Evaluating CloudResearch’s Approved Group as a Solution for Problematic Data Quality on MTurk
Maintaining data quality on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) has always been a concern for researchers. CloudResearch, a third-party website that interfaces with MTurk, assessed ~100,000 MTurkers and categorized them into those that provide high- (~65,000, Approved) and low-(~35,000, Blocked) quality data. Here, we examined the predictive validity of CloudResearch’s vetting. Participants (N = 900) from the Approved and Blocked groups, along with a Standard MTurk sample, completed an array of data quality measures. Approved participants had better reading comprehension, reliability, honesty, and attentiveness scores, were less likely to cheat and satisfice, and replicated classic experimental effects more reliably than Blocked participants who performed at chance on multiple outcomes. Data quality of the Standard sample was generally in between the Approved and Blocked groups. We discuss the implications of using the Approved group for scientific studies conducted on Mechanical Turk.