ADELE

BACKGROUND

Researchers in the humanities and social sciences (HSS) commonly use online survey applications, both for administering questionnaires and for conducting complex experiments. While there is an abundance of tools available on the market, truly relevant options become scarce once criteria are applied regarding compliance with GDPR requirements, CNIL recommendations (notably the May 27, 2021, opinion on U.S. collaborative tools), acceptable commercial policies, and the functionalities expected for research.

As part of the PLATIPUS platform, several tools were tested. LimeSurvey, although open-source, suffers from poor usability and limited functionality. Qualtrics, on the other hand, is very comprehensive but expensive and incompatible with GDPR requirements. This is why the JSPsych framework was chosen. It is free, can be self-hosted, is suitable for both online and offline studies, and offers a wide range of plugins covering numerous experimental needs, for both self-reported and behavioral measures. Several researchers are already using JSPsych for their experiments, but its use still requires programming skills (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), which acts as a barrier for many users.

GOING THE EXTRA MILE WITH THE SUPPORT OF LABEX CerCoG

To make JSPsych more accessible, PLATIPUS has begun developing a graphical interface called ADELe, which allows users to create experimental protocols via a user-friendly interface without the need for programming. The tool remains compatible with advanced use, as more experienced users can still access and modify the generated code. This interface aims to simplify and speed up the creation of questionnaires and experiments, while ensuring their technical and ethical compliance.

The development of ADELe is supported by LabEx CerCoG. Jean-Charles Quinton and his students and doctoral candidates are developing plugins tailored to the specific needs of psychology and cognitive science, in response to requests from several teams within the CerCoG network (LPNC, LIP/PC2S, LJK). ADELe will enable these plugins to be distributed beyond their original development context, while serving as a foundation for new projects and features.

Initial funding from CerCoG made it possible to launch ADELe by hiring an intern in their second year of an IT associate degree program, whose contract was extended to a fixed-term position, as well as through partial support from the IT technician at PLATIPUS. The technician was responsible for server installation, feasibility studies, supervision, testing, and debugging. A second internship (third year of the IUT program) is planned for spring 2025. However, many steps remain to be completed: integration of existing plugins (from the JSPsych website or developed locally), improvement of usability, and streamlining the process for adding new modules. The goal is to design a sustainable, scalable tool that is accessible to the research community.