Modular approach to the development of specialized software for remote interaction with respondents using WEB-technologies

The article presents some aspects and results of the development of a prototype software for remote interaction between a researcher and a respondent. The main goal is to ensure the possibility of dynamic adaptation of stimulus material and questionnaires during one session. The structure of the software elements, key requirements for its functionality, software implementation tools and possibilities for further improvement are determined. Key features of the platform's functionality:- six main types of modules for building an experiment or survey;- constructor for modules - instructions, questions, forms;- constructor for scenarios for conducting an experiment or survey;- a database of ready-made scenarios for operational use in remote interaction with the respondent;- the ability to add new functions of interaction with the respondent (complex methods, tasks, etc.) and data analysis tools without the need to install additional software;- timing for each individual module within the experiment or survey scenario;- the ability to monitor the respondent's work in real time. The criteria for choosing the developer's tools were performance and scalability, ease of use, intuitive interface, free and affordable, cross-platform, integration with programming languages, security, and flexibility.We used technologies that provide the user interface and processing of client actions in the browser: HTML (HyperText Markup Language) to create the structure of the web page, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) for visual design, JavaScript as the main programming language for dynamic interaction on the client side, jQuery framework to simplify the work with the DOM, AJAX requests and other tools. The programming language used to write the server side of a web application is PHP. The software product was tested based on our own marketing research experience and with the involvement of third-party experts.The specific set of research methods and techniques depends on the tasks of the end user, and therefore is not the key issue of this article.Particular attention is paid to the feasibility of integrating some mathematical tools for processing primary data in order to improve the convenience and efficiency of analysis for dynamic adjustment of the research procedure. Software of this type can be useful in various fields of human science: sociology, psychology, economics.