rewarding research participants - the psychology of incentives
TRANSCRIPT
Rewarding Research Participants:The Psychology of Incentives
[email protected] | @_FlexMR | www.flexmr.net
2 FlexMR | CONFIDENTIAL
What do research participants want?
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Preferred Research Channels
What Do Participants Want?
Online Research Face-to-Face Research Telephone Research0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
% o
f Res
pond
ents
Base: n=275
99%
48%44%
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Key Insight
Consumers are twice as likely to take part in online research than face-to-face or telephone studies.
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Preferred Research Types
What Do Participants Want?
Base: n=266
Surve
ys
Focus
Groups
Interv
iews
Diaries
Commun
ities
0
1
2
3
4
5
3.47
2.542.32
1.75 1.59
“Surveys are always easy to complete and allow you to say what you want”
Surveys
“I enjoy taking part in the activities, it keeps me involved in new products.
Also I like the feed back that my opinion is valued and it is interesting to
see other's opinions as well.”
“The best part of the site is the interaction between members and
moderators.”
”
Communities
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Preferred Research Types
What Do Participants Want?
Longitudinal Commitment
Speed of Activity
Low Commitment
Long ActivitiesShort Activities
High Commitment
Participant Preference
Researcher Preference
• MIxed methods• In-depth feedback• Insight into
consumer behaviour
• Quantitative methods
• Instant feedback• Insight into
moments & microcosms
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Positive Participant Feedback
What Do Participants Want?
“Very interesting discussion, nice to have been involved.”
Experiences
“Thanks for the opportunity, been fun. I didn't think we could talk about it for
90 mins.”
“I enjoyed this, my daughter did one last year and actually had to leave the
house and sit in a room with real people, this is far better for me you
don’t have to see my dinosaur face….and I have a cold."
“I hope that I have been of some help and look forward to [seeing the]
feedback at some point.”
“Not likely to remember to fill it in - and not always easy to find the time.”
Expectations
“I think either the tasks will be boring or they take longer than 30 minutes
per day.”
“You would need too many points to get any where.”
“I would never remember to do them, I usually only do a survey if the site
sends me an invitation and they don't usually.”
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Influence over research methodology
What Do Participants Want?
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Creating Motivation & Avoiding Demotivation
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Participant Motivators
Research Motivations
Financial incentive
Curiosity/topic interest
Having your opinion heard
Desire to help
Improving the company
Seeing research results
Previous experiences with the company
Meeting new people
Feeling you ought to
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Base: n=268
Why do you take part?
6%
18%
29%
84%
74%
71%
60%
54%
46%
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Research Hierarchy of Effects
Research Motivations
Attention
ColourStampPersonalisationResearch attitudeProcessing
Intention
IncentiveResearch attitudePrivacySpare timePerceived length
Completion
IncentiveResearch attitudePrivacySpare timePerceived length
Return
IncentiveResearch attitude
Interest in Results
Adapted from: Helgeson, et al. (2002) Determinants of mail-survey respondent factors, Psychology & Marketing
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Meta-analysis shows rewards and number of invitations have most significance
Research Motivations
Meta analysis cited in: Brennan, et al. (1998) The Tea Bag Experiment, Journal of Market Research
Specific Entice
Reward Impact
Variety
Email invitations strategy
“Record yourself opening your next
bill…”“Sneak peak”
“Change the product”
Day 1: Informative HTML email
Day 3 : Reminder (short/to the point)
Day 5: Enticing, brief text only email
Day 7: Text message
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Expected Incentive Value
Research Motivations
Base: n=260
Less than £10 £10-£20Over £20
How Much Do Participants Expect?
• 59% of participants expect less than £10 per hour
• 33% of participants expect between £10-£20 per hour
• 8% of participants expect over £20 per hour
What Factors Influence Expected Value?
• Payment method• Research difficulty• Time commitments• Disruption of daily routine
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The Most Effective Incentives
Research Motivations
Cash or cheque prize
Voucher prize
Free products
Entry into prize draws
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
% o
f Res
pond
ents
Base: n=260
“I never win any of these draws. I think the chances of getting a pay out are
too remote.”
“Sounds quite a lot of effort for what sounds like a very small chance of any
reward.”
“I would sooner receive a small guaranteed incentive rather than a
slim chance of winning a prize.”
“Because there is no visibility of the chances of winning or how the draw
is conducted.”
94%
76%72%
17%
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Key Insight
Balancing incentive value with perceived research difficulty is vital to success.
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Participant Motivators
Research Motivations
Financial incentive
Curiosity/topic interest
Having your opinion heard
Desire to help
Improving the company
Seeing research results
Previous experiences with the company
Meeting new people
Feeling you ought to
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Base: n=268
Why do you take part?
6%
18%
29%
84%
74%
71%
60%
54%
46%
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Underlying human needs
Research Motivations
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Connection
Esteem
Status
Feeling you ought to
Seeing research results
Previous experience
Curiosity/topic interest
Financial Incentive
Meeting new people
Improving the company
Desire to help
Having your opinion heard
“I enjoyed taking part in the discussion and seeing other
people's views.”
“Thank you for my incentive. It was a pleasure to be able to
contribute something.“
“I really enjoyed taking part in the focus group .”
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Which Participants are Most Valuable?
Research Motivations
Self Promotors• Are interested in the topic or discussion in hand• Seek the opportunity to meet new people• Motivated by guaranteed rewards and the
opportunity to see the research results
Utilitarian• Motivated by financial reward• Attracted to higher & more valuable incentives• Prefer guaranteed rewards over competitions
Personally Invested• Divisive opinions formed from previous
experiences• Can be either brand promotors or detractors• Motivated by free products & opportunities
Participant sweet spot
Connection
Esteem
Status
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Key Insight
Appeal to a range of human motivations when inviting people to take part
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Factors Influencing Drop Out Rate
Research Motivations
Too many questions
Incentive not enough
Research is badly organised
Not enough time
Poorly explained requirements
Irrelevant research
Data privacy concerns
Difficulty understanding questions
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
47%
41%
36%
33%
31%
31%
22%
21%
Base: n=268
% of Respondents
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Effective & ineffective research questions
Research Motivations
Effective:• List the brand attributes that ‘Laughing
Cow’ aspires to – How much does this product say the following to you?• Fun• For the family…
Ineffective:• How will does this product represent the
‘Laughing Cow’ brand?
Does the consumer have an explicit understanding of what this is?
• Do you think this product is too shiny?
(Leading and suggestive)
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Lack of connection accounts for a high number of barriers
Research Motivations
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Incentive not enough
Not enough time
Data privacy concerns
Too many questionsResearch badly
organisedPoorly explained
requirements
Difficulty understanding questions
Irrelevant research
Connection
Safety
Status
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Key Insight
Simplify language & engage with consumers on their terms to boost response rates.
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Connecting people
Research Motivations
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Too many questionsResearch badly
organisedPoorly explained
requirements
Difficulty understanding questions
Irrelevant research
Connection - barriers
Previous experience with the company
Meeting new peopleImproving the
company
Connection - motivators
Community/continuous
Gamification
• Method of enquiry needs to be challenged more• Many barriers are a symptom of only one chance to ask and answer the
question
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Community tools
Community tools
• Latest member activity feed• Peer-to-peer messaging
• Leader boards • Participant profiles
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Motivating more investment Connectio
n
Status
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Treating participants like people leads to better engagement
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Improving Participant Motivation & Engagement
Key Takeaways
1. Communicate the benefits & value of research to participants
2. Reassure participants prior to the study & address any misconceptions
3. Recruit a balanced variety of research participants
4. Maximise participant time with effective questions
5. Compensate participants fairly with relevant incentives
Rewarding Research Participants:The Psychology of Incentives
[email protected] | @_FlexMR | www.flexmr.net