The participant's incentive is calculated based on the estimated study completion time, so it’s very important to estimate the study completion time accurately and in good faith to avoid misleading participants.
Before participants decide to participate, they are getting informed about the incentive they will receive after completing the study and the time they need to allocate from their schedule to complete the study. Their decision to participate is based on those two factors (time and incentive).
It is possible for studies to be overestimated or underestimated. In this context, it is also possible for participants to get a lower incentive, because of an underestimated study completion time or get a higher incentive because of an overestimated study completion time.
What if I underestimate?
If the estimated study completion time is exceeded while a participant is taking a study (thus you underestimate the study duration):
The study does not stop (The Useberry study does not stop being presented to participants)
It is up to the participants to continue taking the study or drop off the study
Participants who drop off the study do not get an incentive
Participants who continue the study and get to the "thank you screen" get incentivized based on the initial study completion time estimation you provided when setting up the target group. Thus, you do not have to buy more credits to incentivize participants for the extra time needed to complete the study (even though you underestimated the time).
What if I overestimate?
If the estimated study completion time is not exceeded when participants finish a study (thus you have overestimated the study duration):
Participants are incentivized based on the initial study completion time estimation you provided when setting up the target group.
You do not get a credit refund if participants finish the study in less time than the one you estimated when setting up the target group
How can I make an accurate estimation?
If you’re not sure how long it will take to complete your study on average, try testing it on some of your friends/colleagues, or run a small pilot study on our Participants Pool before recruiting your full sample.
Additionally, it is a good option to give some extra time to the participants. This way participants won’t be ‘surprised’ if the study takes longer than they expect. This also builds trust between the researcher and the participant.