Task Administration General Guidelines

WebCNP (CNB) Task Administration Guidelines

The main purpose of the administrator is to assure a standardized CNB administration and to secure the participant’s best performance. This does not mean the participant got all the questions right, but that the participant is trying their best throughout the entire testing session while receiving a standard administration.

Note: At minimum, you should take your project battery yourself at least 3 times. Administer it to a few friends or coworkers until you can confidently administer it to your participants. Review possible testing scenarios that you encountered or foresee in real administrations while you practice the CNB batteries. Complete your protocol’s full training procedures.

The topics below list the basic principles for a standardized CNB Administration. Follow them with every WebCNP (CNB) battery you administer.

I. Choose a Quiet and Comfortable Test Setting

Make sure that the door is closed and that there are neither noises nor people interrupting the participant’s concentration. Turn off cellular phones or tablets (both yours and the participant’s).

II. Position Yourself So as Not to Distract the Participant

Always sit slightly behind the participant, on the same side as the computer mouse, so that you can move through the CNB tasks without distracting the participant when they are taking each task. Have paper and pen at hand to take notes, which you will then enter under Test Status/Comments at the end of each CNB task. See the picture below:

In the beginning of the CNB battery, you will be logging in and typing all the demographic information, so make sure you are in front of the computer.

III. Read ALL Instructions Out Loud

You MUST read the instructions for each test to the participant EXACTLY as they appear on the computer screen, even when they are capable of doing so. You can explain this procedure to the participant before starting the first task by saying: “It is part of the study that I read the instructions out loud to you, even though you are capable of reading them yourself… This is so that the research is done in a standard way across all participants and so that you receive the same administration as everyone else.”

IV. Answering Questions About the Instructions

Paraphrasing instructions is allowed. Nevertheless, DON’T cue the participant to a better performance by giving away the answers or a strategy to take any task. Essentially, you may NOT say or confirm anything that is not stated/implied by the instructions. Therefore, NEVER tell a participant the test will be easy, how many questions there are, how similar it might be to a previous task or how long it will take unless this information is in the task’s instructions.

V. Answering Questions About Practice Trials

You may clarify the instructions to the participant during practice trials. You can confirm how the participant should respond (i.e., on the motor praxis test, you may explain that the participant needs to click on the green box once and continue to do so until the practice is over) or correct the participant if they are using the wrong response input (i.e., using the mouse incorrectly, using the spacebar when the mouse should be used or vice-versa).

Note: Do not ever tell the participant the correct response during a practice trial or test trial

VI. Do Not Read Test Items to the Participant

You must not read the test items for the participant in any task. All questions or doubts are to be resolved during the instructions prior to the beginning of the test trials. Right before the test trials begin, the participant should be the one making the preliminary mouse click or spacebar press to begin the task and you should then get in the position showed previously (diagonally behind the participant, on the mouse side), so you can take notes about the testing session without distracting the participant.

VII. Answering Questions During Test Trials

You may only answer questions the participant asks during test trials that have to do with instructions and only in between different sets of test trials. For example, in a sensory-motor skills task measuring dexterity, you may remind them which hand (dominant vs. non-dominant hand) they should use for the next trial. Another example is to clarify during an emotions rating task that the participant task is to click on the emotion they think the face on the screen is showing. Essentially, you should wait until the participant is done responding to the trial or block of trials before answering a question or you may reply as briefly as possible if there are no breaks in between test trials. In any event, never state more than what the instructions have given.

VIII. Answering Performance Questions

In the beginning of the WebCNP (CNB) administration, you can ease the participant’s anxiety towards taking The CNB by saying “Some tasks are going to be harder than others. It is like that for everyone. Just try your best in each of them”.

If the participant asks about their performance or if you realize they might be getting frustrated or tired, the standard incentive is: “We appreciate your effort” or “You are doing well. Thank you. Please just try to be as fast and as accurate as you can”.

IX. First CNB Task

One of the first CNB tasks is usually the “Motor Praxis Test”:

This task is designed to measure a participant’s sensory-motor skills as well as their ability to use the computer mouse, which is the response input tool used in almost all CNB tasks. Only a few tasks will require the participant to use the spacebar instead of the mouse to enter responses.

With this in mind, the Motor Praxis serves as a “gateway task”, allowing the administrator to know whether or not the participant will be able to do the tests in their battery. Therefore, if you are not administering the “Motor Praxis” as your first task, please make sure the participant is capable of using the computer mouse and keyboard spacebar. If a participant can’t use these controls, they should not be administered the CNB. You may help them familiarize themselves with the mouse, but once they have practiced, the participant must do this task on their own.

If a participant can’t complete the mouse practice or is not capable of controlling the mouse, all CNB tasks he or she take will likely be compromised. Therefore, the CNB battery should not be administered.

X. Standard Responses

• Do you have any questions?
• I cannot answer that, but just keep trying your best
• You are getting through the test just fine.
• You did a great job completing that.
• Try to work as accurately and quickly as you can.
• Some tests may be more frustrating than others; just keep try your best.
• Just __ more tasks until we can take a break, if you want one.