Branches Book

BRANCHES

The device struggled to properly detect all 6 affective factors for each trial. This sensitivity was dependent on the saturation of the contact pads, the thickness of the subject’s hair, and the duration of the test session. The contact pad saturation and subject hair thickness determined the signal strength. Unfortunately, the device requires (as observed during trials) 94% to 100% signal strength to determine all 6 emotional factors. Experimental signal strength ranged from 84% to 100%, and was generally between 87% and 94%. As a result, an average of 4 emotional factors were recorded per trial, which factors specifically alternated between trials. Focus was the only factor present in all but one trial, and was thus used for analysis. Since we were not performing a clinical study, experimenters did not have access to raw medical data. Therefore, the resulting data analyzed by the experimenter was the second iteration of the raw data, having already been processed by the collection device. We propose that this experimental limitation further decreased the accuracy and sensitivity of the data. Access to raw data would further improve data accuracy and allow for more complex waveform analysis, but would void the ethical considerations previously discussed, and was thus infeasible for this study. The most influential experimental limitation is the small sample size. The above limitations can be mitigated with sufficient sample size. However, due to this study’s accelerated timetable, only 5 subjects could be observed. The greater the sample size, the more representative (of the larger population) the results become. With a greater sample size, the trends present in the data also become more pronounced. It is probable that with more trials, defined trends will become discernable if not apparent. To address these limitations, I propose further research. A greater sample size is necessary to determine trends. Even with the signal strength and non- medical data presented above, a larger sample size will further clarify the results. I propose a continuation of this study which includes at least 40 additional subjects. At that point, complete analysis of the data is more probable and discernable trends are more likely. If there is no apparent trend, then procedures can be followed to access the raw medical data. This improvement in device accuracy should ensure significant results. Literature is created by individuals, and is responded to individually. Our enjoyment of literature is dependent on individual experiences, which influence our understanding and appreciation of the text. Though even amidst this diversity of literary responses, I predict trends exist. The observation of those trends presents the challenge. If the above limitations are addressed, however, specific data can be collected. An analytical approach based in digital humanities is dependent on the specificity of the collected data. The more specific the data, the more accurate

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