These are some of the more common questions we get about Paradigm and Paradigm Elements. If you have a question not answered here please use our question submission form.
The Paradigm experiment builder and desktop runtime are PC only. Paradigm also supports running experiments on iPhone and iPad devices via our Paradigm Mobile app but you still must build your experiment on a PC. Paradigm does not support OS X but you can use Boot Camp to run Windows on your Mac and run Paradigm from there.
We prefer the website format:
MLA Style:
"Paradigm Stimulus Presentation", Perception Research Systems, 2007. Web. [Date of Access]. http://www.paradigmexperiments.com
APA Style:
Perception Research Systems. 2007. Paradigm Stimulus Presentation,
Retrieved from http://www.paradigmexperiments.com
Yes. Paradigm users get free technical support directly from the programmers at PRS. If you have a question, please use our question submission form. Ask a question>
Yes! On our support page: Click here...
Because user forums do not allow us to provide the high level of support we want to give our customers. Our support "calls" are highly interactive and we'll typically want to test your experiment in-house to ensure it's working properly. We will often invite you to share a Dropbox with us to make collaboration easier (for uploading complete experiments with stimuli) and give you the option of speaking to us via web conference so we can demonstrate a particular feature or solution live. All of this is impossible to do through a web forum.
Yes. A license is only needed to build experiments. You can use Paradigm Player and Paradigm Mobile to run experiments without a license.
Yes. Student Web licenses are available for $99.95 and are limited to two years. Student licenses must be purchased with a credit card and a digital copy of your student ID must be submitted with the order. Order now >>
Yes. For Standard Licenses, the license follows the USB key not the computer. You can install Paradigm in as many places as you wish, as long as your USB license is connected Paradigm will run in licensed mode. Paradigm Student Web Licenses are also able to move easily. Simply log-out on your current Paradigm computer and log back in on another computer.
Paradigm isn't open source because it's a very large program and it would be difficult for us to properly manage it as an open source project.
If what you are really asking is "Why isn't Paradigm free?" that's a different question.
First, please realize that all of the free stimulus presentation
software available is being developed by tenured faculty or graduate students. For them it's a hobby subsidized by their universities.
Paradigm is our full-time job so we have to charge for it. However it's important to remember that we are not Apple or Facebook but instead
the software equivalent of the coffee shop down the street or the restaurant around the corner. We are a "local" small business and
we hope you will be just as enthusiastic about supporting us as you would any other local shop in your neighborhood.
Second, charging allows us to provide you with many services and features you simply cannot get from "open source" alternatives
including: frequent backwards-compatible updates, fanatical one-on-one support and cutting-edge features like E-Consent, E-mail Results, mobile experiments, drag and drop EEG/TMS triggers,
Dropbox integration, and Paradigm Player.
We know that budgets are tight but consider that stimulus presentation software sits at the heart of your lab. It has an enourmous impact on the quality of your data
and the ease with which that data can be collected. This is one area of your research where it's worthwhile to make an investment in the best tool available.
Paradigm is better and it's worth it.
No. All of Paradigm's features are available in demo mode. When you buy a license you will not have to reinstall Paradigm from a disc or change your experiments in any way.
Just add a Send Results event to the end of your experiment timeline and specify your e-mail address in its event properties. See Paradigm Help in Paradigm's "Help" menu for more details.
The most common reason for movies failing to play in Paradigm is a missing codec. Codecs are small pieces
of software that Paradigm uses to render your movie file. Paradigm relies on Windows to provide codecs
for it to use and if the codec your movie file needs is missing it will not play. The easiest way to fix
this problem is to download a "codec pack" that installs a large number of codecs on your computer. A codec pack will
typically include your missing codec. We recommend you start by installing the following "K-Lite
Standard" codec pack:
Download K-Lite Codec Pack
We'd also like to note that just because a movie plays in Window's Media Player or another movie player
does not mean it will play in Paradigm (without the proper codec). Paradigm uses a different movie playback system
than most "media players" due to its timing accuracy requirements.
Paradigm Desktop and Paradigm Player:
Paradigm Mobile:
Yes. Early timing tests indicate temporal accuracy is equivalent to Windows 8.1 however we have yet to run tests on a wide range of hardware so your results may differ.
Paradigm supports button boxes from Cedrus, PST Serial Response Box (not Chronos), fORP and can be used with most custom button boxes as well as long as they send a unique serial port pin combination/value for each button.
Paradigm E-Consent allows you to collect signed, printable consent forms from within your Paradigm desktop and mobile experiments.
Learn more >
Yes. Paradigm Desktop and Mobile both support electronic consent forms.
Yes. Paradigm E-Consent sends your signed consent form via a secure web connection (SSL) and secure e-mail. If your institution's e-mail system is not secure we recommend you use GMail with "2-Step Verification" enabled. If you have any questions about data privacy or security when using Paradigm E-Consent, please contact us.
Mobile experiments are created using the desktop version of Paradigm. After creating and testing your experiment you will then simply upload it to your Dropbox, download the Paradigm Mobile app onto your device and log in to your Dropbox account using the app. Then just select your experiment and run it. Learn more >>
Yes but you should check with your IRB just to make sure. When using the Paradigm Mobile app and Paradigm's Send Results features, participant data cannot be viewed or modified by anyone who does not have access to your e-mail account. The Send Results system uses an encrypted web connection (SSL) and secure e-mail to upload and send each results file. If your institution's e-mail system is not secure we recommend you use GMail with "2-Step Verification" enabled. If you have any questions about data privacy or security when using Paradigm Mobile, please contact us.
The following features have yet to be implemented in the Paradigm Mobile App:
Yes! Paradigm Mobile includes a fully-featured Python runtime and uses the identical scripting interface as Paradigm Desktop. You can develop and test your Python script using the desktop version and move your experiment onto mobile without making any additional modifications.
The app is free. All users who have a Paradigm Standard or Student license can create mobile experiments.
The app is available on the Apple App Store.
Go to the App Store >>
You can also download it directly from the "Smart App Banner" that appears on top of the
Paradigm Mobile page when viewed in Safari on your iOS device.
Go to Paradigm Mobile Page >>
Yes. After an experiment has been downloaded onto your device it can be run without an Internet connection. Once an Internet connection is again available and you are uploading your results back to Dropbox, starting the app will sync all the results files back to your Dropbox. Experiments that use Paradigm's Send Results features will not e-mail results when the app detects an Internet connection.
Yes. The best way to do that is to enable "Guided Access" on your device. You can find more information here
Yes but they must be disabled in your device's "Settings" app. Here's how
Yes but you should check with your IRB just to make sure. When using Paradigm Player with Paradigm's Send Results features, participant data cannot be viewed or modified by anyone who does not have access to your e-mail account. The Send Results system uses an encrypted web connection (SSL) and secure e-mail to upload and send each results file. If your institution's e-mail system is not secure we recommend you use GMail with "2-Step Verification" enabled. If you have any questions about data privacy or security when using Paradigm Player, please contact us.
Yes. Experiments are run locally on the participant's machine. Your experiment file and stimuli are downloaded before the experiment begins and data is logged locally until the experiment completes.
No. Subject data is saved to the participant's hard drive before it is uploaded so the collected data will still be available on the participant's computer. Just as it would be if you ran the experiment in your lab.
Paradigm Student Web Licensing allows qualified students to use a fully-featured version of Paradigm for two years for $99.95 (US). Student licenses require that a valid login e-mail be given at the time of purchase. Learn more here >>
Yes but keep in mind the spirit of student pricing is that it enables students to learn about experiment design and development through Paradigm. It would miss the point entirely if we were to build a substantial part of a student's experiment for them. As such we may refuse to continue to provide support to a student license holder if we feel that we are doing all the work.
No. Once the two year time limit has expired you must purchase a standard license.
No. We do not offer student web licenses for Paradigm Elements products. Paradigm Elements customers must purchase (or have already purchased) a Standard License.
Yes. Paradigm Elements requires that you purchase (or have already purchased) a Paradigm Standard license. Student licenses will not work with Paradigm Elements.
Paradigm supports EEG systems from Emotiv, Enobio, ANT, BioSemi, BrainVision, Neuroscan and any other system that can use numeric triggers read from a Parallel Port, Network Port, Serial Port or DIO-24 card. Learn more >
You can use a virtual Serial Port connection and Paradigm Elements for Ports. Learn more >
Yes but it's important to understand that PCI-e Parallel Ports are designed to replace legacy printer ports. Many of these cards are not suitable for use in research that requires high-accuracy event triggers such as EEG or other biomarker-based methods. If your data collection system uses parallel port-based event triggers, we recommend you use our Paradigm USB-to-Parallel Port converter which allows you to send parallel port triggers via a USB port connection with high temporal accuracy. Learn more here >
Paradigm supports eye tracking systems from ASL. Learn more >
Yes. Paradigm supports BIOPAC Integration using either a Parallel Port, DIO-24 or the Paradigm USB-to-Parallel converter. Learn more >
Yes. Paradigm can integrate with multiple devices (e.g. EEG and ASL eye tracker, ASL and BIOPAC) simultaneously. Learn more >
