Hi Annette. I can only speak for eprime, but I started out the same way as you. The only programming language I knew prior to MEL was BASIC (gives you some idea of how long I've been around!). I successfully ran a number of discourse processing studies on MEL, although it was a pain. I'm using eprime now, and to be honest, really do like it. I especially like the ability to filter the data on any of a number of sets of variables and then export into anything - Excel, SPSS, my statsoft software. I've done all of the programming myself. Once you understand the logic of getting an experiment up and running, it's not too bad. Yes, there is a learning curve but there are a number of tutorials that are helpful. Could some savvy undergrads learn how to use it? Sure, as long as they put in the time. My guess would be that a week of part time playing around with the software would be enough to get them able to program a basic experiment. There are also a number of standard protocols you can adapt per your experimental protocol. These are all available via the support website.
Mark ******************* Mark A. Casteel, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology Penn State York 1031 Edgecomb Avenue York, PA 17403 (717) 717-4028 ******************** From: Annette Taylor [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 3:09 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] e-prime Many years ago (at least 20) I used Mel, which was a precursor to MelLab and then to psychMate and to the full program, e-prime. I did not have a positive experience with Mel. After countless hours and hours I was unable to get programs to compile and the technical support was really poor. It was a frustrating experience all around for what was then a relatively expensive program. I never got a single program to run. Similarly with psychmate I was never able to modify any of the programs successfully although the claim is that it can be easily done. I am not a programming moron. I did take some programming classes in grad school and on my last sabbatical learned to use Java. But I am also FAR from being a programming whiz. Those dratted commas always get me ;) I know Lel evolved into e-prime and I imagine that after 20 years the support staff has changed quite a bit. I wonder if anyone on the list has any experience with it. What level of comp programming proficiency would someone need. Could undergrad students with no comp sc background use it? Also, does anyone have experience with medialab. How about any other software tools out there for psychology? Biopac? We have a MODEST windfall and thought we'd look into acquiring some general purpose software that could be used by those of us with bio, cog, social labs. Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph. D. Professor, Psychological Sciences University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13372.4251c47fdf0b43ddd1e5bf28bc6f3dba <http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13372.4251c47fdf0b43ddd1e5bf28bc6f3dba&n= T&l=tips&o=8946> &n=T&l=tips&o=8946 (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) or send a blank email to leave-8946-13372.4251c47fdf0b43ddd1e5bf28bc6f3...@fsulist.frostburg.edu _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1204 / Virus Database: 1435/3462 - Release Date: 02/23/11 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=8947 or send a blank email to leave-8947-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
