Statistical Analysis of Eye Movement Data for Beginners

Data processing and (statistical) data analysis are important tasks in empirical research. However, they present a particular hurdle for beginners. For one, they require knowledge of statistical methods, their prerequisites, or use cases; For another, one needs either programming skills or some software system to carry out the analyses efficiently. Empirical eye tracking research poses a further hurdle; Data from an eye tracker is processed more elaborately and usually merged with data from other sources (e.g., questionnaires). In this article, we take a closer look at the possibilities that prospective eye tracking researchers have on their way from data collection to publication-ready analysis. We show that there is currently no software system that allows valid statistical analyses of eye tracking data to be performed without prior knowledge – which means that prospective eye tracking researchers need to learn or be taught the basics before performing actual analyses. As a solution, we present a novel tool: eyenalyzer. It guides through the analysis process – even without prior knowledge and therefore suitable for beginners. In the article, after highlighting the need for the tool, we discuss its development, give a glimpse at the user interface, and point out contribution and future work.