[solved] Randomising questions within a sequence

RichardSteel

Hi, just started using Open Sesame, however have very little experience with this kind of thing!

I want to present a series of problems, which i have successfully created within a sequence as text input responses, however while the program runs fine as a list in the order i created the problems, i would like to run the questions in a randomized order.

I assume this is possible, what is the simplest way??

refuzee

Hi RichardSteel,

I'm not very experienced either, and depending on what exactly is to be displayed I don't know if I understand you correctly but I hope this helps:
One way (depending on if you use forms) would be to randomize the colums list like this:

#create row array and shuffle
rows = [3,4,5,6,7]
shuffle(rows)

...

form.set_widget(question1, (0,rows[0]),colspan=2)
form.set_widget(question2, (0,rows[1]),colspan=2)
form.set_widget(question3, (0,rows[2]),colspan=2)
form.set_widget(question4, (0,rows[3]),colspan=2)
form.set_widget(question5, (0,rows[4]),colspan=2)

For more info on using forms you can have a look at this:

http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/forms/form-functions/

http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/forms/custom-forms/

Hope this is of some help for you,
Daniel

RichardSteel

Hi - thanks for the response, however i'm not using forms. What i have is a list of questions contained within a sequence:

run _text_input_batball "always"
run _text_input_widget "always"
run _text_input_lillypads "always"
etc....

So each question exists on a separate page created using the text input function to create a simple question and answer. All this has been created using the GUI.

So, what i would like to do is present the text input screens in a random, or shuffled order for each participant.

is this possible?

sebastiaan

Hi Richard,

Refuzee's example shows how to randomize the order of widgets as they appear on a form. A useful tip for sure, but somewhat different from what you need in this particular situation.

The order of sequence items cannot be randomized. Only loops can have a random order. So what need is to combine a random-order loop, with 'Run if' statements in a sequence item. First, you create a loop that has a variable [my_item], which specifies the item that you want to run on each cycle, like so:

In this loop (as item-to-run), you add your sequence. But each time that the sequence is executed, you cherry-pick the item that you actually want to run, like so:

run _text_input_batball "[my_item] = batball"
run _text_input_widget "[my_item] = widget"
run _text_input_lillypads "[my_item] = lillypads"

Does that make sense?

Cheers!
Sebastiaan

RichardSteel

Yes it makes sense, and works perfectly!

Many thanks
Richard