hroot 4.0

Hroot is a free web-based software designed for managing participants of economic experiments, currently used by over 120 laboratories worldwide. Starting development in 2011, we introduce hroot Version 4.0, which contains countless improvements in all aspects of recruitment, data collection, team management and payment tracking.

What's new about hroot 4.0?

Advanced Recruitment & Communication

We have upgraded our participant verification and outreach workflows:

Shibboleth Authentication: Seamless institutional login and automated duplicate checks to ensure data integrity.
Multi-Pool Segmentation: Manage distinct subject pools (e.g., student subjects vs. general citizen panels) within a single installation.
Centralized Messaging Hub: Schedule automated invitations, confirmations, and reminders via Email, SMS, and Push notifications, including automated no-show warnings.

Laboratory & Online Session Execution

hroot 4.0 expands support for both on-site and remote/online experimental setups:

Synchronized Online Waiting Rooms: Forward online participants into experiments simultaneously for synchronous group designs.
Survey Lifecycle Tracking: Automated tracking of completions, screenouts, and timeouts, directly coupled with auto-payment triggers.
Flexible Check-In Modes: Optimized intake procedures tailored specifically for lab, online, and hybrid sessions.

Standardized Field Operations & Team Management

Keep lab processes aligned across diverse research teams:

Task & Procedure Inheritance: Define central lab standards and protocols that automatically apply across all experiments.
Team Shift Planning: Built-in scheduling and resource allocation for lab assistants and experimenters.
Progress Dashboards: Real-time overview of recruitment milestones, upcoming deadlines, and study progress.

Comprehensive Payment & Multi-Currency Handling

Handle participant compensation smoothly across various study formats:

Versatile Payout Methods: Support for cash, online payments, vouchers, point systems, and participant account balances.
Multi-Currency & Batch Processing: Manage international or multi-site studies with multiple currencies and process bulk payouts efficiently.
Budget Control: Track real-time workforce allocation and study payout budgets directly in the admin panel.

Docker Deployment, Security & Localization

Setting up and maintaining hroot is now faster and more secure than ever:

60-Minute Docker Deployment: Production-ready containerized installation accompanied by updated documentation.
Localization: Full multi-language support for diverse participant pools and administrative teams.
Security Standards: Updated dependencies and security patches to meet modern IT infrastructure standards.

Further questions?

Try our interactive demo and test all the new features:
https://hroot-demo.wiso.uni-hamburg.de
Please visit our hroot documentation on GitHub:
https://github.com/wiso-forschungslabor/hroot-documentation/wiki/About-the-hroot-project
You do not have a free hroot license yet? Please visit Licence and follow the instructions. We would be happy if you join the hroot community!

Please cite us in your publications when using hroot: Bock, Olaf, Ingmar Baetge & Andreas Nicklisch (2014). hroot – Hamburg registration and organization online tool. European Economic Review 71, 117-120.