Predicting question difficulty in web surveys: A machine learning approach based on mouse movement features

Survey research aims to collect robust and reliable data from respondents. However, despite researchers’ efforts in designing questionnaires, survey instruments may be imperfect, and question structure not as clear as could be, thus creating a burden for respondents. If it were possible to detect such problems, this knowledge could be used to predict problems in a questionnaire during pretesting, inform real-time interventions through responsive questionnaire design, or to indicate and correct measurement error after the fact. Previous research has used paradata, specifically response times, to detect difficulties and help improve user experience and data quality. Today, richer data sources are available, for example, movements respondents make with their mouse, as an additional detailed indicator for the respondent–survey interaction. This article uses machine learning techniques to explore the predictive value of mouse-tracking data regarding a question’s difficulty. We use data from a survey on respondents’ employment history and demographic information, in which we experimentally manipulate the difficulty of several questions. Using measures derived from mouse movements, we predict whether respondents have answered the easy or difficult version of a question, using and comparing several state-of-the-art supervised learning methods. We have also developed a personalization method that adjusts for respondents’ baseline mouse behavior and evaluate its performance. For all three manipulated survey questions, we find that including the full set of mouse movement measures and accounting for individual differences in these measures improve prediction performance over response-time-only models.German Research Foundation (DFG)Peer Reviewe

FelixHenninger/lab.js: 2017.1.0

This release represents a major update, adding the builder tool as well as considerable updates to documentation and library internals. Please consult the documentation for additional information. Some highlights: New builder interface Asynchronous, promise-based library API Extended automated test suite Revised logo Contributors Felix Henninger Ulf K. Mertens Yury Shevchenk

Dispersion, Verfahren zur Beschichtung von Gegenständen mit dieser Dispersion und Verwendung der Dispersion

The invention relates to a dispersion and a method for coating objects, in particular heat-exchanger structures, in which this dispersion is applied to a support structure and is crosslinked and/or formed into a film, forming a layer. The invention likewise relates to heat-exchanger structures coated in this manner. The dispersions according to the invention can likewise be used for coatings in chemical installations construction and also in medical technology

My wardrobe in the cloud:an international comparison of fashion rental

In response to the 2008 global financial crisis, a range of disruptive business model innovations emerged. The fashion industry saw the introduction of fashion rental platforms, aimed at appealing to price-conscious consumers still hungry for the latest styles. While these new business models filled a gap in the market and saw, in some cases, profit in the millions, the phenomenon remained rather niche. The recent pandemic, alongside other isomorphic pressures, have put further constraints on these fashion rental businesses and their entrepreneurs, leaving them struggling in the current economic climate. This chapter explores the entrepreneurial motivations behind rental platforms, the different platform models in operation, and the challenges these businesses face in the 21st century, including increased technological developments, environmental sustainability, and external pressures, such as the most recent pandemic, which saw economies shutting down. Empirically, the authors draw upon a novel dataset comprising six international case studies

The two faces of cooperation : on the unique role of HEXACO Agreeableness for forgiveness versus retaliation

Cooperation requires a tendency for fairness (versus exploitation) and for forgiveness (versus retaliation). Exactly these tendencies are distinguished in the HEXACO model of personality, which attributes the former to Honesty-Humility (HH) and the latter to Agreeableness (AG). However, empirical dissociations between these basic traits have primarily supported the substantial and unique role of HH, whereas the picture for AG has remained somewhat inconclusive. To overcome limitations of prior studies, we introduce an economic paradigm, the Uncostly Retaliation Game, to more conclusively test the unique role of AG for forgiveness versus retaliation. In two fully incentivized experiments, we found that AG (and not HH) indeed negatively predicts retaliation decisions in the face of prior exploitation. Furthermore, the results confirm that the paradigm provides a more direct measure of retaliation (beyond individual payoff-concerns and social preferences such as inequality aversion) than previous measures and that it may thus serve future investigations into the reactive aspect of cooperation

Wärmetauscher und Verfahren zu dessen Verwendung

Die Erfindung betrifft einen Wärmetauscher (10) mit zumindest einem Sorptionskanal (50), in welchem ein Sorptionsmittel (5) angeordnet ist und welcher von einem Fluid durchströmbar ist, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass der Wärmetauscher weiterhin zumindest einen Katalysator (4) enthält, mit welchem ein Brennstoff (45) exotherm umsetzbar ist, so dass die entstehende Wärme (155) zumindest teilweise dem Sorptionsmittel (5) zuführbar ist. Weiterhin betrifft die Erfindung ein Verfahren zum Erwärmung und/oder zum Konditionieren eines Gasstromes mit zumindest folgenden Schritten: Zuführen eines mehrere verschiedene Komponenten enthaltenden Gasstromes in einen Sorptionskanal (50), in welchem ein Sorptionsmittel (5) angeordnet ist, so dass zumindest eine Komponente (55) im Sorptionsmittel (5) gebunden wird, und Zuführen und exothermes Umsetzen zumindest eines Brennstoffes (45) unter Einwirkung eines Katalysators (4), so dass zumindest eine Komponente (55) des Gasstromes aus dem Sorptionsmittel (5) ausgetrieben wird

lab.js : A free, open, online study builder

Web-based data collection is increasingly popular in both experimental and survey-based research because it is flexible, efficient, and location-independent. While dedicated software for laboratory-based experimentation and online surveys is commonplace, researchers looking to implement experiments in the browser have, heretofore, often had to manually construct their studies' content and logic using code. We introduce lab.js, a free, open-source experiment builder that makes it easy to build studies for both online and in-laboratory data collection. Through its visual interface, stimuli can be designed and combined into a study without programming, though studies' appearance and behavior can be fully customized using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code if required. Presentation and response times are kept and measured with high accuracy and precision heretofore unmatched in browser-based studies. Experiments constructed with lab.js can be run directly on a local computer and published online with ease, with direct deployment to cloud hosting, export to web servers, and integration with popular data collection platforms. Studies can also be shared in an editable format, archived, re-used and adapted, enabling effortless, transparent replications, and thus facilitating open, cumulative science. The software is provided free of charge under an open-source license; further information, code, and extensive documentation are available from https://lab.js.org/ .publishe