Create experiment protocol
If you are starting a new research project (which is different than starting a new experiment), you can start by cloning exbuilder and specifying a name for your project:
git clone https://github.com/exbuilder/exbuilder.git name-of-your-project
This will create a file structure and starting point on your local machine!
If you just need to add an experiment to your existing project, you can do that by creating new experiment in your experiments folder.
If you are creating a new jsPsych study, I usually make a copy of the experiment1-jspych folder that comes with exbuilder (or another experiment from that project), or simply edit that folder as my starting point.
If you are creating a new lookit study, you can create a folder and include the protocol_generator.js file. It's also good to include a folder of the stimuli you used.
Tip: In general, it's good to make each experiment fairly stand-alone. That means to include things like the jsPsych folder, a stimuli folder, etc. within each experiment.
From the lab's GitHub page: https://github.com/pennchildlanglab, select the green New button. Fill in the Repository name and a Description if you wish. Then select Private (all lab projects begin as private repositories). Then select Create repository.
Tip: We'll be importing an existing repository, so don't initialize the repository with anything.
Another tip: Ask Katie to create a repository for your project in the lab's GitHub if you do not have that permission level.
From your local computer, from inside your projects directory
cd yourproject
Set your project's origin to this new GitHub repository so you can push your changes to it.
git remote set-url origin http://github.com/you/your-repo-name
Then, whenever you make changes to your project on your local computer, you can push them to this repository with
git add .git commit -m "inital commit"git push origin main
Whenever you make changes to your project on your local computer, you can push them to your remote repository in the pennchildlanglab GitHub with the following.
cd yourproject
git add .git commit -m "inital commit"git push origin main
If you are new to git and repository managers like GitHub, we recommend this nice tutorial by Karl Broman. If you make mistakes, don't worry, we all do. We recommend Oh, Shit! Git!?! to get you through it. Or, Dangit, Git !?! for the "same content without the swears".
Once you've updated your changes locally and pushed them to the repository, you can pull the changes in to the server so that they get reflect there.
cd experiments/yourproject
sudo git pull
You need to be added as an authorized user on the server to accomplish this! Ask Katie if you need access.
To ssh into the server, from the terminal, run (changing username to your username)
Next, you'll add your project to the experiments directory on the server.
cd experiments
Check to make sure your project is does not already exist on the server by listing the contents of the experiments directory.
ls
If it doesn't already exist, clone your project's GitHub repository with
sudo git clone https://github.com/you/yourproject.git
Tip: When you create or modify files on the server, you'll need to use the sudo command. You'll be asked to enter your [sudo] password . If you can't remember yours, Katie can reset it for you.
If it does already exist, also check if you have the .env file already created. If yes,
Next you'll need to configure your .env file for the server's environment. From inside your project directory
cd yourproject
Make a copy of the sample environment file inside your repository on the server.
sudo cp .env.sample .env
Then edit the variables with nano
sudo nano .env
You'll need to edit the DB and S3 variables to reflect the lab's database and S3 bucket. These settings are available to lab members in the lab's basecamp.
sudo docker-compose -f docker-compose.deploy.yml up -d --build
Each experiment runs inside its own docker container on the lab's server. To allow participants to visit the container, go to manage.childlanglabexperiments.org to add a proxy host. Click Add proxy host
You need to enter a unique subdomain of the childlanglabexperiments.org domain name. We usually use your lastname followed by a number. Then, you'll select the name of your studies nginx container as the forward hostname. You can find out the name by running
sudo docker ps
The only rules are that the subdomain is unique and that you do not give away hints about the study, since participants will visit the URL.
Next you'll want to add an SSL certificate to your proxy host. Before you hit save, click the SSL tab and fill everything in as below.
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