Eye tracking is a method of measuring the allocation of visual attention, or where someone is looking and when they are looking at that target. In psychology and neuroscience this is used to study how we respond to stimuli, which could be anything from a picture of a scene, a video, or even text. It has been used as an ad-hoc measure of sympathetic activation. It’s use in business has primarily been focused on customer behavior, such as when viewing an advertisement. Eye tracking is being implemented into augmented/virtual reality projects (AR/VR) for consumer electronics. Eye tracking is even being used commercially to ensure drivers are paying attention to the road, bring weapons to bear on a target.

With the proliferation of this technology across disciplines and its myriad of applications, research using eye tracking technology has skyrocketed. This is a wonderful development resulting in the generation of many informative studies. However, eye tracking is not some magical method free from error. Misapplication of the technology, poorly understood theory, mistakes in study design, analytical error are still possible, leading to erroneous conclusions.

It is important for scientists and analysts in the private and public sectors to have adequate training and instruction on eye tracking theory and practice. That is why I and my former mentor have written Best Practices in Eye Tracking Research. This article gives an in-depth primer on the do’s and don’ts of eye tracking including an overview of eye anatomy, control, a discussion of the types of eye trackers available for research, how to choose one, the data they produce, study design, how to report the findings of an eye tracking study and ensure transparency and reproducibility. We also discuss pupillometry and dual-modality applications with EEG (electroencephalography) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging).

If you have an interest in eye tracking, you should check it out (download it here free for the next 50 days). If you have questions or would like help on your own eye tracking project feel free to reach out to me! I’m always up for a new challenge.