From academia
to the real world.
(A tangible) Abstract
Research is more real than we always come to think about. It is what drives our everyday evolution by expanding our overall knowledge; doesn't matter if it's being done inside universities or at companies. In other words, it is less "Abstract" than it seems, especially when thought and applied to make an actual impact to improve a job, a task, or even just our everyday life. That's the way I like doing research, and those are the steps I've taken in my latest research project - which ultimatelly allowed me to make an impact both in my marketing career and in academia.
Eye Tracking & Microsaccades: revealing our subconscious visual attention.
I. Data Analysis:
clear all; close all; % > Load horizontal or vertical saccades file load(['microsaccidxall_manfredi.mat']) % > > Take correct answers only correct_answers = 1; if correct_answers microsaccidxall(:,microsaccidxall(12,:)==0) = []; end % • > > > Total Number of Saccades in RSVP every 100ms (24 steps, each timewindow). for rsvp_window = 100:2400; sacc(rsvp_window) = sum(microsaccidxall((microsaccidxall(12,microsaccidxall(5,:)==rsvp_window)))) end % - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - % Subtle Attentional Bias within subjects, relative to time. % - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - % > > > 100 ms (24) < < > > Amplitude mean and S.E.M. of Saccades Amplitude for Left items every % 100ms for rsvp_window = 100:2400 sacc_ampl_left(rsvp_window) = nanmean(microsaccidxall(7,microsaccidxall(5,:)==rsvp_window & microsaccidxall(4,:)==1)); std_err_mean_left(rsvp_window) = nanstd(microsaccidxall(7,microsaccidxall(5,:)==rsvp_window & microsaccidxall(4,:)==1)/sqrt(24)); end sacc_ampl_left_in_0_ms_RSVP = nanmean(microsaccidxall(7,microsaccidxall(5,:)==0 & microsaccidxall(4,:)==1)) std_err_mean_left_in_0_ms_RSVP = nanstd(microsaccidxall(7,microsaccidxall(5,:)==0 & microsaccidxall(4,:)==1)/sqrt(24)) % • > > > Mean and S.E.M. of Saccades Amplitude for Right probe matching probe every 100ms for rsvp_window = 100:2400 sacc_ampl_right(rsvp_window) = nanmean(microsaccidxall(7,microsaccidxall(5,:)==rsvp_window & microsaccidxall(4,:)==2)); std_err_mean_right(rsvp_window) = nanstd(microsaccidxall(7,microsaccidxall(5,:)==rsvp_window & microsaccidxall(4,:)==2)/sqrt(24)); end sacc_ampl_right_in_0_ms_RSVP = nanmean(microsaccidxall(7,microsaccidxall(5,:)==0 & microsaccidxall(4,:)==2)) std_err_mean_right_in_0_ms_RSVP = nanstd(microsaccidxall(7,microsaccidxall(5,:)==0 & microsaccidxall(4,:)==2)/sqrt(24))
II. Hyphothesis testing:
1.1. Micro...what?
We can't even notice that, but our eyes can unconsciously move up to 10 times per second. These extremely fast, microscopic eye movements are what we call microsaccades.
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Tracking microsaccades is one of the ways we can track covert attention, the one that we can't control. In my latest research project, I've worked with an EyeLink 1000+ to collect microsaccadic data from 46 different subjects.
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2.2. Coding the data analysis, visualizing results.
Learning to code and finalize my eye tracking data analysis in just 2 months was really something else. But in the end, I've made my way into it thanks to Dr. Chota's reverse engeneering learning. You can find part of my MATLAB snippet above, which I used to calculate microsaccadic direction (as attentional bias) every 100ms in 24 Rapid Serial Visual Presented (RSVP) stimuli.
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Using logical "FOR" loops saved me a ton of time, allowing me to work on scientific figures design sooner. I managed to apply my creative background to make them as intuitive as possible, starting by shaping our very experimental Hypotheses into dedicated figures, ensuring a higher experiment replicability.
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And, finally...
III. Visualizing results:
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Let's be honest: figures are the first things we look at when reading any article, book, or scientific paper. They help us contextualize data by visualizing numbers in a more human-way. That's why I always try my best to make them intuitive and understandable by just a glance.
With a fine mix of MATLAB, Excel, and Adobe Illustrator , I enjoy the part I love the most: designing figures to visualize results in a way that even my grandma would understand (after a very quick talk about microsaccades, that is).
3.X. Conclusions, and forth.
My lecture at University of Palermo (biological psychology) about the results from "Activating our 'Visual RAM' for Multitasking", held together with Prof. Giuseppa R. Mangano.
Part of my lecture focusing on eye tracking and microsaccades.
Cats always bring a smile.
My lecture at University of Palermo (biological psychology) about the results from "Activating our 'Visual RAM' for Multitasking", held together with Prof. Giuseppa R. Mangano.
An experiment may be finished, but the knowledge is never enough when it's meant to be shared.
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Communicating science is another part I truly love of research; especially when there are even more questions then answers to be raised after it. Or even more, if potentials real-world benefits are found already to be used by indie workers or larger firms, like in Character Management for the Entertainment Industry.
Appendix. And now?
Open for a
PhD
or for a R&D position
in a company.
I really enjoy the pleasure of researching in both universities and commercial settings, like I did as a Neuromarketing Specialist at Nixon Digital, or as a Research Intern at Utrecht University. And I'd really love to keep doing that - let it be on the job or once again in academia.
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That's why I'm open for a PhD or R&D position for these years to come.
My works
About my passion for research
Combining, applying, making impact.
The adrenaline of pushing human knowledge ahead of the status quo is something that endlessly drives my curiosity upon exploring and researching in both marketing and cognitive psychology.
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I loved conducting quantitative and qualitative research during both of my Master's Degrees, and I'd love to keep doing it on the job. After all, there's no invention without exploration; let alone without combination.
Enjoying my part on being a subject for a colleague's EEG research. Sure research is about researching, but also about participating! :)
Recording microsaccades with a P-CR infrared eye tracker EyeLink1000+.
Sharing the results at Università degli Studi di Palermo (physiological psychology), together with Prof. Giuseppa R. Mangano.
Enjoying my part on being a subject for a colleague's EEG research. Sure research is about researching, but also about participating! :)
Wanna know more? Ask my supervisors:
