Pavlovia Export Guide

Overview

PRISM can export survey/questionnaire data to PsychoPy/Pavlovia format, enabling you to run your validated questionnaires as online experiments on Pavlovia.org.

Why Export to Pavlovia?

  • Online Data Collection: Host questionnaires on Pavlovia for remote participants

  • Integration with Experiments: Combine surveys with cognitive tasks in PsychoPy

  • Advanced Features: Reaction times, randomization, conditional logic

  • Data Management: Automatic data saving to Pavlovia servers or OSF

Architecture

From PRISM to Pavlovia

PRISM Survey JSON
    ↓
pavlovia.py converter
    ↓
PsychoPy .psyexp + conditions.csv
    ↓
PsychoPy Builder/Pavlovia
    ↓
Online Experiment

What Gets Converted

PRISM Feature

Pavlovia Component

Questions

Form components or Text + Slider

Levels (answer options)

Choice lists / Scale parameters

Items (array subquestions)

Loop + spreadsheet conditions

Condition (relevance)

Code components with if-statements

Position.GroupOrder

Routines in Flow

Mandatory

Validation in code component

Usage

Basic Conversion

# Convert single questionnaire
python src/converters/pavlovia.py task-bdi_beh.json

# Output: task-bdi/task-bdi.psyexp

With Customization

# Specify output directory and experiment name
python src/converters/pavlovia.py \
    task-bdi_beh.json \
    --output ./experiments/bdi_online \
    --experiment-name "BDI-II Online"

Generated Structure

task-bdi/
├── task-bdi.psyexp          # PsychoPy experiment definition
├── task-bdi.py              # Python version (for local testing)
├── task-bdi.js              # JavaScript version (auto-generated by PsychoPy)
├── index.html               # Web hosting wrapper (auto-generated)
├── conditions.csv           # Trial/question parameters
└── README.md                # Instructions for uploading to Pavlovia

Question Type Mapping

Single Choice (Radio Buttons)

PRISM:

{
  "BDI01": {
    "Description": "Sadness",
    "Levels": {
      "0": "I do not feel sad",
      "1": "I feel sad much of the time",
      "2": "I am sad all the time",
      "3": "I am so sad or unhappy that I can't stand it"
    }
  }
}

Pavlovia: Creates a Form component with radio buttons or a Slider component with labeled ticks.

Array Questions (Multiple Items)

PRISM:

{
  "STAI": {
    "Description": "State Anxiety",
    "Items": {
      "01": {"Description": "I feel calm", "Order": 1},
      "02": {"Description": "I feel secure", "Order": 2}
    },
    "Levels": {
      "1": "Not at all",
      "2": "Somewhat", 
      "3": "Moderately so",
      "4": "Very much so"
    }
  }
}

Pavlovia: Creates a loop with conditions spreadsheet where each row = one item.

Free Text

PRISM:

{
  "COMMENTS": {
    "Description": "Any additional comments?",
    "QuestionType": "Long Free Text"
  }
}

Pavlovia: Creates a Form component with textbox.

Advanced Features

Conditional Display

PRISM:

{
  "PHQ9_10": {
    "Description": "Suicide ideation follow-up",
    "Condition": "PHQ9_09 > 0"
  }
}

Pavlovia: Generates code component that checks previous response and conditionally shows question.

Randomization

Use PRISM groups with randomization:

PRISM:

{
  "Position": {
    "Group": "BlockA",
    "RandomizeGroup": true
  }
}

Pavlovia: Creates separate loops that can be randomized in the Flow.

Limitations

Not Currently Supported

  • Complex Logic: Nested conditions (e.g., “(Q1=1 OR Q2=2) AND Q3>5”)

  • Piping: Inserting previous answers into question text

  • Question Arrays with Multiple Scales: Dual-scale arrays

  • File Uploads: Not typical in surveys

Workarounds

  1. Complex Logic: Manually edit the generated code component

  2. Piping: Use PsychoPy’s variable substitution ($variableName)

  3. Dual Scales: Create as two separate questions

Testing Before Upload

  1. Open in PsychoPy Builder:

    psychopy task-bdi.psyexp

  2. Test Locally: Click the green “Run” button

  3. Export HTML: File → Export HTML → Check “Export to Pavlovia”

  4. Upload to Pavlovia:

    • Create project on Pavlovia.org

    • Use git or Pavlovia sync to upload files

Integration with PRISM Workflow

Typical Workflow

  1. Design in LimeSurvey or JSON Editor

  2. Convert to PRISM: python helpers/surveys/limesurvey_to_prism.py

  3. Validate: python prism.py --validate task-bdi_beh.json

  4. Export to Pavlovia: python src/converters/pavlovia.py task-bdi_beh.json

  5. Upload to Pavlovia: Via PsychoPy or git

  6. Collect Data: Participants complete online

  7. Download Data: From Pavlovia.org

  8. Convert Back to PRISM: python src/converters/pavlovia.py --import data.csv task-bdi_beh.json

Data Round-Trip

PRISM TSV/JSON → Pavlovia → Online Data → CSV Download → PRISM TSV/JSON

See Also