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):

• When Prolific asks you to describe what participants will be doing in this study, describe it in a few sentences. Use the same section to copy-paste NDA and consent to participate from the statements folder in our internal usability testing kit. Our Dora the legal put her stamp on it so you can let the clients know that the legal part is taken care of.
• If the study is unmoderated, attach the study (Useberry, Typeform…) URL at the dedicated spot in the data collection section.
• When Prolific asks you how you want to record Prolific IDs, select the “I'll add a question in my study” option. At the beginning of your survey, add a question asking participants for their unique Prolific ID. This is the only way you can connect prolific data to study data, and approve someone’s submission.
• When Prolific asks you how you want to confirm participants have completed your study, select the “I'll give them the Completion Code to copy & paste” option. As a last step, give participants the completion code Prolific will generate for you. Participants will enter the code on their Prolific account when they finish the study.
• The fun part is specifying demographic criteria for participants. When we say the Prolific screener survey is comprehensive, we couldn’t be more serious about it. You can screen your participants based on different criteria connected to their age, gender, work, hobbies, income, investment experience, experience with different technologies, shopping habits…
• The not-so-fun part is everything related to the study cost. Based on the length of your study, the number of participants needed, and their characteristics you should calculate the total study cost. You can use this calculator to get a sense of the amount that will work for a specific case. From experience, going 50-65% below the calculator’s suggestions still works well.
• Once you know the costs, go to your PM, discuss the study cost, and make an invoicing plan. Once the client gives you the green light, ping Monika or Jurica to top up your Prolific account with the right amount.

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.