Knowledge Base

Problem

Researchers want to align offline behavioral codes captured in Observer XT with event markers sent from E-Prime, and are unsure how to combine the two data streams without merging separate coding schemes or templates.

Details

Affects any Observer XT version where users run parallel data collection in E-Prime and Observer XT simultaneously. The challenge is keeping behavioral event logs and E-Prime stimulus markers in sync for post-hoc analysis without creating conflicting or duplicated coding schemes.

Solution

1. Keep a single Observer XT coding scheme for your offline behavioral codes — do not create a separate template for E-Prime events.
2. Configure E-Prime to send its event markers directly into the same Observer XT observation. These will appear as a separate E-Prime event file alongside your manual event log within the same observation.
3. During analysis, align your behavioral start/stop codes to the E-Prime markers using timestamps — both streams share the same observation timeline, making post-hoc alignment straightforward.
4. Do not attempt to merge two separate templates; instead, use the shared timeline within one observation to relate the two data sources.