Researcher Guide

Psynaptix is a measurement layer that captures rich behavioral and physiological signals while learners work through lessons. This guide describes, at a high level, what researchers can expect and how to plan a study.

Overview

Psynaptix records signals alongside ordinary lesson activity, what a learner does, how they interact, and (optionally) physiological streams from compatible consumer devices. The goal is to give researchers a window into process: not just whether an answer is right, but how the learner got there.

Signals are captured in the background during a session and are available afterward as consolidated study exports. No special hardware is required for the behavioral components; physiological components use commonly available consumer devices.

What you can measure

At a high level, a session can produce several families of signals. The exact set depends on the lesson configuration and which devices are available to the participant.

Behavioral signals

  • Answers and timing: responses to each item, including when they occur relative to the task.
  • Interaction dynamics: the movement and timing of pointing-device interaction during the task, from which continuous and summary measures can be derived.
  • Session structure: how the learner moves through the lesson, trial by trial.

Physiological signals (optional, device-dependent)

  • Scalp-level electrical activity from a small consumer headband, suited to studying attention, cognitive load, and related state measures.
  • Eye and head movement. Coarse gaze direction and basic head/face motion, derived from a small camera when the study uses one. Only derived measurements are produced; no images are stored.
  • Additional sensor streams from compatible devices (motion and other body signals), when the study calls for them.

Signals are stored per session and linked to the lesson, the item presented, and the response, enabling alignment of physiology with specific task events.

Calibration

Before a session with physiological recording, a short calibration routine runs so the measurement layer can confirm the device is connected and the signals are usable. The routine is designed to take under a few minutes and requires no special training.

In broad terms, calibration covers:

  • Signal quality: confirming each sensor channel is reading cleanly.
  • Baseline: a brief resting window used as a reference for the rest of the session.
  • Simple user checks: a small number of natural actions (for example, blinking) so the system can recognize them later.
  • Interaction check: confirming the pointing-device channel is capturing normally.

The routine is also a good moment for the participant to adjust the device for comfort and fit.

Signal quality & feasibility

Whether a particular measure is meaningful depends on the signal quality achieved for that participant and the number of trials available. Some practical notes:

  • Clean device contact is the single biggest factor in signal quality, brief instructions to the participant usually suffice.
  • Some signal components are robust to small numbers of trials; others benefit from more trials or from contrasting conditions (for example, comparing two item types).
  • Natural movements (blinking, shifting) create brief signal disturbances that should be handled in analysis, this is standard practice for this device family.
  • The included calibration summary can be used to assess data quality before finalizing an analysis.

Study design guidance

Good studies on this platform tend to share a few features:

  • Contrasts over absolutes: comparing conditions, item types, or difficulty levels is far more informative than looking at a single average, especially for physiological measures.
  • Repeated presentations: including items that appear more than once lets you study how the response changes with repetition.
  • Enough trials: more trials per condition make averages more stable. The right number depends on the measure; plan for more rather than fewer.
  • A baseline window: a short rest period (already part of calibration) gives you a reference for state-based measures.

Need help planning? Contact the study team (see Contact), we can advise on trial counts and condition design for the measures you care about.

Getting started

Getting a study running is a guided process rather than a self-serve setup:

  1. Request access: reach out to the study team with a short description of your research question.
  2. Design the lesson: your items and conditions are assembled through the standard authoring flow; the study team configures the measurement settings to match your design.
  3. Run a pilot: a small pilot session confirms everything works before recruiting participants.
  4. Collect and export: participants complete sessions; you receive consolidated exports for analysis.

Compliance & ethics

The platform is designed with research ethics in mind:

  • De-identification, exported data is separated from participant identity by default.
  • Secure storage, data is stored on controlled infrastructure with access limited to the study team.
  • Participant transparency, participants are told what is recorded, and each device used by a session requires explicit per-device permission. A participant can decline any individual device.
  • Your responsibility, as with any study, obtaining IRB or equivalent review and informed consent remains the researcher's responsibility.

Contact

For access, study design support, or data questions, contact the study team through the contact information provided with your account. Please include a brief description of your study so we can route your request appropriately.

Psynaptix, researcher documentation. This page is intentionally high-level; detailed technical specifications are provided under agreement to approved research partners.