Mission Statement

• “To improve the research methods used by those involved in computerized experimentation and investigation within the behavioural and brain sciences.”

Company Profile
Founded by Dr Richard R. Plant in 2003, The Black Box Toolkit Ltd is dedicated to improving the methods used by researchers in the behavioural and brain sciences. We provide hardware, software and consultancy solutions across a wide range of fields that make use of computerized investigation in order to make this a reality.

Dr Richard R. Plant Chief Software Architect Engineering Partner BSc (Hons) Special Psychology PhD Psychology BPS Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) Science Council Chartered Scientist (CSci) BPS Associate Fellow (AFBPsS) Consulting editor for BRM specializing in computer-based research methods BSc (Hons) in Computing BSc in Mathematics & Physics HNC in Electronics

Company History
Dr Richard R. Plant founded the Black Box Toolkit Ltd in 2003. This was the fruition of over four years work that began in 1999 when it became evident that researchers were having problems obtaining stable results in computer-based paradigms. Investigation revealed that stability and replication issues affected many paradigms to a greater or lesser extent. In 2000, our research group based at the University of York, UK was awarded a £150,000 grant by The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to construct a set of agreed benchmarks and associated hardware that could be used to test the timing accuracy leading experiment generators. This project became known as the “Experimental Timing Standard Laboratory” (ETSL). The outcomes showed that there were marked sources of presentation and response timing error that had previously gone unnoticed and that these could statistically affect results.

However, it was quickly realized that by merely testing software in our lab this did not reflect what researchers were doing with their own equipment and paradigms. In fact, it is now a well-documented fact that timing varies and interacts with the individual hardware used. Thus making it hard to single out one experiment generator, or platform, over another. What was needed was an inexpensive kit that enables researchers to quickly and easily check their own paradigms, in-situ and without modification. To this end, we have spent over three years developing and refining the Black Box Toolkit.

Our hope is that members of the academic community will begin to take presentation and response timing issues more seriously and will endeavour to correct any errors in their own work. Furthermore, figures for timing reliability should be stated within published journal articles as a matter of course. We also hope that awareness of the issues involved should be incorporated into degree teaching.
 

The Black Box Toolkit is a Limited Company registered in England. No: 04997193
UK VAT number: 828 9996 45