[lookit-research] Lookit update, fall 2017

[Kim Scott]

Hi folks,

Just writing with a quick update about the Lookit platform! Here's where we
are:

* I graduated! I'm now working on Lookit as a research scientist, still at
MIT.

* In the next few weeks, we're finishing up a transition to a new version
of the site that allows multiple experimenters to create and post studies
on Lookit--with permissions to edit, manage, and view data only from their
own studies. Hooray!

* We still have some work to do on logistics, software development, and
(readiness for) recruitment before making the tool open to the community,
but that's still the goal.

* We're in the process of figuring out how to fund the project going
forward. (Right now it's just me, and just until July.) Ideas are welcome!

If you want all the gory details, please see this document
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CnZicMJH_s7Uc_cgdOgvV6MumXcRDTrF6cn_iI0UzmY/edit?usp=sharing>
which lays out a vision for the platform, current status, what we'd need to
actually launch, my schedule, etc. (Note that this proposes creating a
board that would handle fundraising, but we're actually first waiting to
hear back about some potential funding that might make a formal board
unnecessary at this point.)

Soon I'll be looking to choose a few studies to keep on Lookit to support
recruitment - so that there's something "there" for infants through 7yos
when we get them to the site. The hope is for these studies to be
(a) fun and interesting for families (primary criterion) - ideally we want
something super-cute that kids love, and parents learn from and want to
tell their friends about. Interactive with the parent is great.
(b) easy to implement (both programming-wise, and for parents - i.e., they
don't have to have a set of 10 identical red blocks and a whisk)
(c) interesting enough scientifically that a lab will analyze and publish
the data. (Does not need to be groundbreaking science, "interesting to
parents" is the better criterion.)

If you have an idea that would be JUST SO CUTE but you have to keep
reminding yourself that you're not totally sure what we'd learn from it
scientifically... *this is that idea's moment*. Not-quite-experimental
ideas are fine! (e.g., "demonstrate something that reliably makes your baby
laugh!", "have your 3yo tell a joke," "record 5min of your toddler's
private speech," etc.) Take advantage of being at home and in diverse  can
make use of comparisons like right before vs. right after naptime...
whether kids are bilingual... in a living room vs. office vs. kitchen...
you can look at sibling interaction in the home... you can study
newborns(!) as long as you don't need an especially controlled
environment...

Send any proposals in the next month or so, and we'll select a few to start
working on in December!

best,
Kim

---
Kim Scott
Research scientist | Early Childhood Cognition Lab | MIT
kimscott at mit.edu | www.mit.edu/~kimscott/ <http://www.mit.edu/%7Ekimscott/>
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