Data variable order
The default order of variables in a data file is “first added” which can cause issues if you make the assumption that all of your data columns will be in the same order (for example by merging csv files without regard to the variable names).
The change of variable order can happen if you have a secondary response that is contingent on another response such that it sometimes (but not always) happens on the first trial.
Here is a simple example where trial_2 is contingent on the response in the trial routine:
Locally there are other options in Experiment Settings / Data.
Columns can be sorted Alphabetical, Priority or First added.
Column priority can be numerical (columns with higher numbers come earlier) or using one of the available labels.
| Label | Priority |
|---|---|
| priority.CRITICAL | 30 |
| priority.HIGH | 20 |
| priority.MEDIUM | 10 |
| priority.LOW | 0 |
| priority.EXCLUDE | -10 |
When you run the experiment online then you get a different version of First added. For example, loop information comes after the loop rather than before. Alphabetical and Column Priority do not currently work online.
To compare the different possibilities, please take a look at the attached data file where I have highlighted the key_resp_2.rt in each variation.
data order.xlsx (20.6 KB)
temp.psyexp (20.5 KB)