Elements

The main element of a studyflow diagram is the Study, which serves as a container for all other elements:

 

Study represents the entire research project, including all the processes from experimental design to deployment and publication. It extends bpmn:Process and is the top-level container for all elements and workflows.

 

Within a Study element, you can define various elements. In addition to the standard BPMN elements, Studyflow introduces specialized elements for research workflows in cognitive sciences in four main categories: events, activities, gateways, and data.

Events

Start Event defines the beginning of the workflow. It can be conditioned on participants giving informed consent, supporting the ethical and legal requirements.

End Event marks the conclusion of the workflow, indicating the completion of all steps within the study. It can redirect to a different workflow or terminate the study, typically after all the data has been collected.

Activities

Instructions provide detailed guidelines and information to participants about the study procedures.

Questionnaires are used to gather self-reported data from participants.

Cognitive Tests represent various cognitive assessment tests within the experiment.

Video Games are interactive games as part of the experimental paradigm.

Behaverse Tasks are standardized cognitive tests covering a range of attentional, perceptual, cognitive and motor abilities. See Behaverse assessment for a list.

Rest periods are intervals of inactivity or minimal activity within the workflow, often used for baseline measurements or to provide breaks between activities. This element can also be used to record resting-state signals.

Gateways

Random Gateway represents a randomizer at a decision point in the workflow where only one of several possible paths can be taken.

Example use of Random Gateway to branch the flow.

Data

Datasets persist data (e.g., events, trials, etc) and facilitate the integration of standard data models such as BDM, BIDS, and Psych-DS.

Data object represents any data entity within the workflow, such as files, data, or data streams. It can be used to model inputs and outputs of activities and data transformations.

The initial release of the studyflow includes built-in support for several data models commonly used in cognitive sciences, including:

Behaverse Data Model - Events

Behaverse Data Model - Trials

Behaverse Data Model - Statistics & Models

Brain Imaging Data Structure

Psych-DS dataset standard

Kedro datasets