Lab in the Wild: An Online Platform for Testing

Recently through another psychology course, I have discovered a site called http://www.labinthewild.org/. It hosts various types of tests, ranging from “Can we guess your age?” to “Test your social intelligence”. The tests require some demographic information and generally take 5–10 minutes to complete. Once completed, the participant is provided with feedback as well as some sort of comparison with other participants. These other subjects come from many different parts of the world (Germany, Australia, India, Singapore, and so on).

So far, the site seems very familiar to what we usually see when we search up personality quizzes or intelligence assessments. However, what is different about this particular site from others such as Buzzfeed (where fun quizzes are plentiful) is that while the tests are just as entertaining, they are also collected as data for the researchers behind the site. These researchers are from the University of Washington and Harvard University.

LabintheWild is described as an “online experiment platform for conducting behavioral research studies”. The quality of the data they collect online is stated to match those obtained in lab settings. There is also the option of conducting one’s own experiment on the site, though there are regulations that have to be followed to ensure that the test is “usable”.

I think that this start-up site is very interesting. The idea of an online platform for behavioural research (and not simply entertainment) is quite refreshing. Since the quality of data is similar to those obtained in lab settings, it certainly makes sense that this type of platform will increasingly become a useful tool for researchers. Not only is it more convenient, it also welcomes participants from varying backgrounds. Of course, there is the concern that not all studies should and can be done this way (but the site acknowledges this).