Running the Experiment

Hi everyone!

The second week of data collection was a success! So far, I've gotten through about 60 people and I am on track to reach my goal of 90 participants. It's been pretty tiring running the experiment all by myself, but I am almost done with the experimental phase. As promised, I'll explain the changes I made to the procedure and how the first two weeks went down.

Me trying to wrangle college students (Image source)

First of all, I decided to do away with the control group, because I realized that the best method was to compare any changes in stress to a participant's baseline expectation: no change at all. It would be a waste of time to measure the differences in bio-data before and after five minutes of regular standing, as there would be no change in reported stress levels. After the first two attempts at obtaining control data, I was greeted with confused faces and disappointment at the lack of
"cool VR tech to play with."

Also, I decided to use an electronic blood pressure monitor that I borrowed from Raj, which measures blood pressure and heart rate at the same time. (Thanks, Raj!)

A lifesaver (Image Source)

Aside from those two changes, I ran the experiment with the following basic procedure. It took about 15 minutes per participant (20 minutes if they were chatty.)

1. Pre
• Sign consent form
• Take BP/HR
• Ask survey (average and current)
2. Experimental
• 5 minutes in the HTC Vive
3. Post
• Take BP/HR
• Ask survey (current)
• Ask questionnaire
• Give them cookies!

The final step of part 3 is obviously the most important aspect of the entire procedure (Image Source)

Next week, I'll wrap up my data collection and start to analyze my results. See you then!