Abstract
<p>Online video conferencing experiments have proven advantageous for collecting data on naturalistic human social interactions, enabling effective recruitment of diverse study participants and scalability without requiring specialized facilities. However, the common practice of using ad hoc solutions for such studies poses challenges. These challenges include the time-consuming adjustment of methods for specific experiments, potential privacy risks, reduced data control when relying on cloud-based tools, the necessity of special software installations by participants, and difficult management of remote participants during the live experiments. To address these limitations, we introduce openVIMO, a software framework for creating video-based online interaction experiments built on open-source technologies. It can be deployed on a server under a researcher's control without relying on additional commercial third-party services. Concretely, it enables (1) the creation of web-based experiments and surveys involving video calls between participants, as well as (2) the remote monitoring of participants' progress throughout a study, including means for communication and intervention throughout a protocol. Moreover, openVIMO facilitates (3) collecting and storing survey and interaction data (incl. audio and video). Finally, the platform has been designed to (4) allow the staging of highly customized experimental protocols and to be dynamically expanded by the research community.</p>