Design and Prototype Conversational Agents for Research Data Collection

Abstract

Conversational agents have gained increasing interest from researchers as a tool to collect data and administer interventions. They provide a natural user interface through conversations and hence have the potential to reach a wide population in their homes and on the go. Several developer tools and commercial as well as open-source frameworks allow for the deployment of both text-based chatbots and voice assistants. In this 90 min tutorial, participants will learn how to choose an appropriate platform, how to design and deploy their conversational agents, and how to transform traditional surveys through conversation agents.