Are you wanting the timing to vary for each time an element from the loop and merge is displayed (e.g., Participant 1 sees E1 @250ms E2 @500ms....) or do you want the loop and merge to vary systematically between participants (e.g., Participant 1 one sees all elements @250ms, Participant 2 sees all elements @500ms)?

I'm wanting the first option - the timing to vary for each time an element from the loop and merge is displayed (e.g., Participant 1 sees E1 @250ms E2 @500ms....)

https://community.qualtrics.com/XMcommunity/discussion/comment/44210#Comment_44210So I've come up with one solution, but it may not be what you want depending on how you want your data to look on the back end of things/if you want the time presentation to truly randomized or 'controlled randomization' in one way or another.

Step 1. Create a block with all potential timing elements. I would use the 'auto-advance' feature and set it to the intervals you want (e.g., .25, .50, .75, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50). In my example, I used three timing elements, each auto-advanced at three different time intervals, 1 second, 5 seconds, and 10 seconds.
Step 2. Create and add in your loop and merge presentation question in the same block.
You can see the block in this image below and my test loop and merge fields.
Step 3. Turn on advanced randomization for the entire block.
Step 4. choose random subset randomization, add all timing elements to blue box, set the value to 1, in the 'randomly insert ___ questions...".

This will randomly select one timing interval to auto advance each stimulus in the loop and merge until it finishes. However, I am not sure how great the data will look. Specifically, for each combiniation of loop&merge field and timing, there will be a data point. For example, E1 @.25, E1 @.50, E1 @.75, E1 @1.0, E1 @1.25. Each of these will be a data point, however, participants will only be shown 1. Consider Participant 1, who sees E1 @.25. For this, they will have a data point of whatever they select - for all other iterations, they will be missing this data point.

If you are simply showing text and they are meant to read it fast (i.e., no selection is made), then this doesn't matter.

I hope this helps! Closest I could get without coming up with custom coding.

Fab, thanks. I'll have a go at what you suggest later (got to go teach a seminar now!).

Hi, I hit a problem at Step 1. "use the 'auto-advance' feature and set it to the intervals you want (e.g., .25, .50, .75, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50)" - this feature only allows increments of 1s, I get an error message when I try and put in 0.25 etc. telling me that these are not valid values.

https://community.qualtrics.com/XMcommunity/discussion/comment/44274#Comment_44274Hi HelenWilliams can you upload an image of this? I don't run into this error message. It could be possible that there are different features available based on your current Qualtrics
package.

Here's a screenshot - the error message only shows when I hover my mouse over the 'auto-advance after' box.
However, I have also hit another snag with the method you suggested - turning on the advanced randomisation means that my page break is ignored.
In my block I have 2 pages.
Page 1 presents the stimuli; it has timing to record how long each stimulus is presented for, plus javascript so that when they click an answer that makes the page submit. The stimuli come from the Loop&Merge.
Page 2 presents the inter-stimulus-interval (blank page with fixation cross + in the centre).
It is the page 2 I want to randomise the timing for. But, with the randomisation turned on for the block my stimuli and the + appear on the same page (and the presentation is all glitchy with the multiple timing Qs I've inserted into page 2).

https://community.qualtrics.com/XMcommunity/discussion/comment/44343#Comment_44343Ahh, yes I am sorry I didn't realize you had used the page breaks and had the two pages. That is my fault. Unfortunately, advanced randomization will ignore/break the rules of page breaks and that is why you are having the problem. That is just simply how it is designed. I will have a think on how to do this best, but I believe it is going to require more javascript.

Thanks for your help on this! If it's very complex don't worry, I can probably do it without the randomization of the timing, it's just that it's a replication of an experiment I've previously run in EPrime so I'd like keep everything the same for the online version if possible. I don't know coding/Javascript myself, when I've inserted bits and bobs before I've inserted (and perhaps edited) examples on the Qualtrics forum, but I don't know how to write the code from scratch myself.

https://community.qualtrics.com/XMcommunity/discussion/comment/44343#Comment_44343Hi HelenWilliams Jeremyoand wpm24. Thank for this post. I am having the same trouble: I intend to randomize the presentation/display time of a question, which is followed by a page break, and, then a question presenting my stimuli (which is coming from the Loop & Merge, and is also timed). I also do not know how to write JS code from scratch myself. Do you have any suggestions (piece of code perhaps?) on how to do this? Thank you in advance.

Hi. I have tried a bunch of solutions, and I came up with this one. I am sharing in case it serves other people.
Fixation_cross_random_display_time2.qsf