Test your experiment online

Goal: Run a pilot of your experiment on Pavlovia to ensure it works correctly in the browser before sharing it with participants.

Before you start

You should already have:

  • An account on Pavlovia (https://pavlovia.org/)

  • A PsychoPy experiment linked and synced to a Pavlovia project

What this step covers

In this step, you will:

  • Launch a pilot test of your experiment in the browser

  • Check that stimuli, timing, and responses behave as expected

  • Identify and fix common errors before recruitment

Launching a pilot

  1. Go to your Pavlovia project page.

  2. Ensure the project status is “Pilot”.

  3. Click “Pilot” (top right) to open the experiment in a browser window.

  4. Complete the experiment yourself to verify functionality.

  5. On completion of a Pilot run (not running mode) a data file will download automatically to your computer.

../_images/pilotModePavlovia.png

Fig. 21 How to set your Pavlovia project to pilot mode and launch it in pilot mode for testing.

Check for common issues

  • Missing resources (“Unknown Resource Error”): Ensure all images, sounds, and conditions files are uploaded.

  • JavaScript/translation errors: If using custom Python code, make sure it has a compatible JS version or is in a JS code component (Known limitations when running online).

  • Timing or display problems: Check that stimuli appear as expected and response collection works.

  • Test a range of browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) to ensure compatibility and devices, in theory your experiment should work on all modern browsers, however the online environment introduces a range of possibilities, it is useful to catch cases where the set up might not be optimal early on, in which case you can screen out participants in specific hardware/browser combinations.

Debugging tips

  • Use the browser console (usually F12 or right click → “inspect” → “console”) to view errors or warnings.

  • Simplify routines one at a time to identify where issues occur (in Routine Settings you can select Testing → Disable Routine, similarly in components you can select Testing → Disable to help pin point the problem).

  • Make sure files and resources are correctly referenced (e.g. no spelling, capitalization or punctuation differences).

../_images/disableRoutine.png

Fig. 22 How to disable specific routines for testing and debugging in PsychoPy Builder.

Next step

Once your experiment passes testing, you can make it available to participants:

Launch your study and collect data


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