What’s new: Custom screening questions, smoother study setup, and more

Check out these three new features that make running research on Prolific faster and easier than ever. We’re currently testing some of these features with a small group of researchers - but we will be rolling them out across the platform soon!

Custom screening for researchers and participants

We offer hundreds of prescreening filters that enable researchers to recruit the participants they need. But what if you have highly niche or specific criteria?

To help you find the perfect sample for your research, we’re trialing an experimental in-study screening feature that lets you add your own screening questions.

• Recruit participants for niche criteria that might not be covered in our prescreening filters.
• This feature also ensures that participants are never screened out without pay, so they always receive fair rewards.

If this feature is available to you, you’ll see it on your study setup page. If you can’t see this feature yet, don’t worry - you can still recruit custom samples on Prolific.

You can find out more about Prolific’s prescreeners and custom screening questions in our help center.

Participant referrals: Growing our global pool

As we scale our participant pool to be globally representative, we’ve launched participant referrals. This lets participants refer their friends and colleagues to Prolific, based on researcher demand.

• Our referral criteria is flexible, and based on what our researchers need from our pool. We have 200,000 diverse and engaged participants to tap into.
• All referred participants are subject to our data quality and personal checks via Protocol. This includes LLM detection and ID verification.

Participant referrals is currently available to participants based on which demographics are in high demand. This could be anything from niche characteristics, languages, or skills. Participants who refer their friends earn a bonus for each successful referral.

Smoother study setup

To make your Prolific experience as efficient and flexible as possible, our team is making improvements to our study setup page. We’re currently testing a new summary side panel, which allows you to:

• Quickly and easily access key details about participants and study costs without having to leave the page.
• Monitor study costs and participant uptake directly from the studies page.

Our team is currently testing the best version of our study setup page. Keep your eyes peeled for a full roll-out coming soon.