Millisecond Forums

time stamp on server and data files - with multiple files from same participant

https://forums.millisecond.com/Topic12943.aspx

By sdandeneau - 4/8/2014

Hi, I would like to confirm my understanding of time stamps in order for me to know which web file to use. 

Situation: 
A participant completed an online task 3 times (instead of once). Here are the three files that I see on the server: 
https://www.millisecond.com/images/Iqdat.pngVPTpartnerfinal_1083_13-10-03-05-13-15-847.iqdat4343310/03/13 - 17:13:15
https://www.millisecond.com/images/Iqdat.pngVPTpartnerfinal_1083_13-10-03-05-23-30-816.iqdat4343510/03/13 - 17:23:30
https://www.millisecond.com/images/Iqdat.pngVPTpartnerfinal_1083_13-10-03-05-33-07-455.iqdat4342710/03/13 - 17:33:07


The first was "saved" at 5:13, the second at 5:23 and the third at 5:33 - if I understand correctly. 
The local time of each file however is as follows : 
1. 13:01:41
2. 13:01:31
3. 13:00:50

Here's what I think happened - correct me if I'm wrong. Somehow three windows opened, thereby creating three distinct files with the time stamps of 13:01, 13:01, and 13:00. The participant completed the task three times - once in each "window" thereby creating three web data files. 

My question: I want to use the file associated with the FIRST time she completed the task - I'm inclined to use the file that was saved on the server at 5:13 (but created  and NOT the file that was created at 13:00 (and saved on the server at 5:33). Am I correct?

Thanks in advance, 
Stéphane
By seandr - 4/8/2014

I'm assuming that by "local time", you mean the time reported in the time column within the data files. That reflects the time the script started running.
So, it seems the participant hit the Start button multiple times, thereby starting 3 instances of Inquisit Web, all approximately within a minute. He/she then completed the test 3 times, once for each instance. 
The first data file would be the first that he/she completed. 

-Sean
By Dave - 4/8/2014

As general background, let me point out that

(1) data in a given data file's 'time' column reflects the local time / timezone (i.e. it may be EDT, PST, GMT, ...) as set on the client machine at the point when execution of the script started, while
(2) timestamps as reported by the server and embedded in the respective file name reflects the time when the file was received / stored by the server in UTC.

As for the concrete case at hand, it is difficult to come to any definitive conclusion re. what may (or may not) have happened here (you may want to check https://www.millisecond.com/myaccount/reporting/rptscripts.aspx for any additional insights).

It is a fact that the file 'VPTpartnerfinal_1083_13-10-03-05-13-15-847.iqdat' was the first of the three received by the server. This suggests that it reflects the 1st completion of the experiment by the respective participant. What is odd, though, is that the data file's 'time' column (13:01:41) would suggest that it was the last (not the first) execution of the script on the client machine. I can't quite make sense of this, I'm afraid.

Hope this helps anyway.