Longitudinal studies, also sometimes known as trackers, waves, or follow-up studies, sample the same group of participants over time. Conducting longitudinal projects on Connect is easy to do. And, CloudResearch has several tips for ensuring your project is successful.
Setting up the Initial Project
The initial project in a longitudinal design starts as any other project would. You setup your project using the Create a Project wizard.
During the initial wave of your project two things are especially important.
- First, make sure you capture or record each person's Connect ID. The Connect IDs allow you to match participants' data across waves of your project and to re-invite the same group of participants to each wave of data collection.
- The second important thing is to ensure you recruit people who are willing to return for multiple waves of data collection. CloudResearch recommends explicitly stating in the description of your project that the project contains multiple waves of data collection. Doing so helps minimize attrition. We also recommend describing the payment plan for the entire study (e.g., “You will be paid $1 for the initial study and $5 if you complete the second part of this study.” or “You will be paid $6.00 for the entire study.”). Clear instructions and a more transparent process will result in lower attrition.
Setting Up a Follow-Up Project
When conducting follow up waves in your project, you will want to use our Included Participants and two-way direct messaging feature.
The Included Participants feature is a way for you to specify who is eligible for your project using Connect IDs. Within the participant targeting section of the study set up, select "Add Targeting" under the platform options.
You can paste a list of Connect participant IDs into this box to ensure that only people on this list have access to your study.
Alternatively, you may include participants by group or project. Select the appropriate option from the top (Groups or Projects) and choose the group or project you would like to include.
How Can I Message Included Participants?
Once you have launched the follow-up study, select "..." and then hit "Message Now" to send the message at that exact moment or "Schedule Message" to send it at a later date/time.
You may also choose to send and schedule messages directly from the Conversations area.
Click here to learn more about our Longitudinal Study Messaging Features.
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