Published:Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Updated:Tuesday, November 5, 2013 00:11

Sociology professor Bradley Wright focused his time on studying crime only to expand his horizons and analyze the nationwide relationship between spirituality and sociological patterns.

Soulpulse, his latest research project of which he is the manager, just launched last week. An online experience sampling method study, it collects measures of willpower, spirituality, self-control and daily stresses to compile data on the relationship between all of these variables.

After signing up on soulpulse.org, users receive text messages twice a day for 14 days that direct them to a 15 to 20-question survey. These questions gather data on daily spiritual attitudes and physical influences at points during the day, such as quality of sleep, amount of exercise and alcohol consumption. The average length of time required to complete the survey is around three minutes and is designed with the ideas of simplicity and ease of use.

At the end of the two-week testing period, the reward for participants is a comprehensive review of their data that allows them to see and learn more about their spiritual mindsets. In return, the research team is given the opportunity to analyze the information that they have collected. Wright said they have already found that people report the greatest feelings of spirituality on Sundays and the least amount on Wednesdays.

A collection of three-minute surveys however, took months of collaboration across the country to complete. 18 months of planning and 10 trips to Silicon Valley were necessary, as well as a team of people who each contributed a unique skillset to the group. The Soulpulse team consists of four computer programmers, three public engagers and six academic advisors including UConn professors Crystal Park and Jeremy Pais.

Wright said that learning to run a software development project was quite difficult, confessing that he was forced to get his first smartphone for this specific purpose. However, he said with a smile the real joy of the work was getting to know and work with these people.

Although Soulpulse is officially open to collect data for the next few more years, Wright says that there is quite a bit more work to do on the project. The cost of implementation has already amounted up to $150,000, and the group is currently seeking another sponsor as they move onto the next step of analyzing the data they receive.

For the record, computer programmers are not cheap. At all, said Wright. Promoting the website to the public is another issue that the group is currently working on. Social media will be primarily used to spread awareness; for instance, John Ortberg, a prominent pastor involved with the project, has over 40,000 followers of Twitter and plans to utilize this to Soulpulses advantage.

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UConn professor studies spirituality with text surveys