Learn how to use RealEye.io - Online Research Platform with Webcam Eye-Tracking

Beata Lewandowska
Written by Beata Lewandowska

Connecting study with external tool (i.e. a survey)


RealEye provides you an option to conduct the study using an external tool (i.e., a survey) and participants (because you won’t be able to use RealEye panelists with an external survey, and you’ll have to invite your own ones). After checking this option in study settings you’ll be able to put the redirect links.

To connect a survey and test results with a participant, you will need to modify your test recruitment link to pass in the variables you want to track. You can add custom variables to your recruitment link using a ? (question mark) and join multiple variables using an & (ampersand), as shown below.

In the presented example, to a test link, two variables were added: user and company ID. This allows you to track who completed your test and match it with your survey while exporting data.

HINT: If you pass a variable called "realeye-tester-external_id" - the value of this variable will be visible on heatmaps dashboards next to tester demographic data.

HINT2: If you don't want (or can't) use the mini-survey at the end of the study (ask participants about a name, gender, and age), you can add additional variables "realeye-tester-age" and "realeye-tester-gender" (i.e., provided by your panel) and they will also be visible on study dashboard next to participant demographic data. 


Example:

While creating a study, you need to enable the external tool integration and put the redirect URL to your survey in the "Finish URL:" field, i.e., www.finishurl.com


Note 1: This should be a general link without any variables added to it (RealEye will add those parameters automatically for each participant).

Other fields are:

  • Skip test URL: if you put a "skip test" link, participants will be able to reject taking part in the study by clicking the "I don't want to participate in this test" button that redirects them to your "skip" link. (This feature can be disabled by un-checking the "Let participant skip the test" option, but it's a beta feature, that we need to apply to your account to activate it.)

  • Quota full URL: if the study is already full (all participant slots are taken), the next participants will be redirected to this link.
  • Screen out URL: this link will redirect participants when they use the wrong device.


Using those links, you can flag participants - if they did the eye-tracking part of your study or not and why.

If you left one of these fields empty, then this particular redirect trigger will be disabled.


Once you have your study created, you can get the participation link, i.e., https://www.realeye.io/test/172d467f-b8bf-45e4-b11a-d2f24f788d12/

Add "?" at the end and your variables - let's say realeye-tester-external_id and name (if you put it in a survey, you need to make sure that it adds those variables to the general participation link). You'll receive: https://www.realeye.io/test/172d467f-b8bf-45e4-b11a-d2f24f788d12/?realeye-tester-external_id=12345&name=adam

On the results, you'll see:

And your participant will be redirected to the URL (to continue the example): www.finishurl.com/?realeye-tester-external_id=12345&name=adam

This is how the variables are saved.


We also pass the participant's Id, and results' quality (as a parameter realeye-tester-quality_grade) added to the finished URL in your study (if you are using the external tool option). As mentioned, it's being attached to the finished URL, if your finished URL is:

https://mysurvey.com/survey78900/

then after the test, participants will be redirected to:

https://mysurvey.com/survey78900?realeye-tester-id=9a5f48a8-0fd4-4fce-b3b0-50c54a68adf1&realeye-tester-quality_grade=5

In case you pass your own parameters as well (i.e., participant Id and name), then the result link will be:

https://mysurvey.com/survey78900?realeye-tester-id=9a5f48a8-0fd4-4fce-b3b0-50c54a68adf1&realeye-tester-quality_grade=5&realeye-tester-external_id=12345&name=adam


See how it works on Qualtrics example.


We also recommend the following content for participants' instructions:


In this study we'll ask you to participate in eye-tracking session using your webcam. Please:

  • use a desktop device like a laptop/PC/Mac(book), [of course, this doesn't apply to studies with Smartphones or Tablets allowed]
  • use Chrome web browser,
  • make sure you have a good quality, working webcam plugged in,
  • make a webcam very steady and below your eyes level,
  • make sure you're in good lighting conditions - the light source is in front of you and illuminates your face evenly,
  • don't rush through the calibration process,
  • if you wear glasses, make sure there are no reflections on them,
  • try to keep your head still during the whole test,
  • if you're using a laptop, make sure it's plugged in.
  • (for website testing) please, share your screen or browser window (NOT a tab) when asked.

We value your privacy. We don't store any image or sound. We use your camera only to calculate eyes position.

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