Prolific
Last modified on Fri 13 Sep 2024

Prolific is a user recruitment tool that allows you to easily find and recruit participants for your studies. It is a platform that connects you with a large pool of potential participants, who have already signed up to take part in research studies and filled out a surprisingly comprehensive screener survey.

The first step in using Prolific is, of course, to sign in. You can use Infinum’s professional account to do so. Then you can create a project on the platform. This involves providing basic information about the study, such as the number of participants needed and the time commitment required. Here are tips on filling out the project brief on Prolific (for the steps that are not always self-explanatory):

So, once the project is created and the account topped up, Prolific will match you with potential participants who meet your specified criteria. Participants will get an email invitation, and you can track their progress and participation through the platform. If needed, you can also contact your participants directly through Prolific messages.

When you are done with the study, review responses, and approve submissions of participants that completed their research tasks adequately.

Keep in mind that Prolific has a cap on the number of rejections you can do. If it goes beyond 20-25% submission, you won’t be able to do it without reaching out to Prolific support. Pro tip: instead of rejecting, reach out to participants and ask them to return their seats, or you will reject their submission. Rejections affect their Prolific score so most participants rather return their seats.

Prolific can also help you when analyzing research data. When the study is completed, you can download a .csv sheet with demographic information about participants.