11/8/2010

Our testing software is now just about ready. As a first step to assure that the patch will in fact behave correctly, we will be conducting the experiment ourselves, using audio recorded from the 2 systems (but not the audio from the actual experiment). If there is a noticeable difference between the 2 systems, we will begin to modify the setup of the less expensive system such that it is more similar to the more expensive one.

Here is a screenshot of the present patch:


The patch opens first for the experimenter to enter the participants ID. Upon entering the ID and hitting OK, the patch in the background (purple) opens in full screen. Once the participant selects OK, the audio begins for the first trial. During the initial playback of both A and B, all buttons and dialogs are hidden from view, leaving only the purple box with the A and B boxes, trial number and help button visible. Once these 2 files have played, the additional functionality appears and the user may use the patch as required (e.g., replay A or B, switch preserving the timing between the 2, and pause). Button presses and selections are recorded and stored with the time from the trial inception. Each block consists of a single musical passage, recorded twice on each system. This creates 4 versions of the passage, which will be compared in 8 trials per block, presented in a double-blind order. The trials are as follows (order is *not* preserved):

1. A1, A2
2. A2, A1
3. B1, B2
4. B2, B1
5. A1, B1
6. B1, A1
7. A2, B2
8. B2, A2

The next blogpost will display the results of the initial experiment as run on Guillaume, David and myself (the developers of the patch), as well as recommendations as needed for a closer comparison between the 2 systems.