

Shilaja Sundaramoorthy,
University of Toronto

[jarvis24]

I purchased MediaLab and DirectRT after receiving positive recommendations from a number of colleagues. When I started using the software I was surprised by the short amount of time required to feel comfortable with the interface. Since then, my lab has used MediaLab and DirectRT for many different types of studies, and we continue to be impressed by its ease, scope, and flexibility. In addition, my students particularly like the way data are saved - they find that it really simplifies the move from data collection to analysis. Finally, the support (if needed) is superb. When I did have a query about the program, Empirisoft was very quick to respond with the necessary information.

Geoff Haddock,
Cardiff University, United Kingdom

[jarvis24]

Overall, I think DirectRT is a fantastic product. The software is easy to use, versatile, and the customer support is outstanding. The program itself offers ample help with examples, sample programs, and text, so there are various methods to solve problems. When I do e-mail customer service, I typically get a response within 24 hours. Empirisoft customer service helped me design solutions to my particular needs and they were incredibly helpful. In the past, I used a different experiment-building program. It was slow, difficult to navigate, couldn't organize files well, and was simply limited in the amount of information that could be included (text, video, images, sound, animation, etc.) The customer service for the other program was polite, but seemed like it was limited by the many constraints of the software. With DirectRT, I was able to run twice as many studies in half the time. The programming was easy to learn, and it was possible to incorporate all kinds of media. The program allowed me to organize hundreds of files with ease. The cost of the program was very reasonable. I highly recommend this software!

Mary Alt,
University of Arizona

[jarvis24]

With MediaLab/DirectRT, a truly straightforward device which does not require elaborated technical knowledge finally has become available for researchers. With this truly user friendly program endless opportunities for psychological research are being provided. MediaLab/DirectRT offers a variety of different options making more extensive research and the handling of complex issues possible. With its highly flexible character this program certainly has contributed to facilitating lab research. The positive effect MediaLab/DirectRT also has on the participants and especially the excellent and immediate support offered by the programmer, further contribute to this remarkable flexibility. In addition, MediaLab/DirectRT not only eliminated the extensive waste of paper as well as of other resources, but even more importantly, its automatic storage of data in the appropriate formats like SPSS or Excel enables the attainment of better data while simultaneously saving a lot of time and effort. This program is definitely more than a device; MediaLab/DirectRT marks the beginning of a new era in computerized research…

Markus Denzler,
International University Bremen

[jarvis24]

DirectRT has the potential to simplify the life of any experimenter. As a researcher with no experience in computer programming, but with some complicated experimental requirements, DirectRT has been an invaluable tool for me. It offers great flexibility and precise control, via an intuitive Windows-based interface. Various types of experiments, from ratings of pictorial stimuli to response times of verbal stimuli, can easily be conducted either independently or simultaneously. Learning to use DirectRT is simple and quick. I had programmed my first experiment within 2 or 3 hours of installing the software on my lab computers. The instruction manual is comprehensive, including several easy-to-grasp tutorials, and the experiments can actually be programmed in the familiar Microsoft Excel environment. Technical support from the folks at Empirisoft is speedy, excellent, and personalized--when I encountered a problem I didn't know how to solve, they worked with me to create a solution. And finally, the data are saved in a well-organized manner that facilitates immediate analysis. I do not hesitate to recommend DirectRT to experimenters at all levels of experience.

Zachary Estes,
University of Georgia