annotate docs/Instructions/Instructions.tex @ 1365:c4156df1dcb5

More instructions. Added comment box sections. Still wip.
author Nicholas Jillings <nickjillings@users.noreply.github.com>
date Wed, 27 Jan 2016 09:49:42 +0000
parents d186a0606f59
children c0022a09c4f6
rev   line source
nickjillings@1318 1 \documentclass[11pt, oneside]{article} % use "amsart" instead of "article" for AMSLaTeX format
nickjillings@1318 2 \usepackage{geometry} % See geometry.pdf to learn the layout options. There are lots.
nickjillings@1318 3 \geometry{letterpaper} % ... or a4paper or a5paper or ...
nickjillings@1318 4 %\geometry{landscape} % Activate for rotated page geometry
nickjillings@1318 5 \usepackage[parfill]{parskip} % Activate to begin paragraphs with an empty line rather than an indent
nickjillings@1318 6 \usepackage{graphicx} % Use pdf, png, jpg, or eps§ with pdflatex; use eps in DVI mode
nickjillings@1318 7 % TeX will automatically convert eps --> pdf in pdflatex
nickjillings@1318 8
nickjillings@1318 9 \usepackage{listings} % Source code
nickjillings@1318 10 \usepackage{xcolor} % colour (source code for instance)
nickjillings@1318 11 \definecolor{grey}{rgb}{0.1,0.1,0.1}
nickjillings@1318 12 \definecolor{darkblue}{rgb}{0.0,0.0,0.6}
nickjillings@1318 13 \definecolor{cyan}{rgb}{0.0,0.6,0.6}
nickjillings@1318 14
nickjillings@1318 15 \usepackage{amssymb}
nickjillings@1318 16 \usepackage{cite}
nickjillings@1318 17 \usepackage{hyperref} % Hyperlinks
nickjillings@1318 18 \usepackage[nottoc,numbib]{tocbibind} % 'References' in TOC
nickjillings@1318 19
nickjillings@1318 20 \graphicspath{{img/}} % Relative path where the images are stored.
nickjillings@1318 21
nickjillings@1318 22 \title{Instructions for \\ Web Audio Evaluation Tool}
nickjillings@1318 23 \author{Nicholas Jillings, Brecht De Man and David Moffat}
nickjillings@1318 24 \date{7 December 2015} % Activate to display a given date or no date
nickjillings@1318 25
nickjillings@1318 26 \begin{document}
nickjillings@1318 27 \maketitle
nickjillings@1318 28
nickjillings@1318 29 These instructions are about use of the Web Audio Evaluation Tool on Windows and Mac OS X platforms.
nickjillings@1318 30
nickjillings@1318 31 We request that you acknowledge the authors and cite our work when using it \cite{waet}, see also CITING.txt.
nickjillings@1318 32
nickjillings@1318 33 The tool is available in its entirety including source code on \url{https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/projects/webaudioevaluationtool/}, under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (\url{http://choosealicense.com/licenses/gpl-3.0/}), see also LICENSE.txt.
nickjillings@1318 34
nickjillings@1318 35 % TO DO: Linux (Android, iOS)
nickjillings@1318 36
nickjillings@1318 37 \tableofcontents
nickjillings@1318 38
nickjillings@1318 39 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 40
nickjillings@1318 41 \section{Installation}
nickjillings@1318 42 Download the folder (\url{https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/hg/webaudioevaluationtool/archive/tip.zip}) and unzip in a location of your choice, or pull the source code from \url{https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/hg/webaudioevaluationtool} (Mercurial).
nickjillings@1318 43
nickjillings@1318 44 \subsection{Contents}
nickjillings@1318 45 The folder should contain the following elements: \\
nickjillings@1318 46
nickjillings@1318 47 \textbf{Main folder:}
nickjillings@1318 48 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 49 \item \texttt{analyse.html}: analysis and diagnostics of a set of result XML files
nickjillings@1363 50 \item \texttt{core.css, graphics.css, structure.css}: core style files (edit to change appearance)
nickjillings@1318 51 \item \texttt{CITING.txt, LICENSE.txt, README.txt}: text files with, respectively, the citation which we ask to include in any work where this tool or any portion thereof is used, modified or otherwise; the license under which the software is shared; and a general readme file referring to these instructions.
nickjillings@1318 52 \item \texttt{core.js}: JavaScript file with core functionality
nickjillings@1318 53 \item \texttt{index.html}: webpage where interface should appear (includes link to test configuration XML)
nickjillings@1318 54 \item \texttt{jquery-2.1.4.js}: jQuery JavaScript Library
nickjillings@1318 55 \item \texttt{loudness.js}: Allows for automatic calculation of loudness of Web Audio API Buffer objects, return gain values to correct for a target loudness or match loudness between multiple objects
nickjillings@1318 56 \item \texttt{pythonServer.py}: webserver for running tests locally
nickjillings@1318 57 \item \texttt{pythonServer-legacy.py}: webserver with limited functionality (no automatic storing of output XML files)
nickjillings@1318 58 \item \texttt{save.php}: PHP script to store result XML files to web server\\
nickjillings@1318 59 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 60 \textbf{Documentation (./docs/)}
nickjillings@1318 61 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 62 \item \href{http://c4dm.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/dmrn/events/dmrnp10/#posters}{DMRN+10}: PDF and \LaTeX source of poster for 10\textsuperscript{th} Digital Music Research Network One-Day workshop (``soft launch'')
nickjillings@1318 63 \item Instructions: PDF and \LaTeX source of these instructions
nickjillings@1318 64 \item Project Specification Document (\LaTeX/PDF)
nickjillings@1318 65 \item Results Specification Document (\LaTeX/PDF)
nickjillings@1318 66 \item SMC15: PDF and \LaTeX source of 12th Sound and Music Computing Conference paper \cite{waet}
nickjillings@1318 67 \item WAC2016: PDF and \LaTeX source of 2nd Web Audio Conference paper\\
nickjillings@1318 68 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 69 \textbf{Example project (./example\_eval/)}
nickjillings@1318 70 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 71 \item An example of what the set up XML should look like, with example audio files 0.wav-10.wav which are short recordings at 44.1kHz, 16bit of a woman saying the corresponding number (useful for testing randomisation and general familiarisation with the interface).\\
nickjillings@1318 72 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 73 \textbf{Interface files (./interfaces/}
nickjillings@1363 74 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 75 \item Each interface class has a JavaScript file and an optional CSS style file. These are loaded as needed.
nickjillings@1363 76 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 77
nickjillings@1318 78 \textbf{Output files (./saves/)}
nickjillings@1318 79 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 80 \item The output XML files of tests will be stored here by default by the \texttt{pythonServer.py} script.\\
nickjillings@1318 81 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 82 \textbf{Auxiliary scripts (./scripts/)}
nickjillings@1318 83 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 84 \item Helpful Python scripts for extraction and visualisation of data.\\
nickjillings@1318 85 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 86 \textbf{Test creation tool (./test\_create/)}
nickjillings@1318 87 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 88 \item Webpage for easily setting up your own test without having to delve into the XML.\\
nickjillings@1318 89 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 90
nickjillings@1318 91 \subsection{Compatibility}
nickjillings@1318 92 As Microsoft Internet Explorer doesn't support the Web Audio API\footnote{\url{http://caniuse.com/\#feat=audio-api}}, you will need another browser like Google Chrome, Safari or Firefox (all three are tested and confirmed to work).
nickjillings@1318 93
nickjillings@1318 94 Firefox does not currently support other bit depths than 8 or 16 bit for PCM wave files. In the future, this will throw a warning message to tell the user that their content is being quantised automatically. %Nick? Right? To be removed if and when actually implemented
nickjillings@1318 95
nickjillings@1318 96 The tool is platform-independent and works in any browser that supports the Web Audio API. It does not require any specific, proprietary software. However, in case the tool is hosted locally (i.e. you are not hosting it on an actual webserver) you will need Python (2.7), which is a free programming language - see the next paragraph.
nickjillings@1318 97
nickjillings@1318 98 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 99
nickjillings@1318 100
nickjillings@1318 101 \section{Test setup}
nickjillings@1318 102
nickjillings@1318 103 \subsection{Sample rate}
nickjillings@1318 104 Depending on how the experiment is set up, audio is resampled automatically (the Web Audio default) or the sample rate is enforced. In the latter case, you will need to make sure that the sample rate of the system is equal to the sample rate of these audio files. For this reason, all audio files in the experiment will have to have the same sample rate.
nickjillings@1318 105
nickjillings@1318 106 Always make sure that all other digital equipment in the playback chain (clock, audio interface, digital-to-analog converter, ...) is set to this same sample rate.
nickjillings@1318 107
nickjillings@1318 108 Note that upon changing the sampling rate, the browser will have to be restarted for the change to take effect.
nickjillings@1318 109
nickjillings@1318 110 \subsubsection{Mac OS X}
nickjillings@1318 111 To change the sample rate in Mac OS X, go to \textbf{Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup} or find this application with Spotlight (see Figure \ref{fig:audiomidisetup}). Then select the output of the audio interface you are using and change the `Format' to the appropriate number. Also make sure the bit depth and channel count are as desired.
nickjillings@1318 112 If you are using an external audio interface, you may have to go to the preference pane of that device to change the sample rate.
nickjillings@1318 113
nickjillings@1318 114 Also make sure left and right channel gains are equal, as some applications alter this without changing it back, leading to a predominantly louder left or right channel. See Figure \ref{fig:audiomidisetup} for an example where the channel gains are different.
nickjillings@1318 115
nickjillings@1318 116 \begin{figure}[tb]
nickjillings@1318 117 \centering
nickjillings@1318 118 \includegraphics[width=.65\textwidth]{img/audiomidisetup.png}
nickjillings@1318 119 \caption{The Audio MIDI Setup window in Mac OS X}
nickjillings@1318 120 \label{fig:audiomidisetup}
nickjillings@1318 121 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1318 122
nickjillings@1318 123 \subsubsection{Windows}
nickjillings@1318 124 To change the sample rate in Windows, right-click on the speaker icon in the lower-right corner of your desktop and choose `Playback devices'. Right-click the appropriate playback device and click `Properties'. Click the `Advanced' tab and verify or change the sample rate under `Default Format'. % NEEDS CONFIRMATION
nickjillings@1318 125 If you are using an external audio interface, you may have to go to the preference pane of that device to change the sample rate.
nickjillings@1318 126
nickjillings@1318 127 \subsection{Local test}
nickjillings@1318 128 If the test is hosted locally, you will need to run the local webserver provided with this tool.
nickjillings@1318 129
nickjillings@1318 130 \subsubsection{Mac OS X \& Linux}
nickjillings@1318 131
nickjillings@1318 132 On Mac OS X, Python comes preinstalled, as with most Unix/Linux distributions.
nickjillings@1318 133
nickjillings@1318 134 Open the Terminal (find it in \textbf{Applications/Terminal} or via Spotlight), and go to the folder you downloaded. To do this, type \texttt{cd [folder]}, where \texttt{[folder]} is the folder where to find the \texttt{pythonServer.py} script you downloaded. For instance, if the location is \texttt{/Users/John/Documents/test/}, then type
nickjillings@1318 135
nickjillings@1318 136 \texttt{cd /Users/John/Documents/test/}
nickjillings@1318 137
nickjillings@1318 138 Then hit enter and run the Python script by typing
nickjillings@1318 139
nickjillings@1318 140 \texttt{python pythonServer.py}
nickjillings@1318 141
nickjillings@1318 142 and hit enter again. See also Figure \ref{fig:terminal}.
nickjillings@1318 143
nickjillings@1318 144 \begin{figure}[htbp]
nickjillings@1318 145 \begin{center}
nickjillings@1318 146 \includegraphics[width=.75\textwidth]{pythonServer.png}
nickjillings@1318 147 \caption{Mac OS X: The Terminal window after going to the right folder (\texttt{cd [folder\_path]}) and running \texttt{pythonServer.py}.}
nickjillings@1318 148 \label{fig:terminal}
nickjillings@1318 149 \end{center}
nickjillings@1318 150 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1318 151
nickjillings@1318 152 Alternatively, you can simply type \texttt{python} (follwed by a space) and drag the file into the Terminal window from Finder. % DOESN'T WORK YET
nickjillings@1318 153
nickjillings@1318 154 You can leave this running throughout the different experiments (i.e. leave the Terminal open). Once running the terminal will report the current URL to type into your browser to initiate the test, usually this is http://localhost:8000/.
nickjillings@1318 155
nickjillings@1318 156 To start the test, open the browser and type
nickjillings@1318 157
nickjillings@1318 158 \texttt{localhost:8000}
nickjillings@1318 159
nickjillings@1318 160 and hit enter. The test should start (see Figure \ref{fig:test}).
nickjillings@1318 161
nickjillings@1318 162 To quit the server, either close the terminal window or press Ctrl+C on your keyboard to forcibly shut the server.
nickjillings@1318 163
nickjillings@1318 164 \subsubsection{Windows}
nickjillings@1318 165
nickjillings@1318 166 On Windows, Python 2.7 is not generally preinstalled and therefore has to be downloaded\footnote{\url{https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/}} and installed to be able to run scripts such as the local webserver, necessary if the tool is hosted locally.
nickjillings@1318 167
nickjillings@1318 168 Simply double click the Python script \texttt{pythonServer.py} in the folder you downloaded.
nickjillings@1318 169
nickjillings@1318 170 You may see a warning like the one in Figure \ref{fig:warning}. Click `Allow access'.
nickjillings@1318 171
nickjillings@1318 172 \begin{figure}[htbp]
nickjillings@1318 173 \begin{center}
nickjillings@1318 174 \includegraphics[width=.6\textwidth]{warning.png}
nickjillings@1318 175 \caption{Windows: Potential warning message when executing \texttt{pythonServer.py}.}
nickjillings@1318 176 \label{fig:warning}
nickjillings@1318 177 \end{center}
nickjillings@1318 178 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1318 179
nickjillings@1318 180 The process should now start, in the Command prompt that opens - see Figure \ref{fig:python}.
nickjillings@1318 181
nickjillings@1318 182 \begin{figure}[htbp]
nickjillings@1318 183 \begin{center}
nickjillings@1318 184 \includegraphics[width=.75\textwidth]{python.png}
nickjillings@1318 185 \caption{Windows: The Command Prompt after running \texttt{pythonServer.py} and opening the corresponding website.}
nickjillings@1318 186 \label{fig:python}
nickjillings@1318 187 \end{center}
nickjillings@1318 188 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1318 189
nickjillings@1318 190 You can leave this running throughout the different experiments (i.e. leave the Command Prompt open).
nickjillings@1318 191
nickjillings@1318 192 To start the test, open the browser and type
nickjillings@1318 193
nickjillings@1318 194 \texttt{localhost:8000}
nickjillings@1318 195
nickjillings@1318 196 and hit enter. The test should start (see Figure \ref{fig:test}).
nickjillings@1318 197
nickjillings@1318 198 \begin{figure}[htb]
nickjillings@1318 199 \begin{center}
nickjillings@1318 200 \includegraphics[width=.8\textwidth]{test.png}
nickjillings@1318 201 \caption{The start of the test in Google Chrome on Windows 7.}
nickjillings@1318 202 \label{fig:test}
nickjillings@1318 203 \end{center}
nickjillings@1318 204 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1318 205
nickjillings@1318 206 If at any point in the test the participant reports weird behaviour or an error of some kind, or the test needs to be interrupted, please notify the experimenter and/or refer to Section \ref{sec:troubleshooting}.
nickjillings@1318 207
nickjillings@1318 208 When the test is over (the subject should see a message to that effect, and click `Submit' one last time), the output XML file containing all collected data should have appeared in `saves/'. The names of these files are `test-0.xml', `test-1.xml', etc., in ascending order. The Terminal or Command prompt running the local web server will display the following file name. If such a file did not appear, please again refer to Section \ref{sec:troubleshooting}.
nickjillings@1318 209
nickjillings@1318 210 It is advised that you back up these results as often as possible, as a loss of this data means that the time and effort spent by the subject(s) has been in vain. Save the results to an external or network drive, and/or send them to the experimenter regularly.
nickjillings@1318 211
nickjillings@1318 212 To start the test again for a new participant, you do not need to close the browser or shut down the Terminal or Command Prompt. Simply refresh the page or go to \texttt{localhost:8000} again.
nickjillings@1318 213
nickjillings@1318 214
nickjillings@1318 215 \subsection{Remote test}
nickjillings@1318 216 Put all files on a web server which supports PHP. This allows the `save.php' script to store the XML result files in the `saves/' folder. If the web server is not able to store the XML file there at the end of the test, it will present the XML file locally to the user, as a `Save file' link.
nickjillings@1318 217
nickjillings@1318 218 Make sure the \texttt{projectReturn} attribute of the \texttt{setup} node is set to the \texttt{save.php} script.
nickjillings@1318 219
nickjillings@1318 220 Then, just go to the URL of the corresponding HTML file, e.g. \texttt{http://server.com/path/to/WAET/index.html?url=test/my-test.xml}. If storing on the server doesn't work at submission (e.g. if the \texttt{projectReturn} attribute isn't properly set), the result XML file will be presented to the subject on the client side, as a `Save file' link.
nickjillings@1318 221
nickjillings@1363 222 \subsection{Load a test / Multiple test documents}
nickjillings@1318 223 By default the index page will load a demo page of tests. To automatically load a test document, you need to append the location in the URL. If your URL is normally http://localhost:8000/index.html you would append the following: \texttt{?url=/path/to/your/test.xml}. Replace the fields with your actual path, the path is local to the running directory, so if you have your test in the directory \texttt{example\_eval} called \texttt{project.xml} you would append \texttt{?url=/example\_eval/project.xml}.
nickjillings@1318 224
nickjillings@1318 225 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 226
nickjillings@1318 227 \section{Interfaces}
nickjillings@1318 228
nickjillings@1318 229 The Web Audio Evaluation Tool comes with a number of interface styles, each of which can be customised extensively, either by configuring them differently using the many optional features, or by modifying the JavaScript files.
nickjillings@1318 230
nickjillings@1363 231 To set the interface style for the whole test, set the attribute of the \texttt{setup} node to \texttt{interface="APE"}, where \texttt{"APE"} is one of the interface names below.
nickjillings@1318 232
nickjillings@1318 233 \subsection{APE}
nickjillings@1318 234 The APE interface is based on \cite{ape}, and consists of one or more axes, each corresponding with an attribute to be rated, on which markers are placed. As such, it is a multiple stimulus interface where (for each dimension or attribute) all elements are on one axis so that they can be maximally compared against each other, as opposed to rated individually or with regards to a single reference.
nickjillings@1318 235 It also contains an optional text box for each element, to allow for clarification by the subject, tagging, and so on.
nickjillings@1318 236
nickjillings@1318 237 \subsection{MUSHRA}
nickjillings@1363 238 This is a straightforward implementation of \cite{mushra}, especially common for the rating of audio quality, for instance for the evaluation of audio codecs. This can also operate any vertical slider style test and does not necessarily have to match the MUSHRA specification.
nickjillings@1363 239
nickjillings@1363 240 \subsection{AB}
nickjillings@1363 241 Performs a pairwise comparison, but supports ABX and n-way comparison (in the example we demonstrate it performing a 7-way comparison).
nickjillings@1363 242
nickjillings@1363 243 \subsection{discrete/Likert}
nickjillings@1363 244 Each audio element is given a discrete set of values based on the number of slider options specified. For instance, Likert specifies 5 values and therefore each audio element must be one of those 5 values.
nickjillings@1363 245
nickjillings@1363 246 \subsection{ACR/CCR/DCR/horizontal}
nickjillings@1363 247 Creates the same interfaces as MUSHRA except the sliders are horizontal, not vertical.
nickjillings@1318 248
nickjillings@1318 249
nickjillings@1318 250 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 251
nickjillings@1363 252 \section{Project XML}
nickjillings@1363 253
nickjillings@1363 254 Each test is defined by its project XML file, examples of these can be seen in the ./example\_eval/ directory.
nickjillings@1363 255
nickjillings@1363 256 In the XML there are several nodes which must be defined:
nickjillings@1363 257 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 258 \item \texttt{<waet>}: The root node.
nickjillings@1363 259 \item \texttt{<setup>}: The first child node, defines whole-test parameters
nickjillings@1363 260 \item \texttt{<page>}: Specifies a test page, attached \emph{after} the \texttt{<setup>}.
nickjillings@1363 261 \item \texttt{<audioelement>}: Specifies an audio element.
nickjillings@1363 262 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 263
nickjillings@1363 264 The test uses XML validation, so the ordering of nodes is important to pass this validation. Some nodes also have specific attributes which must be set and may even have a certain format to apply them. This is done so error checking can be performed both quickly and succintly with easy to find errors before loading and running a test session.
nickjillings@1363 265
nickjillings@1363 266 Before identifying any features, this part will walk you through the available nodes, their function and their attributes.
nickjillings@1363 267
nickjillings@1363 268 \subsection{Root}
nickjillings@1363 269 The root node is \texttt{<waet>}, it must have the following attributes:
nickjillings@1363 270
nickjillings@1363 271 \texttt{xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"}
nickjillings@1363 272
nickjillings@1363 273 \texttt{xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="test-schema.xsd"}.
nickjillings@1363 274
nickjillings@1363 275 This will ensure it is checked against the XML schema for validation.
nickjillings@1363 276
nickjillings@1363 277 \subsection{Set up}
nickjillings@1363 278 The first child node, \texttt{<setup>} specifies any one time and global parameters. It takes the following attributes:
nickjillings@1363 279 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 280 \item \texttt{interface}: String, mandatory, specifies the interface to load
nickjillings@1363 281 \item \texttt{projectReturn}: URL, mandatory, specifies the return point. Can be a 3rd party server or the local server. Set to null to disable automatic saving. Specifying "save.php" will trigger the return if either the PHP or python servers are used. On error, it will always default to presenting the save on page.
nickjillings@1363 282 \item \texttt{randomiseOrder}: Boolean, optional, if true it will randomise the order of the test pages. Default is false.
nickjillings@1363 283 \item \texttt{testPages}: non-negative integer, optional. Specifies the number of test pages to actually test with. Combined with randomiseOrder being true will give a random set of test pages per participant from the given pool of \texttt{<page>} nodes. Specifying 0 disables this option, default is 0.
nickjillings@1363 284 \item \texttt{loudness}: non-positive integer, optional. Set the default LUFS target value. See \ref{sec:loudness} for more.
nickjillings@1363 285 \item \texttt{sampleRate}: positive integer, optional. If set, the sample rate reported by the Web Audio API must match this number. See \ref{sec:samplerate}.
nickjillings@1363 286 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 287
nickjillings@1363 288 The \texttt{<setup>} node takes the following child nodes, note these must appear in this order:
nickjillings@1363 289 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 290 \item \texttt{<survey>}: Min of 0, max of 2 occurences. See \ref{sec:survey}
nickjillings@1363 291 \item \texttt{<metric>}: Must appear only once.
nickjillings@1363 292 \item \texttt{<interface>}: Must appear only once.
nickjillings@1363 293 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 294
nickjillings@1363 295 \subsection{Page}
nickjillings@1365 296 \label{sec:page}
nickjillings@1363 297 The only other first level child nodes, these specify the test pages. It takes the following attributes:
nickjillings@1363 298 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 299 \item \texttt{id}: ID, mandatory. A string which must be unique across the entire XML. It is used to identify the page on test completion as pages are returned in the results in the order they appeared, not specified.
nickjillings@1363 300 \item \texttt{hostURL}: URL, mandatory. Used in conjuction with the \texttt{<audioelement>} url to specify where the audio files are located. For instance if all your files are in the directory \texttt{./test/} you can set this attribute to "/test/" and the \texttt{<audioelement>} url attribute only needs to file name. Set to "" if no hostURL prefix desired.
nickjillings@1363 301 \item \texttt{randomiseOrder}: Boolean, optional. If true the audio fragments are presented randomly rather than the order specified. See \ref{sec:randomisation}. Default is false.
nickjillings@1363 302 \item \texttt{repeatCount}: non-negative integer, optional. Specify the number of times to repeat the test page (re-present). Each presentation will appear as an individual page in the results. Default is 0.
nickjillings@1363 303 \item \texttt{loop}: Boolean, optional. If true, the audio elements will loop synchronously with each other. See \ref{sec:looping}. Default is false.
nickjillings@1363 304 \item \texttt{showElementComments}: Boolean, optional. If true then there will be a comment box on the test page for each audio element presented, see \ref{sec:commentboxes}.
nickjillings@1363 305 \item \texttt{loudness}: non-positive integer, optional. Set the LUFS target value for this page. Supersedes the \texttt{<setup>} loudness attribute for this page. See \ref{sec:loudness} for more.
nickjillings@1363 306 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 307
nickjillings@1363 308 The \texttt{<page>} node takes the following child, nodes note these must appear in this order:
nickjillings@1363 309 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 310 \item \texttt{<title>}: Appear once or not at all. The text content of this node specifies the title of the test page, for instance \texttt{<title>John Doe's Test</title>}
nickjillings@1363 311 \item \texttt{<commentboxprefix}: Appear once or not at all. The text content specifies the prefix of the comment boxes, see \ref{sec:commentboxes}.
nickjillings@1363 312 \item \texttt{<interface>}: Must appear only once.
nickjillings@1363 313 \item \texttt{<audioelement>}: Minimum of one. Specifies an audio element, see \ref{sec:audioelement}.
nickjillings@1365 314 \item \texttt{<commentquestion>}: Min of 0, max unlimited occurences. See \ref{sec:commentboxes}.
nickjillings@1363 315 \item \texttt{<survey>}: Min of 0, max of 2 occurences. See \ref{sec:survey}
nickjillings@1363 316 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 317
nickjillings@1363 318 \subsection{Survey}
nickjillings@1363 319 \label{sec:survey}
nickjillings@1363 320 These specify any survey items to be presented. The must be a maximum of two of these per \texttt{<setup>} and \texttt{<page>} nodes. These have one attribute, location, which must be set to one of the following: before, pre, after or post. In this case before == pre and after == post. This specifies where the survey must appear before or after the node it is associated with. When a child of \texttt{<setup>} then pre/before will be shown before the first test page and after/post shown after completing the last test page. When a child of \texttt{<page>} then pre/before is before the test commences and after/post is once the test has been submitted.
nickjillings@1363 321
nickjillings@1363 322 The survey node takes as its only set of childs the \texttt{<surveyentry>} node of which there can be any number.
nickjillings@1363 323
nickjillings@1363 324 \subsubsection{Survey Entry}
nickjillings@1363 325 These nodes have the following attributes, which vary depending on the survey type wanted:
nickjillings@1363 326 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 327 \item \texttt{id}: ID, mandatory. Must be unique across the entire XML, used to identify the response in the results.
nickjillings@1363 328 \item \texttt{type}: String, mandatory. Must be one of the following: statement, question, checkbox, radio or number. This defines the type to show.
nickjillings@1363 329 \item \texttt{mandatory}: Boolean, optional. Defines if the survey must have a response or not. Does not apply to statements. Default is false.
nickjillings@1363 330 \item \texttt{min}: Number, optional. Only applies when \texttt{type="number"}, the minimum valid response.
nickjillings@1363 331 \item \texttt{max}: Number, optional. Only applies when \texttt{type="number"}, the maximum valid response.
nickjillings@1363 332 \item \texttt{boxsize}: String, optional. Only applies when \texttt{type="question"} and must be one of the following: normal (default), small, large or huge.
nickjillings@1363 333 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 334
nickjillings@1363 335 The nodes have the following children, which vary depending on the survey type wanted.
nickjillings@1363 336 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 337 \item \texttt{<statement>}: Must appear only once. Its text content specifies the text to appear as the statement or question for the user to respond to.
nickjillings@1363 338 \item \texttt{<option>}: Only valid if the parent node has the attribute \texttt{type} set to checkbox or radio. Has attribute \texttt{name} to identify the selected option in the results. The text content is the text to show next to the radio/checkbox.
nickjillings@1363 339 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 340
nickjillings@1363 341 \subsection{Interface}
nickjillings@1363 342 This node specifies any interface specific options and test parameters. It has an optional \texttt{name} attribute used to set the axis name (where applicable), such as the multi-axis APE interface. Specifying multiple interface nodes in a \texttt{<page>} node will trigger multiple axis where applicable, otherwise only the \emph{first node} will be used and the rest ignored.
nickjillings@1363 343
nickjillings@1363 344 The node has the following children, note the order these must appear in is as follows:
nickjillings@1363 345 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 346 \item \texttt{title}: Min 0, max 1 occurence. The text content specifies the name of the axis as shown to the user.
nickjillings@1363 347 \item \texttt{interfaceoption}: Min 0, max unbounded. Specifies the interface options. See \ref{sec:interfaceoption}.
nickjillings@1363 348 \item \texttt{scales}: Min 0, max 1 occurence. Contains \texttt{<scalelable>} nodes which define the displayed scales. See \ref{sec:scales}.
nickjillings@1363 349 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 350
nickjillings@1363 351 \subsection{Audio Element}
nickjillings@1363 352 \label{sec:audioelement}
nickjillings@1363 353 Appear as children of the \texttt{page} node. Each of these specify an individual interface fragment to display. Multiple fragments can reference the same file (allowing for repetition with different parameters or blind-doubles). The node has the following attributes:
nickjillings@1363 354 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 355 \item \texttt{id}: ID, mandatory. Must be unique across the test page. Used to identify the specific fragment in the results.
nickjillings@1363 356 \item \texttt{url}: URL, mandatory. Used with the parent \texttt{page} nodes' \texttt{hostURL} attribute to get the full url of the audio file to load.
nickjillings@1363 357 \item \texttt{gain}: Float, optional. Specify the gain in decibels to apply to the node after loudness normalisation. Default is 0.
nickjillings@1363 358 \item \texttt{type}: String, optional. Must be one of the following: normal (default when not specified), anchor, reference or outside-reference. Normal, anchor and reference are presented as normal, outside-reference presents the node as a separate interface option.
nickjillings@1363 359 \item \texttt{marker}: Integer between 0 and 100, optional. Only used when \texttt{type="anchor"|"reference"}. See \ref{sec:referencesandanchors}.
nickjillings@1363 360 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 361
nickjillings@1363 362
nickjillings@1318 363 \section{Features}
nickjillings@1318 364
nickjillings@1318 365 This section covers the different features implemented in the Web Audio Evaluation Tool, how to use them, and what to know about them.
nickjillings@1318 366
nickjillings@1318 367 Unless otherwise specified, \emph{each} feature described here is optional, i.e. it can be enabled or disabled and adjusted to some extent.
nickjillings@1318 368
nickjillings@1363 369 As the example project showcases (nearly) all of these features, please refer to its configuration XML document for a demonstration of how to enable and adjust them.
nickjillings@1318 370
nickjillings@1363 371 \subsection{Interface options}
nickjillings@1363 372 The interface node has children of interface options which are used to specify modifications to the test environment. These are divided into two catagories: check and show. Check are used to specify conditions which must be met before a page can be completed, these include checking all fragments have been played or checking all fragments have a comment and so on. Show is used to show an optional on page element or control, such as the playhead or master volume.
nickjillings@1363 373
nickjillings@1363 374 Check items have the attribute "type" set to "check". The following list gives the string to give the "name" attribute along with a description of the check.
nickjillings@1363 375 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 376 \item \texttt{fragmentPlayed}: Checks that all fragments have been at least partially played
nickjillings@1363 377 \item \texttt{fragmentFullPlayback}: Checks that all fragments have been fully played. \emph{NOTE:} This will always clear if the page is looping as it is not possible to know every sample has been played.
nickjillings@1363 378 \item \texttt{fragmentMoved}: Checks that all fragments have been moved. This is interface dependent, for instance on AB this will always clear as there is no movement.
nickjillings@1363 379 \item \texttt{fragmentComments}: Cheks that all fragments have a comment. Will clear if there are no on page comments but with a console warning.
nickjillings@1363 380 \item \texttt{scalerange}: Has two extra attributes "min" and "max". Checks that at least one element is below the min value and one element is above the max value.
nickjillings@1363 381 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 382
nickjillings@1363 383 Show items have the attribute "type" set to "show". The following list gives the string to give the "name" attribute along with a description.
nickjillings@1363 384 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1363 385 \item \texttt{playhead}: Shows the playhead to the end user indicating where in the file they are currently listening
nickjillings@1363 386 \item \texttt{page-count}: Shows the current test page number and the total number of test pages.
nickjillings@1363 387 \item \texttt{volume}: Shows a master volume control to the user to manipulate the output gain of the page. This is tracked.
nickjillings@1363 388 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 389
nickjillings@1318 390 \subsubsection{Multiple scales}
nickjillings@1318 391 In the case of multiple rating scales, e.g. when the stimuli are to be rated in terms of attributes `timbre' and `spatial impression', multiple interface nodes will have to be added, each specifying the title and annotations.
nickjillings@1318 392
nickjillings@1318 393 This is where the \texttt{interface}'s \texttt{name} attribute is particularly important: use this to retrieve the rating values, comments and metrics associated with the specified interface.
nickjillings@1318 394 If none is given, you can still use the automatically given \texttt{interface-id}, which is the interface number starting with 0 and corresponding to the order in which the rating scales appear.
nickjillings@1318 395
nickjillings@1318 396 \subsection{Randomisation}
nickjillings@1363 397 \label{sec:randomisation}
nickjillings@1318 398 [WORK IN PROGRESS]
nickjillings@1318 399
nickjillings@1318 400 \subsubsection{Randomisation of configuration XML files}
nickjillings@1363 401 The python server has a special function to automatically cycle through a list of test pages. Instead of directly requesting an XML, simply setting the url item in the browser URL to \texttt{pseudo.xml} will cycle through a list of XMLs. These XMLs must be in the local directory called \texttt{./pseudo/}.
nickjillings@1318 402 % how to
nickjillings@1318 403 % explain how this is implemented in the pythonServer
nickjillings@1318 404 %Nick? already implemented in the PHP?
nickjillings@1318 405 % Needs to be implemented in PHP and automated better, will complete soon
nickjillings@1318 406
nickjillings@1318 407
nickjillings@1318 408 \subsubsection{Randomsation of page order}
nickjillings@1318 409 The page order randomisation is set by the \texttt{<setup>} node attribute \texttt{randomise-order}, for example \texttt{<setup ... randomise-order="true">...</setup>} will randomise the test page order. When not set, the default is to \textbf{not} randomise the test page order.
nickjillings@1318 410
nickjillings@1318 411 \subsubsection{Randomisation of axis order}
nickjillings@1318 412
nickjillings@1318 413 \subsubsection{Randomisation of fragment order}
nickjillings@1318 414 The audio fragment randomisation is set by the \texttt{<audioholder>} node attribute \texttt{randomise-order}, for example \texttt{<audioholder ... randomise-order="true">...</audioholder>} will randomise the test page order. When not set, the default is to \textbf{not} randomise the test page order.
nickjillings@1318 415
nickjillings@1318 416 \subsubsection{Randomisation of initial slider position}
nickjillings@1318 417 By default slider values are randomised on start. The MUSHRA interface supports setting the initial values of all sliders throught the \texttt{<audioholder>} attribute \texttt{initial-position}. This takes an integer between 0 and 100 to signify the slider position.
nickjillings@1318 418 % /subsubsection{Randomisation of survey question order}
nickjillings@1318 419 % should be an attribute of the individual 'pretest' and 'posttest' elements
nickjillings@1318 420 % uncomment once we have it
nickjillings@1318 421
nickjillings@1318 422 \subsection{Looping}
nickjillings@1363 423 \label{sec:looping}
nickjillings@1363 424 Looping enables the fragments to loop until stopped by the user. Looping is synchronous so all fragments start at the same time on each loop.
nickjillings@1363 425 Individual test pages can have their playback looped by the \texttt{<page>} attribute \texttt{loop} with a value of "true" or "false".
nickjillings@1318 426 If the fragments are not of equal length initially, they are padded with zeros so that they are equal length, to enable looping without the fragments going out of sync relative to each other.
nickjillings@1318 427
nickjillings@1363 428 Note that fragments cannot be played until all page fragments are loaded when in looped mode, as the engine needs to know the length of each fragment to calculate the padding.
nickjillings@1318 429
nickjillings@1318 430 \subsection{Sample rate}
nickjillings@1363 431 \label{sec:samplerate}
nickjillings@1363 432 If you require the test to be conducted at a certain sample rate (i.e. you do not tolerate resampling of the elements to correspond with the system's sample rate), add \texttt{sampleRate="96000"} - where ``96000'' can be any support sample rate (in Hz) - so that a warning message is shown alerting the subject that their system's sample rate is different from this enforced sample rate. This is checked immediately after parsing and stops the page loading any other elements if this check has failed.
nickjillings@1318 433
nickjillings@1318 434 \subsection{Metrics}
nickjillings@1318 435 The \texttt{Metric} node, which contains the metrics to be tracked during the complete test, is a child of the \texttt{setup} node, and it could look as follows.
nickjillings@1318 436
nickjillings@1318 437 \begin{lstlisting}
nickjillings@1318 438 <Metric>
nickjillings@1318 439 <metricEnable>testTimer</metricEnable>
nickjillings@1318 440 <metricEnable>elementTimer</metricEnable>
nickjillings@1318 441 <metricEnable>elementInitialPosition</metricEnable>
nickjillings@1318 442 <metricEnable>elementTracker</metricEnable>
nickjillings@1318 443 <metricEnable>elementFlagListenedTo</metricEnable>
nickjillings@1318 444 <metricEnable>elementFlagMoved</metricEnable>
nickjillings@1318 445 <metricEnable>elementListenTracker</metricEnable>
nickjillings@1318 446 </Metric>
nickjillings@1318 447 \end{lstlisting}
nickjillings@1318 448
nickjillings@1365 449 When in doubt, err on the inclusive side, as one never knows which information is needed in the future. Most of these metrics are necessary for post-processing scripts such as timeline\_view\_movement.py. % Brecht: should perhaps list somewhere what metrics are required for which analysis scripts.
nickjillings@1318 450
nickjillings@1318 451 \subsubsection{Time test duration}
nickjillings@1318 452 \texttt{testTimer}\\
nickjillings@1318 453 One per test page. Presents the total test time from the first playback on the test page to the submission of the test page (exculding test time of the pre-/post- test surveys). This is presented in the results as \texttt{<metricresult id="testTime"> 8.60299319727892 </metricresult>}. The time is in seconds.
nickjillings@1318 454
nickjillings@1318 455 \subsubsection{Time fragment playback}
nickjillings@1318 456 \texttt{elementTimer}\\
nickjillings@1318 457 One per audio fragment per test page. This totals up the entire time the audio fragment has been listened to in this test and presented \texttt{<metricresult name="enableElementTimer"> 1.0042630385487428 </metricresult>}. The time is in seconds.
nickjillings@1318 458
nickjillings@1318 459 \subsubsection{Initial positions}
nickjillings@1318 460 \texttt{elementInitialPosition}\\
nickjillings@1318 461 One per audio fragment per test page. Tracks the initial position of the sliders, especially relevant when these are randomised. Example result \texttt{<metricresult name="elementInitialPosition"> 0.8395522388059702 </metricresult>}.
nickjillings@1318 462
nickjillings@1318 463 \subsubsection{Track movements}
nickjillings@1318 464 \texttt{elementTracker}\\
nickjillings@1318 465 One per audio fragment per test page. Tracks the movement of each interface object. Each movement event has the time it occured at and the new value.
nickjillings@1318 466 \subsubsection{Which fragments listened to}
nickjillings@1318 467 \texttt{elementFlagListenedTo}\\
nickjillings@1318 468 One per audio fragment per test page. Boolean response, set to true if listened to.
nickjillings@1318 469 \subsubsection{Which fragments moved}
nickjillings@1318 470 \texttt{elementFlagMoved}\\
nickjillings@1318 471 One per audio fragment per test page. Binary check whether or not a the marker corresponding with a particular fragment was moved at all throughout the experiment.
nickjillings@1318 472
nickjillings@1318 473 \subsubsection{elementListenTracker}
nickjillings@1318 474 \texttt{elementListenTracker}\\
nickjillings@1318 475 One per audio fragment per test page. Tracks the playback events of each audio element pairing both the time in the test when playback started and when it stopped, it also gives the buffertime positions.
nickjillings@1318 476
nickjillings@1318 477 \subsection{References and anchors}
nickjillings@1363 478 \label{sec:referencesandanchors}
nickjillings@1318 479 The audio elements, \texttt{<audioelement>} have the attribute \texttt{type}, which defaults to normal. Setting this to one of the following will have the following effects.
nickjillings@1318 480 \subsubsection{Outside Reference}
nickjillings@1318 481 Set type to 'outside-reference'. This will place the object in a separate playback element clearly labelled as an outside reference. This is exempt of any movement checks but will still be included in any listening checks.
nickjillings@1318 482 \subsubsection{Hidden reference}
nickjillings@1318 483 Set type to 'reference'. The element will still be randomised as normal (if selected) and presented to the user. However the element will have the 'reference' type in the results to quickly find it. The reference can be forced to be below a value before completing the test page by setting the attribute 'marker' to be a value between 0 and 100 representing the integer value position it must be equal to or above.
nickjillings@1318 484 \subsubsection{Hidden anchor}
nickjillings@1318 485 Set type to 'anchor'. The element will still be randomised as normal (if selected) and presented to the user. However the element will have the 'anchor' type in the results to quickly find it. The anchor can be forced to be below a value before completing the test page by setting the attribute 'marker' to be a value between 0 and 100 representing the integer value position it must be equal to or below.
nickjillings@1318 486
nickjillings@1318 487 \subsection{Checks}
nickjillings@1318 488 \label{sec:checks}
nickjillings@1318 489
nickjillings@1318 490 %blabla
nickjillings@1318 491 These checks are enabled in the \texttt{interface} node, which is a child of the \texttt{setup} node.
nickjillings@1318 492 \subsubsection{Playback checks}
nickjillings@1318 493 % what it does/is
nickjillings@1318 494 Enforce playing each sample at least once, for at least a little bit (e.g. this test is satisfied even if you only play a tiny portion of the file), by alerting the user to which samples have not been played upon clicking `Submit'. When enabled, one cannot proceed to the next page, answer a survey question, or finish the test, before clicking each sample at least once.
nickjillings@1318 495 % how to enable/disable
nickjillings@1318 496
nickjillings@1318 497 Alternatively, one can check whether the \emph{entire} fragment was listened to at least once.
nickjillings@1318 498 % how to enable
nickjillings@1318 499
nickjillings@1318 500 Add \texttt{<check name="fragmentPlayed"/>} to the \texttt{interface} node.
nickjillings@1318 501
nickjillings@1318 502
nickjillings@1318 503 \subsubsection{Movement check}
nickjillings@1318 504 Enforce moving each sample at least once, for at least a little bit (e.g. this test is satisfied even if you only play a tiny portion of the file), by alerting the user to which samples have not been played upon clicking `Submit'. When enabled, one cannot proceed to the next page, answer a survey question, or finish the test, before clicking each sample at least once.
nickjillings@1318 505 If there are several axes, the warning will specify which samples have to be moved on which axis.
nickjillings@1318 506
nickjillings@1318 507 Add \texttt{<check name="fragmentMoved"/>} to the \texttt{interface} node.
nickjillings@1318 508
nickjillings@1318 509 \subsubsection{Comment check}
nickjillings@1318 510 % How to enable/disable?
nickjillings@1318 511
nickjillings@1318 512 Enforce commenting, by alerting the user to which samples have not been commented on upon clicking `Submit'. When enabled, one cannot proceed to the next page, answer a survey question, or finish the test, before putting at least one character in each comment box.
nickjillings@1318 513
nickjillings@1318 514 Note that this does not apply to any extra (text, radio button, checkbox) elements, unless these have the `mandatory' option enabled. %Nick? is this extra 'mandatory' option implemented?
nickjillings@1318 515
nickjillings@1318 516 Add \texttt{<check name="fragmentComments"/>} to the \texttt{interface} node.
nickjillings@1318 517
nickjillings@1318 518 %ADD: how to add a custom comment box
nickjillings@1318 519
nickjillings@1318 520 \subsubsection{Scale use check}
nickjillings@1318 521 It is possible to enforce a certain usage of the scale, meaning that at least one slider needs to be below and/or above a certain percentage of the slider.
nickjillings@1318 522
nickjillings@1318 523 Add \texttt{<check name="scalerange" min="25" max="75"/>} to the \texttt{interface} node.
nickjillings@1318 524
nickjillings@1318 525 \subsubsection{Note on the use of multiple rating axes}
nickjillings@1318 526 I.e. what if more than one axis? How to specify which axis the checks relate to? %Nick? to add?
nickjillings@1318 527
nickjillings@1318 528 \subsection{Platform information}
nickjillings@1318 529 % what does it do, what does it look like
nickjillings@1318 530 % limitations?
nickjillings@1318 531 For troubleshooting and usage statistics purposes, information about the browser and the operating system is logged in the results XML file. This is especially useful in the case of remote tests, when it is not certain which operating system, browser and/or browser were used. Note that this information is not always available and/or accurate, e.g. when the subject has taken steps to be more anonymous, so it should be treated as a guide only.
nickjillings@1318 532
nickjillings@1318 533 Example:
nickjillings@1318 534 \begin{lstlisting}
nickjillings@1318 535 <navigator>
nickjillings@1318 536 <platform>MacIntel</platform>
nickjillings@1318 537 <vendor>Google Inc.</vendor>
nickjillings@1363 538 <uagent>Mozilla/5.0 ... </uagent>
nickjillings@1365 539 <screen innerHeight="1900px" innerWidth="1920px"/>
nickjillings@1318 540 </navigator>
nickjillings@1318 541 \end{lstlisting}
nickjillings@1318 542
nickjillings@1318 543 \subsection{Gain}
nickjillings@1318 544 It is possible to set the gain (in decibel) applied to the different audioelements, as an attribute of the \texttt{audioelement} nodes in the configuration XML file:
nickjillings@1318 545
nickjillings@1318 546 \texttt{<audioElements url="sample-01.wav" gain="-6" id="sample01quieter" />}\\
nickjillings@1365 547 Please note, there are no checks on this to detect if accidentaly typed in linear. This gain is applied \emph{after} any loudness normalisation.
nickjillings@1318 548
nickjillings@1318 549 \subsection{Loudness}
nickjillings@1363 550 \label{sec:loudness}
nickjillings@1318 551 % automatic loudness equalisation
nickjillings@1318 552 % guide to loudness.js
nickjillings@1363 553 Each audio fragment on loading has its loudness calculated. The tool uses the EBU R 128 recommendation following the ITU-R BS.1770-4 loduness calculations to return the integreated LUFS loudness. The attribute \texttt{loudness} will set the loudness from the scope it is applied in. Applying it in the \texttt{<setup>} node will set the loudness for all test pages. Applying it in the \texttt{<page>} node will set the loudness for that page. Applying it in the \texttt{<audioelement>} node will set the loudness for that fragment. The scope is set locally, so if there is a loudness on both the \texttt{<page>} and \texttt{<setup>} nodes, that test page will take the value associated with the \texttt{<page>}. The loudness attribute is set in LUFS
nickjillings@1365 554
nickjillings@1365 555 \subsection{Comment Boxes}
nickjillings@1365 556 \label{sec:commentboxes}
nickjillings@1365 557 There are two types of comment boxes which can be presented, those linked to the audio fragments on the page and those which pose a general question. The audio fragment boxes are shown by setting the attribute \texttt{showElementComments} to true of the page in question. This will then show a comment box below the main interface for every fragment on the page. There is some customisation around the text that accompanies the box, by default the text will read "Comment on fragment " followed by the fragment identifier (the number / letter shown by the interface). This 'prefix' can be modified using the page node \texttt{<commentboxprefix>}, see \ref{sec:page} for where to place this node in the document. The comment box prefix node takes no attribute and the text contained by the node represents to the prefix. For instance if we have a node \texttt{<commentboxprefix> Describe fragment </commentboxprefix>}, then the interface will show "Describe fragment " followed by the identifier.
nickjillings@1365 558
nickjillings@1365 559 The second type of comment box is slightly more complex because it can handle different types of response data. These are called comment questions because they are located in the comment section of the test but pose a specific question.
nickjillings@1318 560
nickjillings@1318 561 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 562
nickjillings@1318 563
nickjillings@1318 564 \section{Using the test create tool}
nickjillings@1318 565 We provide a test creation tool, available in the directory test\_create. This tool is a self-contained web page, so doubling clicking will launch the page in your system default browser.
nickjillings@1318 566
nickjillings@1318 567 The test creation tool can help you build a simple test very quickly. By simply selecting your interface and clicking check-boxes you can build a test in minutes.
nickjillings@1318 568
nickjillings@1318 569 Include audio by dragging and dropping the stimuli you wish to include.
nickjillings@1318 570
nickjillings@1318 571 The tool examines your XML before exporting to ensure you do not export an invalid XML structure which would crash the test.
nickjillings@1318 572
nickjillings@1318 573 This guide will help you to construct your own interface on top of the WAET (Web Audio Evaluation Tool) engine. The WAET engine resides in the core.js file, this contains prototype objects to handle most of the test creation, operation and data collection. The interface simply has to link into this at the correct points.
nickjillings@1318 574
nickjillings@1318 575 \section{Building your own interface}
nickjillings@1318 576
nickjillings@1318 577 \subsection{Nodes to familiarise}
nickjillings@1318 578 Core.js handles several very important nodes which you should become familiar with. The first is the Audio Engine, initialised and stored in variable `AudioEngineContext'. This handles the playback of the web audio nodes as well as storing the `AudioObjects'. The `AudioObjects' are custom nodes which hold the audio fragments for playback. These nodes also have a link to two interface objects, the comment box if enabled and the interface providing the ranking. On creation of an `AudioObject' the interface link will be nulled, it is up to the interface to link these correctly.
nickjillings@1318 579
nickjillings@1318 580 The specification document will be decoded and parsed into an object called `specification'. This will hold all of the specifications various nodes. The test pages and any pre/post test objects are processed by a test state which will proceed through the test when called to by the interface. Any checks (such as playback or movement checks) are to be completed by the interface before instructing the test state to proceed. The test state will call the interface on each page load with the page specification node.
nickjillings@1318 581
nickjillings@1318 582 \subsection{Modifying \texttt{core.js}}
nickjillings@1318 583 Whilst there is very little code actually needed, you do need to instruct core.js to load your interface file when called for from a specification node. There is a function called `loadProjectSpecCallback' which handles the decoding of the specification and setting any external items (such as metric collection). At the very end of this function there is an if statement, add to this list with your interface string to link to the source. There is an example in there for both the APE and MUSHRA tests already included. Note: Any updates to core.js in future work will most likely overwrite your changes to this file, so remember to check your interface is still here after any update that interferes with core.js.
nickjillings@1318 584 Any further files can be loaded here as well, such as css styling files. jQuery is already included.
nickjillings@1318 585
nickjillings@1318 586 \subsection{Building the Interface}
nickjillings@1318 587 Your interface file will get loaded automatically when the `interface' attribute of the setup node matches the string in the `loadProjectSpecCallback' function. The following functions must be defined in your interface file.
nickjillings@1318 588 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 589 \item \texttt{loadInterface} - Called once when the document is parsed. This creates any necessary bindings, such as to the metric collection classes and any check commands. Here you can also start the structure for your test such as placing in any common nodes (such as the title and empty divs to drop content into later).
nickjillings@1318 590 \item \texttt{loadTest(audioHolderObject)} - Called for each page load. The audioHolderObject contains a specification node holding effectively one of the audioHolder nodes.
nickjillings@1318 591 \item \texttt{resizeWindow(event)} - Handle for any window resizing. Simply scale your interface accordingly. This function must be here, but can me an empty function call.
nickjillings@1318 592 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 593
nickjillings@1318 594 \subsubsection{loadInterface}
nickjillings@1318 595 This function is called by the interface once the document has been parsed since some browsers may parse files asynchronously. The best method is simply to put `loadInterface()' at the top of your interface file, therefore when the JavaScript engine is ready the function is called.
nickjillings@1318 596
nickjillings@1318 597 By default the HTML file has an element with id ``topLevelBody'' where you can build your interface. Make sure you blank the contents of that object. This function is the perfect time to build any fixed items, such as the page title, session titles, interface buttons (Start, Stop, Submit) and any holding and structure elements for later on.
nickjillings@1318 598
nickjillings@1318 599 At the end of the function, insert these two function calls: testState.initialise() and testState.advanceState();. This will actually begin the test sequence, including the pre-test options (if any are included in the specification document).
nickjillings@1318 600
nickjillings@1318 601 \subsubsection{loadTest(audioHolderObject)}
nickjillings@1318 602 This function is called on each new test page. It is this functions job to clear out the previous test and set up the new page. Use the function audioEngineContext.newTestPage(); to instruct the audio engine to prepare for a new page. ``audioEngineContext.audioObjects = [];'' will delete any audioObjects, interfaceContext.deleteCommentBoxes(); will delete any comment boxes and interfaceContext.deleteCommentQuestions(); will delete any extra comment boxes specified by commentQuestion nodes.
nickjillings@1318 603
nickjillings@1318 604 This function will need to instruct the audio engine to build each fragment. Just passing the constructor each element from the audioHolderObject will build the track, audioEngineContext.newTrack(element) (where element is the audioHolderObject audio element). This will return a reference to the constructed audioObject. Decoding of the audio will happen asynchronously.
nickjillings@1318 605
nickjillings@1318 606 You also need to link audioObject.interfaceDOM with your interface object for that audioObject. The interfaceDOM object has a few default methods. Firstly it must start disabled and become enabled once the audioObject has decoded the audio (function call: enable()). Next it must have a function exportXMLDOM(), this will return the xml node for your interface, however the default is for it to return a value node, with textContent equal to the normalised value. You can perform other functions, but our scripts may not work if something different is specified (as it will breach our results specifications). Finally it must also have a method getValue, which returns the normalised value.
nickjillings@1318 607
nickjillings@1318 608 It is also the job the interfaceDOM to call any metric collection functions necessary, however some functions may be better placed outside (for example, the APE interface uses drag and drop, therefore the best way was to call the metric functions from the dragEnd function, which is called when the interface object is dropped). Metrics based upon listening are handled by the audioObject. The interfaceDOM object must manage any movement metrics. For a list of valid metrics and their behaviours, look at the project specification document included in the repository/docs location. The same goes for any checks required when pressing the submit button, or any other method to proceed the test state.
nickjillings@1318 609
nickjillings@1318 610 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 611 \section{Analysis and diagnostics}
nickjillings@1318 612 \subsection{In the browser}
nickjillings@1318 613 See `analysis.html' in the main folder: immediate visualisation of (by default) all results in the `saves/' folder.
nickjillings@1318 614
nickjillings@1318 615 \subsection{Python scripts}
nickjillings@1318 616 The package includes Python (2.7) scripts (in `scripts/') to extract ratings and comments, generate visualisations of ratings and timelines, and produce a fully fledged report.
nickjillings@1318 617
nickjillings@1318 618 Visualisation requires the free matplotlib toolbox (http://matplotlib.org), numpy and scipy.
nickjillings@1318 619 By default, the scripts can be run from the `scripts' folder, with the result files in the `saves' folder (the default location where result XMLs are stored). Each script takes the XML file folder as an argument, along with other arguments in some cases.
nickjillings@1318 620 Note: to avoid all kinds of problems, please avoid using spaces in file and folder names (this may work on some systems, but others don't like it).
nickjillings@1318 621
nickjillings@1318 622 \subsubsection{comment\_parser.py}
nickjillings@1318 623 Extracts comments from the output XML files corresponding with the different subjects found in `saves/'. It creates a folder per `audioholder'/page it finds, and stores a CSV file with comments for every `audioelement'/fragment within these respective `audioholders'/pages. In this CSV file, every line corresponds with a subject/output XML file. Depending on the settings, the first column containing the name of the corresponding XML file can be omitted (for anonymisation).
nickjillings@1318 624 Beware of Excel: sometimes the UTF-8 is not properly imported, leading to problems with special characters in the comments (particularly cumbersome for foreign languages).
nickjillings@1318 625
nickjillings@1318 626 \subsubsection{evaluation\_stats.py}
nickjillings@1318 627 Shows a few statistics of tests in the `saves/' folder so far, mainly for checking for errors. Shows the number of files that are there, the audioholder IDs that were tested (and how many of each separate ID), the duration of each page, the duration of each complete test, the average duration per page, and the average duration in function of the page number.
nickjillings@1318 628
nickjillings@1318 629 \subsubsection{generate\_report.py}
nickjillings@1318 630 Similar to `evaluation\_stats.py', but generates a PDF report based on the output files in the `saves/' folder - or any folder specified as command line argument. Uses pdflatex to write a LaTeX document, then convert to a PDF.
nickjillings@1318 631
nickjillings@1318 632 \subsubsection{score\_parser.py}
nickjillings@1318 633 Extracts rating values from the XML to CSV - necessary for running visualisation of ratings. Creates the folder `saves/ratings/' if not yet created, to which it writes a separate file for every `audioholder'/page in any of the output XMLs it finds in `saves/'. Within each file, rows represent different subjects (output XML file names) and columns represent different `audioelements'/fragments.
nickjillings@1318 634
nickjillings@1318 635 \subsubsection{score\_plot.py}
nickjillings@1318 636 Plots the ratings as stored in the CSVs created by score\_parser.py
nickjillings@1318 637 Depending on the settings, it displays and/or saves (in `saves/ratings/') a boxplot, confidence interval plot, scatter plot, or a combination of the aforementioned.
nickjillings@1318 638 Requires the free matplotlib library.
nickjillings@1318 639 At this point, more than one subjects are needed for this script to work.
nickjillings@1318 640
nickjillings@1318 641 \subsubsection{timeline\_view\_movement.py}
nickjillings@1318 642 Creates a timeline for every subject, for every `audioholder'/page, corresponding with any of the output XML files found in `saves/'. It shows the marker movements of the different fragments, along with when each fragment was played (red regions). Automatically takes fragment names, rating axis title, rating axis labels, and audioholder name from the XML file (if available).
nickjillings@1318 643
nickjillings@1318 644 \subsubsection{timeline\_view.py} % should be omitted or absorbed by the above soon
nickjillings@1318 645 Creates a timeline for every subject, for every `audioholder'/page, corresponding with any of the output XML files found in `saves/'. It shows when and for how long the subject listened to each of the fragments.
nickjillings@1318 646
nickjillings@1318 647
nickjillings@1318 648
nickjillings@1318 649 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 650 \section{Troubleshooting} \label{sec:troubleshooting}
nickjillings@1318 651 \subsection{Reporting bugs and requesting features}
nickjillings@1318 652 Thanks to feedback from using the interface in experiments by the authors and others, many bugs have been caught and fatal crashes due to the interface seem to be a thing of the past entirely.
nickjillings@1318 653
nickjillings@1318 654 We continually develop this tool to fix issues and implement features useful to us or our user base. See \url{https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/projects/webaudioevaluationtool/issues} for a list of feature requests and bug reports, and their status.
nickjillings@1318 655
nickjillings@1318 656 Please contact the authors if you experience any bugs, if you would like additional functionality, if you spot any errors or gaps in the documentation, if you have questions about using the interface, or if you would like to give any feedback (even positive!) about the interface. We look forward to learning how the tool has (not) been useful to you.
nickjillings@1318 657
nickjillings@1318 658
nickjillings@1318 659 \subsection{First aid}
nickjillings@1318 660 Meanwhile, if things do go wrong or the test needs to be interrupted for whatever reason, all data is not lost. In a normal scenario, the test needs to be completed until the end (the final `Submit'), at which point the output XML is stored in the \texttt{saves/}. If this stage is not reached, open the JavaScript Console (see below for how to find it) and type
nickjillings@1318 661
nickjillings@1318 662 \texttt{createProjectSave()}
nickjillings@1318 663
nickjillings@1318 664 to present the result XML file on the client side, or
nickjillings@1318 665
nickjillings@1318 666 \texttt{createProjectSave(specification.projectReturn)}
nickjillings@1318 667
nickjillings@1318 668 to try to store it to the specified location, e.g. the `saves/' folder on the web server or the local machine (on failure the result XML should be presented directly in the web browser instead)
nickjillings@1318 669
nickjillings@1318 670 and hit enter. This will open a pop-up window with a hyperlink that reads `Save File'; click it and an XML file with results until that point should be stored in your download folder.
nickjillings@1318 671
nickjillings@1318 672 Alternatively, a lot of data can be read from the same console, in which the tool prints a lot of debug information. Specifically:
nickjillings@1318 673 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 674 \item the randomisation of pages and fragments are logged;
nickjillings@1318 675 \item any time a slider is played, its ID and the time stamp (in seconds since the start of the test) are displayed;
nickjillings@1318 676 \item any time a slider is dragged and dropped, the location where it is dropped including the time stamp are shown;
nickjillings@1318 677 \item any comments and pre- or post-test questions and their answers are logged as well.
nickjillings@1318 678 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 679
nickjillings@1318 680 You can select all this and save into a text file, so that none of this data is lost. You may to choose to do this even when a test was successful as an extra precaution.
nickjillings@1318 681
nickjillings@1318 682 If you encounter any issue which you believe to be caused by any aspect of the tool, and/or which the documentation does not mention, please do let us know!
nickjillings@1318 683
nickjillings@1318 684 \subsubsection*{Opening the JavaScript Console}
nickjillings@1318 685 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 686 \item In Google Chrome, the JavaScript Console can be found in \textbf{View$>$Developer$>$JavaScript Console}, or via the keyboard shortcut Cmd + Alt + J (Mac OS X).
nickjillings@1318 687 \item In Safari, the JavaScript Console can be found in \textbf{Develop$>$Show Error Console}, or via the keyboard shortcut Cmd + Alt + C (Mac OS X). Note that for the Developer menu to be visible, you have to go to Preferences (Cmd + ,) and enable `Show Develop menu in menu bar' in the `Advanced' tab. \textbf{Note that as long as the Developer menu is not visible, nothing is logged to the console, i.e. you will only be able to see diagnostic information from when you switched on the Developer tools onwards.}
nickjillings@1318 688 \item In Firefox, go to \textbf{Tools$>$Web Developer$>$Web Console}, or hit Cmd + Alt + K.
nickjillings@1318 689 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 690
nickjillings@1318 691 \subsection{Known issues and limitations}
nickjillings@1318 692 \label{sec:knownissues}
nickjillings@1318 693
nickjillings@1318 694 The following is a non-exhaustive list of problems and limitations you may experience using this tool, due to not being supported yet by us, or by the Web Audio API and/or (some) browsers.
nickjillings@1318 695
nickjillings@1318 696 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 697 \item Issue \href{https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/issues/1463}{\textbf{\#1463}}: \textbf{Firefox} only supports 8 bit and 16 bit WAV files. Pending automatic requantisation (which deteriorates the audio signal's dynamic range to some extent), WAV format stimuli need to adhere to these limitations in order for the test to be compatible with Firefox.
nickjillings@1318 698 \item Issues \href{https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/issues/1474}{\textbf{\#1474}} and \href{https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/issues/1462}{\textbf{\#1462}}: On occasions, audio is not working - or only a continuous `beep' can be heard - notably in \textbf{Safari}. Refreshing, quitting the browser and even enabling Developer tools in Safari's Preferences pane (`Advanced' tab: ``Show `Develop' menu in menu bar'') has helped resolve this. If no (high quality) audio can be heard, make sure your entire playback system's settings are all correct.
nickjillings@1318 699 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 700
nickjillings@1318 701 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 702 \bibliographystyle{ieeetr}
nickjillings@1318 703 \bibliography{Instructions}{}
nickjillings@1318 704
nickjillings@1318 705
nickjillings@1318 706 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 707 \appendix
nickjillings@1318 708
nickjillings@1318 709 \section{Legacy}
nickjillings@1318 710 The APE interface and most of the functionality of the first WAET editions are inspired by the APE toolbox for MATLAB \cite{ape}. See \url{https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/projects/ape} for the source code and \url{http://brechtdeman.com/publications/aes136.pdf} for the corresponding paper.
nickjillings@1318 711
nickjillings@1318 712 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 713
nickjillings@1318 714 \section{Listening test instructions example}
nickjillings@1318 715
nickjillings@1318 716 Before each test, show the instructions below or similar and make sure it is available to the subject throughout the test. Make sure to ask whether the participant has any questions upon seeing and/or reading the instructions.
nickjillings@1318 717
nickjillings@1318 718 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 719 \item You will be asked for your name (``John Smith'') and location (room identifier).
nickjillings@1318 720 \item An interface will appear, where you are asked to
nickjillings@1318 721 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 722 \item click green markers to play the different mixes;
nickjillings@1318 723 \item drag the markers on a scale to reflect your preference for the mixes;
nickjillings@1318 724 \item comment on these mixes, using text boxes with corresponding numbers (in your \textbf{native language});
nickjillings@1318 725 \item optionally comment on all mixes together, or on the song, in `General comments'.
nickjillings@1318 726 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 727 \item You are asked for your personal, honest opinion. Feel free to use the full range of the scale to convey your opinion of the various mixes. Don?t be afraid to be harsh and direct.
nickjillings@1318 728 \item The markers appear at random positions at first (which means some markers may hide behind others).
nickjillings@1318 729 \item The interface can take a few seconds to start playback, but switching between mixes should be instantaneous.
nickjillings@1318 730 \item This is a research experiment, so please forgive us if things go wrong. Let us know immediately and we will fix it or restart the test.
nickjillings@1318 731 \item When the test is finished (after all songs have been evaluated), just call the experimenter, do NOT close the window.
nickjillings@1318 732 \item After the test, please fill out our survey about your background, experience and feedback on the test.
nickjillings@1318 733 \item By participating, you consent to us using all collected data for research. Unless asked explicitly, all data will be anonymised when shared.
nickjillings@1318 734 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 735
nickjillings@1318 736 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 737
nickjillings@1318 738 \section{Terminology} % just to keep track of what exactly we call things. Don't use terms that are too different, to avoid confusion.
nickjillings@1318 739 As a guide to better understand the Instructions, and to expand them later, here is a list of terms that may be unclear or ambiguous unless properly defined.
nickjillings@1318 740 \begin{description}
nickjillings@1318 741 \item[Subject] The word we use for a participant, user, ... of the test, i.e. not the experimenter who designs the test but the person who evaluates the audio under test as part of an experiment (or the preparation of one).
nickjillings@1318 742 \item[User] The person who uses the tool to configure, run and analyse the test - i.e. the experimenter, most likely a researcher - or at least
nickjillings@1318 743 \item[Page] A screen in a test; corresponds with an \texttt{audioholder}
nickjillings@1318 744 \item[Fragment] An element, stimulus or sample in a test; corresponds with an \texttt{audioelement}
nickjillings@1318 745 \item[Test] A complete test which can consist of several pages; corresponds with an entire configuration XML file
nickjillings@1318 746 \item[Configuration XML file] The XML file containing the necessary information on interface, samples, survey questions, configurations, ... which the JavaScript modules read to produce the desired test.
nickjillings@1318 747 \item[Results XML file] The output of a successful test, including ratings, comments, survey responses, timing information, and the complete configuration XML file with which the test was generated in the first place.
nickjillings@1318 748 \end{description}
nickjillings@1318 749
nickjillings@1318 750 \clearpage
nickjillings@1318 751
nickjillings@1318 752 \setcounter{secnumdepth}{0} % don't number this last bit
nickjillings@1318 753 \section{Contact details} % maybe add web pages, Twitter accounts, whatever you like
nickjillings@1318 754 \label{sec:contact}
nickjillings@1318 755
nickjillings@1318 756 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 757 \item Nicholas Jillings: \texttt{nicholas.jillings@mail.bcu.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1318 758 \item Brecht De Man: \texttt{b.deman@qmul.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1318 759 \item David Moffat: \texttt{d.j.moffat@qmul.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1318 760 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 761
nickjillings@1318 762 \end{document}