Asking a participant to return a submission
- Sometimes a participant hasn't returned their submission, but it is appropriate to use our messaging system to ask a participant to return it, rather than reject it. For example, if:
- they only took a part of your study (and didn't complete it);
- they encountered technical problems (in which case, please consider awarding partial payments);
- they withdrew their consent (in which case please also delete any data that you have from that participant in your external software); or
- you feel they should be given the opportunity to return their submission for another reason, rather than be penalised with a rejection.
- Participants can return submissions from their Submissions page, by selecting the red circular arrow to 'Return + cancel reward'.
- A researcher cannot return submissions.
- Please allow the participant at least 5 days to respond to your request.
Rejecting a submission
- A rejected submission is when, after you have reviewed your data, you have determined that there is a valid reason to reject (and penalise) the participant.
- The participant must have shown negligence in one of the following ways:
- they completed your study exceptionally quickly, i.e. their response time is 3 standard deviations below average;
- they skipped crucial questions, or questions that are inevitable to answering your research question;
- they failed one or multiple fair attention checks (please refer to our guidance on using attention checks as a measure of data quality); or
- they did not sufficiently engage in a task where the required level of engagement was clearly specified.
- Please review all submissions holistically and remember that participants have spent time and effort taking your study.
- Participants are penalised for rejections and, if they receive too many, they will be removed from the pool, so please only reject a participant if you have evidence of negligence!
I've mistakenly rejected a submission instead of asking the participant to return it, what should I do?
- You should 'unreject' their submission and send a message to let them know they can 'return' it.
- The submission will then show as 'awaiting review.'
- When a submission is returned, that spot opens back up in your study so that another participant can take part and you don't miss out on getting all the data you need!
- If you don't hear back from participants after a reasonable period, our Support team can assist you with returning submissions.
Helpful to know...
- You will only be able to reverse a rejection if you have enough funds in your account to approve the submission. If necessary, you can top-up with additional funds, then request a refund.
- If you 'unreject' a submission after 21 days, the submission status would return to 'awaiting review'. It would then be automatically approved within 24 hours, or you can approve it manually before then.