Sharing Your Experiments

Cognition’s primary aim is to simplify the experimental process. Once you've crafted your cognitive task, sharing it becomes a vital step. Here’s a guide on how to efficiently share and distribute your experiment to participants.

1. Ensure Your Task is Ready

Before diving into sharing methods, ensure that you've successfully created your cognitive task. If you haven't done so, refer to our previous section on "Creating Your First Cognitive Task."

2. Understanding the Unique URL

Each task you create in Cognition is automatically assigned a unique URL, which serves as the gateway to your experiment:

• The structure of this URL is as follows: https://xxxxxxx.cognition.run

• This URL acts as a direct link to your task, facilitating easy access for participants.

With the Single-use Links feature, you can further customize access to ensure each participant only completes the task once.

3. Versatility of Access

One of Cognition's strengths lies in its compatibility and accessibility:

• There's no need for participants to log in to run the task.

• The URL is platform agnostic. Whether participants are using desktop computers, tablets, or phones, they can access and complete the task.

• It's also browser-friendly, compatible with all major browsers.

4. Security Assurances

Data security and integrity are paramount:

• Every task URL is secured by the HTTPS protocol, ensuring data is transmitted securely.

• A valid Cognition SSL certificate backs these URLs, offering an additional layer of trust and security.

5. Methods of Sharing Your Task

With your secure and unique URL in hand, sharing becomes a breeze:

• Direct Communication: Share the URL directly through chat or email to selected participants.

• Social Media: Post the URL on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, expanding your reach.

• Third-Party Research Tools: If you're using platforms like MTurk or Prolific, you can embed or link your task URL there, accessing a broader participant pool.

6. Single-use Links: Controlling Access

The Single-use Links feature allows you to generate links that can be visited only once. This ensures that each participant completes the task only one time, providing more control over your data collection.

You can generate these links in two formats:

• Sequential URLs: Links follow a simple numeric order (e.g., ?link=1, ?link=2, etc.). This approach is useful when you need to track or organize participants in a structured way. However, since the links are in numeric order, they may be easier to guess. This format is ideal for experiments where the order of links matters.

• Random URLs: These links are randomly generated using unique identifiers (e.g., ?link=8f2r, ?link=q3mf). Random URLs add an extra layer of security, making it much harder for participants to predict or guess the link. This format is ideal for anonymous or sensitive experiments where security and confidentiality are important.