Facilities
SHBEEL supports researchers interested in using laboratory-based, computerized experimental methods to explore decision-making. SHBEEL also supports lab-in-the-field experimentation and is open to experimental researchers from economics and all other disciplines and encourages collaboration.
Participant Database
The SHBEEL Recruitment Software, SONA System, is available to all IRB approved protocols that specify the lab’s participant database as the source from which researchers should recruit their research subjects. An IRB accredited researcher may fill in the application form or reach the lab manager via shbeel@nyu.edu to request a Researcher Account .
Software
The Lab is equipped with z-Tree (Zurich Toolbox for Readymade Economic Experiments) experimental software. Researchers can run both standalone and networked experiments, as well as those involving personal interaction or team work. z-Tree is widely used for experiments in economics and political science. It is free but requires a license. The Shanghai Behavior and Experimental Economics Laboratory received a license in 2016. Researchers conducting their experiments at SHBEEL can use different versions of the available software. As the ztree web site advises, “The sample treatments are probably the easiest way to learn about the new features of z-Tree.” The z-Tree tutorial explains through examples some of the most common experiments and additional codes and samples can be found on the internet.