Hello!

I'm not sure if others have run into this problem...I am recruiting participants for a web study via another site. However, I've received several messages indicating that people are unwilling to download the plug-in. They are worried about its safety. Has anyone run into this problem? If so, were you able to generate any solutions?

Thank you!

Max

Here's something from my box o' tricks (may not be suitable for every possible situation): Customize the FirefoxPortable package available from portableapps.com by including the desired FF Inquisit plugin version and setting the start page to the experiment's launch page. Have subjects download and run your customised browser package to complete the study. Once they're done, they may simply delete the folder -- no traces left on their systems.

Regards,

~Dave

I have the same problem as Max - very low response rate due to the plug-in. Questions to your suggestion above:

- what does customizing the FF Portable package imply for a non-IT-specialist? I am still extremely proud I managed to link the 3 parts of my survey and capture query parameters, meaning my IT knowledge is basically inexistent. 

- the subjects would then have to download the customised browser - isn't this then the same treshhold for them as before, just that now the downloaded stuff is easier to delete?

Many thanks for your great support!

Sylviane

It's not hard, but since you claim "inexistent IZ knowledge", you might want to ask someone more knowledgeable for help.

That depends on your subjects and what they perceive as trustworthy, I would argue.

Precision timing over the web

When a participant browses to the experiment launch page and clicks "Start", the Inquisit 4 engine is downloaded and runs locally on the participant's machine, where it has access to the high-performance native system components required to    achieve millisecond precision timing. In fact, Inquisit 4 Web uses exactly the same powerful and fast engine that Inquisit 4 Lab uses. The engine is just over 1 MB, so it take just a few seconds to download. We've wrapped the engine in several web technologies that provide a smooth download experience across a wide variety of web browsers.

In my opinion that is a one-sided description of a best case scenario that ignores previously reported issues on this forum about participants not being comfortable downloading files from the internet that they may not understand why they need.  Of course to the average person, they don't know that the file is required for the reasons stated above and they're most likely concerned about viruses, trojans, etc.  I'm not saying that the Inquisit files are untrustworthy, I'm simply saying that Inquisit do not mention to potential clients (like me) that these issues are known to exist.  I only found out that others, like you and Max, and Sylviane, and probably more, were having the same problem as me after I paid $400 for a 2-month web license!  Also the download required for Inquisist 4 is around 4MB not 1MB as reported on the web product FAQ. 

Inquisit Team - if you're reading this - please don't get defensive but just hear the views of your customers.  This is a real methodological issue with web licensing that needs to be addressed.  Unfortunately I do not have the expertise to provide a suggested solution, but just know that it does effect the user experience for both participants and your clients who shell out the high costs of purchasing your licensed products.  Your description of the process in your sales page does not accurately reflect the real world experience of your customers!

Mike