What to Expect as a Research Participant

So you want to influence products and companies with your experience and feedback? That’s great! We have so many opportunities for you to do so.

Not sure what to expect as a research participant? No worries! We outline everything you can expect throughout your experience as a research participant with Participant HQ. 

Your Participant Profile

Your Participant Profile is a critical part of matching you with research studies. We collect a handful of information about your personal and professional experience to make sure you’re only invited to studies relevant to your experience.

Companies use this information to make sure they are getting feedback from people who use or would potentially use their product. For example, a company who has a product offering for college students needs to make sure individuals who are invited to participate in research are actually college students. Your Participant Profile and screener surveys (discussed later) allow us to confirm these details so we don’t waste your or anyone else’s time.

Please be assured that all of your information provided here and during any research study is completely confidential and will be used for research related purposes only. Your personally identifiable information will never be sold to any third party or used for any marketing or sales related purposes. Read more about our full survey and research terms here.

Screener Surveys

Another tool we use to ensure we match you with companies looking for your background and experience is called a screener survey. Screener surveys are quick surveys with more detailed questions about your experience that aren’t typically included in your Participant Profile.

For example, a company who sells renter’s insurance will need to make sure they’re speaking with people who rent their property rather than own. The brief screener survey will allow us to ensure we can make that connection appropriately.

With this goal and purpose in mind, it is absolutely critical for you to always provide accurate information at all times so that again, we don’t waste your or anyone else’s time!

Participating in Research 

Once you are determined as a good fit for a research study, you will be contacted to participate! We run a large variety of different research studies that you may be invited to participate in. Below is a quick overview of some of the most widely used methods:

• Surveys – you will be asked to fill out a form of questions based on the research material and feedback interest. 
• Moderated Interviews – you will join a video conference call and speak directly with a researcher. The researcher may ask you a variety of questions, have you share your screen and walk through a series of tasks, and/or have you react to prototypes or products. 
• Unmoderated Interviews – you will join a video recording tool by yourself where you will complete a series of tasks while speaking your thoughts and feedback, and sharing your screen.
• Diary or Longitudinal Studies – you will take  part in a series of research over a longer period of time (a week, several weeks, a month, etc.) in order to better understand your habits over time. You can expect to complete several studies and/or fill out a journal or diary about certain habits and actions you take.

Getting Paid

After you’ve participated in a research study, you will typically receive the promised incentive within about a week of completing the study. Our most common incentives are in the form of digital gift cards with your choice! Visa, Amazon, Target, plus a variety of charitable organizations are some of the options you are likely to receive.

We also host many raffle based incentives, as well as volunteer research opportunities. For a raffle based incentive, after your full participation in the study and once the study is closed, you will be entered into a raffle drawing to receive one of the many incentives typically offered. Below is an example of incentives for a raffle drawing:

1st Prize $250 USD

2nd Prize $150 USD

3rd Prize $100 USD

and

10 Drawings for $50 USD

Oftentimes we’re working with a very limited budget when conducting research. When this is the case, we reach out to participants who are interested in volunteering their time and their feedback in exchange for much gratitude and appreciation! Although we do wish we could always offer monetary incentives for your time, unfortunately that isn’t always possible. We are very thankful for our volunteer participants in these studies! 

A Rewarding Experience

Overall, being a research participant is a very rewarding experience, both monetarily and influentially. Participating in research truly does allow you to influence leading brands and companies and make a lasting impact on real business and product decisions! 

Have questions? Feel free to reach out: [email protected].