[lookit-research] Lookit update, winter 2018

[Kim Scott]

Hi folks,

Happy 2018! Here's an update on what the Lookit project has been up to
recently.

- We* finished a transition this fall to a new version of the Lookit site
that allows multiple experimenters to create, edit, post, and access data
from their own studies. Our beta testers are using this site to prepare
and/or test for their own studies.

- An IRB protocol to cover running the platform for use by outside labs is
under review at MIT. Researchers using Lookit will apply to their own
institutions' IRBs for approval for their studies, and will probably sign
an institutional agreement about the details of acceptable data collection
and dissemination, similar to Databrary's.

- We'll have at least one undergraduate for the spring term focusing on
family recruitment, to start building a userbase and exploring options for
publicity. We also have a volunteer developer, Rico
<https://www.linkedin.com/in/rico-rodriguez/>, supporting some exploration
of tech choices, and a volunteer from Scott Johnson's lab, Bryan, helping
with feature development!

- We've wrapped up our subcontract with the Center for Open Science, and
will shortly be transferring the github repos for Lookit code over to a
Lookit org account. Although they won't be continuing to work on this
project, they are providing hosting and support until we can set up a
contract with another firm for continued development.

- We submitted an NSF grant (Developmental Sciences) last week that would
fund some of the initial software development needed. I'd also like to
submit a larger proposal to the new "Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained
Scientific Innovation (CSSI) - Data and Software: Elements and Frameworks"
program, due in April. Still no concrete news on other funding
possibilities. I'll be giving a talk in a few weeks to Resource Development
here at MIT.

- The best place to find up-to-date overall plans/schedules is still here
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CnZicMJH_s7Uc_cgdOgvV6MumXcRDTrF6cn_iI0UzmY/edit?usp=sharing>.
Linked there you can also see and comment on ideas for recruitment
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/10d6-1wQIPQu8i-42MstSjp3qIqyt0-T5eXrYoMqfvZA/edit?usp=sharing>,
software development tasks
<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IXsfs8qStKV-vqH5fZaQwyaCxq9IVsamlGj3tEgGOJY/edit?usp=sharing>,
etc.

- If you're interested in getting yourself or your students (more)
involved, take a look at the list of ways to help here
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CnZicMJH_s7Uc_cgdOgvV6MumXcRDTrF6cn_iI0UzmY/edit#heading=h.u9fg0biey83t>.
The primary challenge we're facing right now is finding funding, but there
are a lot of ways to contribute even if you hate grant-writing.

Next steps for me:

- Quickly implementing several "mostly for fun" studies so that there's
content on Lookit for kids from birth through 7 years old, to support
recruitment efforts.

- Continuing to work on setup - fundraising, IRB approval, tech licensing
agreement, how to accept payment through MIT, recruitment, etc.

- Designing and documenting experimental frames to cover typical
developmental protocols.

Thanks all for your support and interest - looking forward to scaling up
and getting to work with more of you!

Kim


* Don't get too excited - this is the mathematical "we," i.e. the opposite
of the royal "we," throughout.

---
Kim Scott
Research scientist | Early Childhood Cognition Lab | MIT
Participate: https://lookit.mit.edu | Meetings: https://doodle.com/kimscott
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