The Mass Experiment Online Lab will facilitate experiments in which large numbers of subjects simultaneously interact under controlled conditions. These population-level experiments cannot be conducted in the traditional laboratory as they require scale in which network structure is systematically varied across multiple large-sized experimental populations (Centola, 2007; Bail, Merhout & Ding, 2018). The Mass Experiment Online Lab overcomes (1) the significant infrastructural and logistic challenges associated with simultaneous networked participation of many subjects (Salganik, 2018) and (2) removes barriers-to-entry by providing methodological and organisational research facilities to interested but otherwise ill-equipped domain experts through a series of open calls. The Lab will be piloted iteratively using an agile model, with increasing functionality to service a gradually expanding community of beta users. Data generated will be archived, findable via the ODISSEI Portal and linkable within the ODISSEI Secure Supercomputer.

Project team Mass Experiment Online Lab: Rense Corten (Utrecht University – Task leader).

Questions regarding Mass Experiment Online Lab? Contact Tom Emery (ODISSEI Coordination Team).