An implementation system for designing computer-based experiments

Abstract

LIS (Laboratory Implementation System) is a system for implementing experimental research designs in a computer-based behavioral science laboratory. The system is designed to support investigators in all phases of experiment development, from the initial conception, through prototype development, to data-gathering experimentation; the system design emphasis is on providing a rapid transition from initial specification to a prototype version that can be operationally reviewed and easily modified. LIS, as it currently operates, is a man-machine system which utilizes an “interaction machine,” an incremental assembler, and a pseudo-compiler. Interaction programs, compiled from an investigator's natural language description of his experiment, are in the form of transition matricies, which, when interpreted, produce an operational version of the experiment. The components of the system are described. Applications to design implementation, in areas other than behavioral science experimentation, are suggested.