Invitation Management

Overview

Invitation Management in the Open Lab platform allows researchers to recruit participants for their online studies using various strategies. It is divided into Fixed Strategies for general access and Custom Invitations for personalized recruitment. 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. The interface features tabs for Fixed Strategies and Custom Invitations, enabling easy switching between general and personalized recruitment methods.

Fixed Strategies

Fixed strategies provide simple, non-personalized ways for participants to join the study. These are always available and 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.

Custom Invitations

Custom invitations allow 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:

1. Click "Create New Invitation" to open the creation modal.
2. 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.
3. 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.

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. A warning shows if editing might impact ongoing data collection (e.g., for "SENT" or "ACCEPTED" status).

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

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.

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.

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).

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.