Triangle Research Collaborative, Inc.
Post Office Box 12167
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2167
919-549-9093

Observational Coding System Tools (OCS Tools \tm/)

These people have done some really nice work on video
protocol analysis.  Unfortunately for some, it runs on IBM
PC's.  I do not know about the availability for other
machines. 

The OCS Tools allow you to control a VCR machine from the
PC.  You can code continuous and discrete events and allow
start and stop for overlapping events.  Summary stats are
produced.  Another part of the OCS Tools let you randomly
access events of specified types, which would facilitate in
depth analysis and display of critical events.  Another part
of the system allows you to simultaneously view computer
information and video information at the same time. 

I have seen this system demonstrated twice at the Human
Factors Society meeting.  I like it. 

I think there are some original contributions here in how
the events are coded interactively and how they are
coordinated with the video.  If I were going to be doing
serious analysis of video protocols, I would like to have
this system.  If I could not afford it, I would still like
to see it running to get ideas about how to structure the
analysis.  With relatively little work, it is possible to
write a program to support live coding of events (you code
events as you watch the tape).  I wrote one in two days and
use it in my user interface class.  It records events, keeps
track of total event times and transitional probabilities,
and allows a real-time playback of event codes.  Editing is
not too bad because the data files are plain ascii.  If you
play back the coding a bit before the video, it helps you
anticipate events.  The hard part is to coordinate the event
coding with the video tape control, especially random
access. 

I have no stake in Triangle Research Collaborative.