oTree - An Open-Source Platform for Laboratory, Online, and Field Experiments

Chen, Daniel Li and Schonger, Martin and Wickens, Chris (2015): oTree - An Open-Source Platform for Laboratory, Online, and Field Experiments.

Abstract

oTree is an open-source and online software for implementing interactive experiments in the laboratory, online, the field or combinations thereof. oTree does not require installation of software on subjects’ devices; it can run on any device that has a web browser, be that a desktop computer, a tablet or a smartphone. Deployment can be internet-based without a shared local network, or local-network-based even without internet access. For coding, Python is used, a popular, open-source programming language. www.oTree.org provides the source code, a library of standard game templates and demo games which can be played by anyone.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: experimental economics, software, laboratory experiments, field experiments, online experiments, classroom experiments
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A2 - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics > A20 - General; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C8 - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology ; Computer Programs > C88 - Other Computer Software; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C9 - Design of Experiments > C90 - General

References

ANGERER, S., D. GL¨ATZLE-R¨U TZLER, P. LERGETPORER, AND M. SUTTER (2013): “Childrens Cooperation and Discrimination in a Bilingual Province,” Working Paper.

AXELROD, R. AND W. HAMILTON (1981): “The evolution of cooperation,” Science, 211, 1390–1396.

BARDSLEY, N., R. CUBITT, G. LOOMES, P. MOFFATT, C. STARMER, AND R. SUGDEN (2010): Experimental economics: Rethinking the rules, Princeton University Press.

BASU, K. (1994): “The Traveler’s Dilemma: Paradoxes of Rationality in Game Theory,” The American Economic Review, 84, 391–395.

BAUSCH, A. W. (2012): “Introduction to z-Tree: Day 3,” https://files.nyu.edu/awb257/public/slides/Bausch-ztreeslides3.pdf.

CARPENTER, J. P. (2005): “Endogenous Social Preferences,” Review of Radical Political Economics, 37, 63–84.

CHEN, D. AND M. SCHONGER (2014a): “Social Preferences or Sacred Values? Theory and Evidence of Deontological Motivations,” Working paper, ETH Zurich.

CHEN, D. AND M. SCHONGER (2015a): “Testing Axiomatizations of Ambiguity Aversion,” Working paper, ETH Zurich.

CHEN, D. L. (2012): “Markets and Morality: How Does Competition Affect Moral Judgment,” Working paper, Duke University School of Law.

CHEN, D. L. AND M. SCHONGER (2014b): “A Theory of Experiments: Invariance of Equilibrium to the Strategy Method and Implications for Social Preferences,”Working paper, ETH Zurich, Mimeo.

CHEN, D. AND M. SCHONGER (2015b): “Ambiguity Aversion without Asymmetric Information,” Working paper, ETH Zurich.

COHN, A., J. ENGELMANN, E. FEHR, AND M. MAR´ECHAL (2015): “Evidence for Countercyclical Risk Aversion: An Experiment with Financial Professionals,” American Economic Review, 105, 860–885.

FISCHBACHER, U. (1999): Z-Tree-Zurich Toolbox for Readymade Economic Experiments: Experimenter’s Manual, Citeseer.

FISCHBACHER, U.(2007): “z-Tree: Zurich toolbox for ready-made economic experiments,” Experimental Economics, 10, 171–178.

GELMAN, A. AND E. LOKEN (2014): “The Statistical Crisis in Science,” American Scientist, 102, 460.

GNEEZY, U. AND A. RUSTICHINI (2000): “A Fine Is a Price,” The Journal of Legal Studies, 29, 1–17.

HENRICH, J., S. J. HEINE, AND A. NORENZAYAN (2010): “The Weirdest People in the World?” Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, 61–83.

HORTON, J. J., D. G. RAND, AND R. J. ZECKHAUSER (2011): “The Online Laboratory: Conducting Experiments in a Real Labor Market,” Experimental Economics, 14, 399–425.

JANSSEN, M. A., A. LEE, T. WARING, AND D. GALAFASSI (2014): “Experimental Platforms for Behavioral Experiments on Social-Ecological Systems,” Ecology and Society, 19.

LEFF, A. AND J. T. RAYFIELD (2001): “Web-Application Development Using the Model/View/Controller Design Pattern,” in Proceedings of the 5th IEEE International Conference on Enterprise Distributed Object Computing, Washington, DC, USA: IEEE Computer Society, EDOC ’01, 118–127.

LERNER, J. AND J. TIROLE (2005): “The Economics of Technology Sharing: Open Source and Beyond,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19, 99–120.

LEVITT, S. AND J. LIST (2007): “What Do Laboratory Experiments Tell Us About the Real World?” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21, 153–174.

LEVITT, S. D. AND J. A. LIST (2009): “Field Experiments in Economics: The Past, the Present, and the Future,” European Economic Review, 53, 1–18.

LIST, J. A. AND D. LUCKING-REILEY (2000): “Demand Reduction in Multi-Unit Auctions: Evidence from a Sportscard Field Experiment,” The American Economic Review, 90, 961–972.

MASON, W. AND S. SURI (2012): “Conducting Behavioral Research on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk,” Behavior Research Methods, 44, 1–23.

MAZUR, E. (2009): “Farewell, Lecture?” Science, 323, 50–51.

PETTIT, J., D. FRIEDMAN, C. KEPHART, AND R. OPREA (2014): “Software for continuous game experiments,” Experimental Economics, 17, 631–648.

RUBINSTEIN, A. (1999): “Experience from a Course in Game Theory: Pre- and Postclass Problem Sets as a Didactic Device,” Games and Economic Behavior, 28, 155–170.

SONNENBURG, S., M. L. BRAUN, C. S. ONG, S. BENGIO, L. BOTTOU, G. HOLMES, Y. LECUNN, K.-R. MULLER, F. PEREIRA, C. E. RASMUSSEN, G. RATSCH, B. SCHOLKOPF, A. SMOLA, P. VINCENT, J. WESTON, AND R. C. WILLIAMSON (2007): “The need for open source software in machine learning,” Journal of Machine Learning Research, 8, 2443–2466.

ZIZZO, D. (2010): “Experimenter demand effects in economic experiments,” Experimental Economics, 13, 75–98.