At Prolific, we know how important it is that both our researchers and participants are on the same page. We're all working towards the same common goal: Connecting people to facilitate world-changing research. This is why having clear submission guidelines is integral to our platform and overall mission.

Below, you'll find a set of guidelines that we encourage all participants to follow. Check out our company principles too, and try to keep these in mind when taking part in studies on the platform.

Take the right amount of time to complete a study

We recommend only ever taking part in a study if you know that you're able to dedicate enough time to reading through all the questions properly, really think about your answers, and articulating them to the researcher. Our researchers are always really grateful when they can see that a participant has put thought, care and consideration into their submission and will reward you accordingly.

Answer all questions in a study

The value of a participant's time is well understood and respected by the researcher's on Prolific. Researchers will almost never ask questions that aren't directly relevant or important to their research. This is why the best approach is to consider all questions asked as crucial (unless explicitly stated as optional), answering each and everyone to the best of your ability.

Pay attention to everything

Before the study, read the study description carefully for what device to use, what equipment you need and whether you can use AI assistance. In most cases, we don't allow this, but some researchers may request you do.

Once in the study, make sure you read every question carefully so you don't get caught out by attention checks, and you follow the instructions to the best of your ability.

Engage in a task the best you can

Engagement shows a high level of effort and that the task was completed with the utmost seriousness. When you aren't sufficiently engaged, the quality of your submission drops and so too does the researcher's confidence in the quality/reliability of the data. A participant that may not be sufficiently engaged, for example, may only put a few words or gibberish when asked to write a paragraph.

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