MturkR, R, automatically posting microbatches - r

Question

I am new to MTurk, but have some fluency with R. I am using the MTurkR package the first time, and I am trying to create "micro-batches" that post on MTurk over time. The code I am using can be found below (the XXXX parts are obviously filled with the correct values). I don't get any error messages, the code runs, and posts the HIT both in the Sandbox and in the real correctly. However, the HITs posted do not show up in the Sandbox Requester account, or the real requester account which means - as far as I understand - that I can't evaluate the workers who submit a completion code before they are paid automatically.
Could anyone point out where the error is, and how could I review the HITs?
Thanks.
K
##### Notes:
# 1) Change sandbox from TRUE to FALSE to run live (make sure to test in sandbox first!!)
##### Step 1: Load library, set parameters
#### Load MTurkR library
library(MTurkR)
#### HIT Layout ID
# Layout ID for the choice task
# my_hitlayoutid = "XXXX"
# Layout ID for the choice task in the Sandbox
my_hitlayoutid = "XXXX"
#### Set MTurk credentials
Sys.setenv(
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID = "XXXX",
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = "XXXX"
)
#### HIT parameters
## Run in sandbox?
sandbox_val <- "FALSE"
## Set the name of your project here (used to retrieve HITs later)
myannotation <- "myannotation"
## Enter other HIT aspects
newhittype <- RegisterHITType(
title = "hope trial",
description = "Description",
reward = "2.5",
duration = seconds(hours = 1),
keywords = "survey, demographics, neighborhoods, employment",
sandbox = sandbox_val
)
##### Step 2: Define functions
## Define a function that will create a HIT using information above
createhit <- function() {
CreateHIT(
hit.type = newhittype$HITTypeId,
assignments = 2,
expiration = seconds(days = 30),
annotation = myannotation,
verbose = TRUE,
sandbox = sandbox_val,
hitlayoutid = my_hitlayoutid
)
}
## Define a function that will expire all running HITs
## This keeps HITs from "piling up" on a slow day
## It ensures that A) HIT appears at the top of the list, B) workers won't accidentally accept HIT twice
# expirehits <- function() {
# ExpireHIT(
# annotation = myannotation,
# sandbox = sandbox_val
# )
#}
##### Step 3: Execute a loop that runs createhit/expirehit functions every hour, and it will log the output to a file
## Define number of times to post the HIT (totalruns)
totalruns <- 2
counter <- 0
## Define log file (change the location as appropriate)
logfile <- file("/Users/kinga.makovi/Dropbox/Bias_Experiment/MTurk/logfile.txt", open="a")
sink(logfile, append=TRUE, type="message")
## Run loop (note: interval is hourly, but can be changed in Sys.sleep)
repeat {
message(Sys.time())
createhit()
Sys.sleep(10)
#expirehits()
counter = counter + 1
if (counter == totalruns){
break
}
}
## To stop the loop before it finishes, click the "STOP" button
## To stop logging, run sink()

Answer 1

You can't see HITs that are created via the API (through MTurkR or otherwise) in the requester website. It's a "feature". You'll have to access the HITs through MTurkR (e.g., SearchHITs() and GetHIT()).