Using integrated recruitment tools

If we’re using an online tree-testing tool, it may provide its own recruitment tools that give us access to a participant pool that the vendor maintains itself, or which it has “hired” from a commercial research panel. (See Using commercial panels earlier in this chapter.)

Here’s how integrated recruitment typically works:

1. We create our tree-test study using the online tool.
   
   
2. In the same tool, we choose their online-recruitment feature.
   
   
3. We select criteria that will get us the participants we want.
   
   Here is an example from Treejack:
   
   
   
   
4. The tool then gives us an estimated cost and time required:
   
   
   
   
5. If we decide to proceed, we launch our study normally, and the tool sends invitations to participants in its database who match the criteria we supplied.
   
   
6. When the desired number of participants have completed the study, the automated recruitment ends and we are notified that the test results are ready to view.
   
   

Integrated recruitment tools have similar pros and cons to commercial research panels, but assuming they offer the kinds of participants we want, they are definitely easier to deal with because they are already integrated into the testing tool.

Next: Other ways to recruit