Installation - gideongoldin/TurkGate GitHub Wiki

Requirements

  1. HTTP- and PHP-enabled web server (e.g., Apache HTTP Server)
  2. MySQL (compatible) database

Installation

  1. Download TurkGate. Uncompress your ZIP or TAR file, and upload the entire 'TurkGate' folder to a directory on your web server.
  2. Change the permissions of the TurkGate folder to grant write permissions to everyone.
  3. Create a blank MySQL (compatible) database. We recommend using a descriptive name, such as 'TurkGate'.
  4. Navigate a web browser to admin/install.php in your uploaded TurkGate Server directory:

Install 5. Fill out the form, and press the Install TurkGate button. TurkGate will then create a new table in your database called SurveyRequest. 6. TurkGate is now ready to use. Click the link to go to the administration page to test the installation.

Testing

When workers attempt to access a survey on a TurkGate-enabled server, their requests are logged in the database. On the admin page, you can do the same without a Mechanical Turk HIT in order to test your installation:

  1. Open the administration page at admin/index.php in your TurkGate installation:

Admin

  1. Enter a workerId and a group name. By default, you will be redirected to the TurkGate test page, testDestination.php--do not change this value from 'test' if you are testing TurkGate for the first time.
  2. Select either Command Line Tools HIT or Web Interface HIT from the radio buttons below, and click Test.
  3. Note the URL in your browser. It should contain the information you specified. The first time you test a workerId and group name you should either be presented with a link to the URL (or test page) specified or be redirected to it. Subsequent times you test a workerId and group name, you should NOT be presented with a link or be redirected (since the database already recorded that the specified worker attempted a survey in the specified group). Instead, you should see a message saying you are ineligible to participate in the study.
  4. If you used the default test page as your destination, you can also test completion code generation. The ability to test completion code verification is planned for future versions.

Distributing to researchers

Researchers don't need to install anything in order to use your TurkGate installation. The index.php page in the TurkGate installation provides them with everything they need to create HITs, whether they use Mechanical Turk's web interface or their command line tools. It also provides the necessary links and information for generating and verifying completion codes.