The Open Sesame Experiment Platform: An Overview
Open Sesame is a robust platform designed for the intricate needs of online and lab-based behavioral experiments. Developed by cognitive scientists, this open-source platform streamlines the designing, creating, and running experimental tasks with an easy-to-use graphical user interface, making it a powerful tool for conducting rigorous psychological research.
Main Features of Open Sesame
The platform flaunts several main features integral to facilitating online experiments. Some of its primary features include a drag-and-drop interface for creating complex experimental designs, Python scripting capabilities for more advanced cognitive tasks, and compatibility with various response collection devices, among others. Its power lies in its flexibility, allowing researchers to harness the platform according to their specific experimental needs.
Strengths of Open Sesame
Thanks to the platform's open-source status, researchers can take advantage of a community-driven support system, continuous updates, and regular improvements. Further, it allows for data collection in an online format, enabling researchers to conduct remote studies - a feature that predicates its significance in today's digital age.
The Invention and Maintenance of Open Sesame
Open Sesame was conceived by Sebastiaan Mathôt, a cognitive scientist intrigued by improving the medium of conducting experiments. The maintenance of this platform, however, is a collaborative effort, using feedback from the psychological research community to continually refine and enhance its functions.
The platform is also supported by Cognition, a cloud-based service that hosts experiments built with jspsych, a JavaScript library for running online experiments. This synergy between Open Sesame and jspsych enunciates the drive towards making cognitive and behavioral experiments accessible to all.
The inception, development, and continued advancement of Open Sesame illuminates the commitment towards providing efficient and effective tools for the scientific community. In tackling the challenges of online experimentation, platforms like Open Sesame pave the way for more comprehensive and incisive psychological research.