Course content: Formr.org is a free open source software for online studies. Because R can be called at any step from formr, all sorts of complex study designs are possible. Key features include the automatization of reminders for repeated surveys on computers and smartphones and the automatic generation of personalised graphical feedback.

In the workshop, we will learn workflows for collaboratively designing, testing, debugging, managing, and documenting studies. We can discuss how to design simple surveys, longitudinal studies, experience sampling or diary studies, dyadic and social network designs, peer ratings, and reaction time data. If there’s interest, we can choose to discuss connecting to external data collection platforms, using jsPsych to collect reaction time and experimental data, and designing adaptive cognitive tests in formr.

On the first day, we will learn how to design studies in formr, starting simple, and then proceeding to debugging and managing more complex studies. You will learn how to manage contact with your participants and to navigate thorny issues around privacy and anonymity while maintaining contact with participants. In the late afternoon, I will assist you in implementing existing or planned projects.

On the second day, we will focus on getting your data from formr into R using the formr and codebook R packages. You can also learn how to easily make reproducible websites using R to document your study analyses and share results with co-authors. In this part, you will need to make baby steps using the tools RStudio, Github, and the Open Science Framework.

Requirements: Anyone who is planning an online study can participate in this workshop. The entire workshop is held in English. Basic knowledge of R is helpful, but not required at all. You don’t need to use R for analysing the data collected using formr. We won’t discuss the basics of survey and item design.

Target group: PhD students and Postdocs who are planning or currently implementing an online study