Rewarding Research Participants - The Psychology of Incentives

Rewarding Research Participants:The Psychology of Incentives

[email protected] | @_FlexMR | www.flexmr.net

2 FlexMR | CONFIDENTIAL

What do research participants want?


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%


Key Insight

Consumers are twice as likely to take part in online research than face-to-face or telephone studies.


Preferred Research Types


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


Preferred Research Types


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


Positive Participant Feedback


“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.”


Influence over research methodology



Creating Motivation & Avoiding Demotivation


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%


Research Hierarchy of Effects


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


Meta-analysis shows rewards and number of invitations have most significance


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


Expected Incentive Value


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


The Most Effective Incentives


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%


Key Insight

Balancing incentive value with perceived research difficulty is vital to success.


Participant Motivators


Financial incentive



Desire to help



Previous experiences with the company

Meeting new people


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%

FlexMR | CONFIDENTIAL

Underlying human needs


17

Connection

Esteem

Status



Previous experience


Financial Incentive

Meeting new people


Desire to help


“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 .”


Which Participants are Most Valuable?


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


Key Insight

Appeal to a range of human motivations when inviting people to take part


Factors Influencing Drop Out Rate


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


Effective & ineffective research questions


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)


Lack of connection accounts for a high number of barriers


22

Incentive not enough

Not enough time

Data privacy concerns

Too many questionsResearch badly

organisedPoorly explained

requirements


Irrelevant research

Connection

Safety

Status


Key Insight

Simplify language & engage with consumers on their terms to boost response rates.


Connecting people


24

Too many questionsResearch badly

organisedPoorly explained

requirements


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


Community tools

Community tools

• Latest member activity feed• Peer-to-peer messaging

• Leader boards • Participant profiles

25

Motivating more investment Connectio

n

Status


Treating participants like people leads to better engagement


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

Rewarding Research Participants - The Psychology of Incentives

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