Invitation Management

Overview

Invitation Management in the Open Lab platform allows researchers to recruit participants for their online studies using various strategies. It is organized into three tabs — Public links for general access, Direct invitations for personalized recruitment, and Tracking links for measuring where participants come from. This section provides a detailed guide on creating, editing, and distributing invitations, including email sending and QR code generation, to ensure efficient participant enrollment.

Access Invitation Management from the study dashboard at https://research.open-lab.online/dashboard/studies/[study-id]/invitations. Each tab lives at its own URL (/invitations/public, /invitations/direct, and /invitations/tracking), so you can bookmark or refresh the one you're working in.

Public links

The Public links tab provides simple, non-personalized ways for participants to join the study. These do not require individual creation.

Study Code: A unique code (e.g., "STUDY123") that participants can enter in the participant web application to join the study.
Study Link: A direct web link to the study page (e.g., "https://open-lab.online/studies/[study-code]"). Includes a QR code for easy scanning and a button to copy the QR to the clipboard.
Search: Toggle the study's visibility to public or private. When public, participants can find the study by searching its title in the participant application.

Example: For a public study, toggle visibility to "Public" to allow search-based discovery. Use the QR code for in-person recruitment events.

Troubleshooting Tip: If the QR code fails to copy, ensure browser permissions allow clipboard access. For private studies, ensure only intended participants receive the code or link.

Screenshot of the Fixed Strategies tab, showing study code, link with QR, and search toggle. — The Fixed Strategies tab, displaying general access methods including QR code.

Direct invitations

The Direct invitations tab allows for personalized recruitment, creating unique codes for individuals or groups. View and manage them in a sortable table with columns for participant code, group code, email, status, creation date, and actions.

Creating Custom Invitations

To create invitations:

Click "Create New Invitation" to open the creation modal.
Upload a CSV file or paste a list in the format: participantCode,groupCode,email (e.g., "P001,G1,user@example.com"). Fields can be omitted.
Submit to generate invitations. A warning appears if creating for non-CREATED status might affect data integrity.

Example: Paste "P001,,user1@example.com\nP002,G2," to create two invitations, one with email only and one with group code only.

Screenshot of the Create Invitations modal, showing CSV upload and paste options. — The Create Invitations modal for bulk or individual creation.

Editing Invitations

Select an invitation and click the edit icon to open the edit modal. Editable fields include participant code, group code, and email. Non-editable fields (e.g., status, dates) are displayed for reference. An invitation's status is one of CREATED, SENT, or REGISTERED. A warning shows if editing might impact ongoing data collection (e.g., for "SENT" or "REGISTERED" status).

Troubleshooting Tip: Avoid editing invitations with status other than "CREATED" to prevent data inconsistencies.

Screenshot of the Edit Invitation modal, showing editable and non-editable fields. — The Edit Invitation modal with fields for participant code, group code, and email.

Sending Emails

Select invitations with emails and status "CREATED", then click "Send Emails". Customize the subject and HTML body using placeholders like [INVITATION_LINK]. Preview the email before sending. Only eligible invitations are sent.

Example: Use the default template or modify it to include study-specific details.

Screenshot of the Email Invitation modal, showing subject, body editor, and preview. — The Email Invitation modal for sending customized emails.

Generating QR Codes

Select an invitation and click the QR icon to open the QR modal. It displays the invitation link and QR code, with an option to copy the QR to the clipboard.

Screenshot of the QR Code modal, showing the link and QR code. — The QR Code modal for individual invitations.

Other Actions

- Sorting: Click column headers to sort the table.
- Selection: Use checkboxes for bulk actions like delete or email.
- Delete: Remove selected invitations (confirm for non-CREATED status).

Tracking links

The Tracking links tab lets you generate a separate link for each place where you publish the study — for example, one link for a mailing list, another for a social media post, and another for a poster. Because each channel gets its own link, you can see which sources actually bring in participants and compare recruitment channels.

Create a link per channel, share the appropriate link in each place, and use the tab to review how participants arrived through each one.

Next Steps

With invitations managed, explore the following sections to handle participant enrollment and study settings on the Open Lab platform:

Study Setup
- Participant Management: Manage participant enrollment and study settings.
- Settings: Manage study settings.
Collaboration
- Projects: Create and manage project cards to describe your research needs.
- Collaborators: Find, invite, and collaborate with other researchers.
Data
- Data Analysis: Build visualizations to analyze study data.
- Data Reports: Generate comprehensive reports from study data.