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Version: 3.9.x

Combine two pre-written studies into one

Take two separate studies and combine them into a single one

You might have created different parts of a study using various tools — for example, a survey coded with lab.js and a perceptual experiment with OSWeb. If you have separate .jzip files from each tool and now wish to combine them into one study, here's how to do it.

This process applies to combining any two study halves, regardless of how they were coded. (However, if you directly wrote the scripts instead of using an experiment builder, you likely won't need these specific instructions.)

Ingredients​

To combine two studies into one, you will need the following:

  1. A local JATOS. This will give you easy access to move and rename your files.
  2. Information on your study assets' location: Go to http://localhost:9000/jatos. On the homepage, locate the section titled "Where are my files" (it's prominently displayed). Find this corresponding folder on your computer.
  3. The .jzip file for the first half of your study.
  4. The .jzip file for the second half of your study.

Note for items 3 and 4: You should not attempt to generate a .jzip file manually at this stage (though it is technically possible). A JZIP study archive file is a ZIP archive with a standardized content structure, containing essential information that JATOS needs to recognize it as a study.

Strategy​

The approach involves two main steps: first, import one half of the study into your local JATOS instance. Then, integrate the files from the second half as an additional component within the first study.

Steps​

These steps may sound intricate, but they primarily involve straightforward clicking, copying, and pasting—essentially, creating a JATOS study collage.

Let's assume you have half-study-1.jzip (a survey) and half-study-2.jzip (a perceptual task).

  1. Import half-study-1.jzip into JATOS. This should result in one study with a single component.
  2. Identify the folder on your local computer where these study assets are located (as described in Ingredient 2).
  3. Import half-study-2.jzip into JATOS. This should also result in one study with a single component.
  4. Navigate into the subfolder corresponding to half-study-2 within the directory you identified in Step 2. You should find a single .html file (which displays your study) and likely many other assets, including libraries and CSS stylesheets.
  5. In your local JATOS GUI: Go to the component properties of each of your study halves. Locate the field containing the path to the HTML file that runs your study. If both halves use the same HTML file name (e.g., index.html), change one of the names. For instance, rename them to index-half-1.html and index-half-2.html. JATOS will update the actual file name on your file system for you (confirm when prompted).
  6. In your local file system: Copy all the contents from the half-study-2 subfolder into the half-study-1 subfolder. You have now combined the assets from both studies into a single folder and ensured that the HTML files have unique names.
  7. In your local JATOS GUI: Go to your half-study-1. Click on "New component". In the properties of this new component, specify the path to the HTML file from half-study-2 (e.g., index-half-2.html). Copy any other relevant properties (e.g., study input or component input) from the single component in half-study-2 to this new component in half-study-1.
  8. You now have a complete, combined study.

Troubleshooting​

Ensure that your study does not finish after the first component. In the JavaScript of the first component, you should see something similar to:

jatos.startNextComponent(myResultDataObject);

And not something like:

jatos.endStudy(myResultDataObject);