For Researchers and Trusted Partners, it is imperative they find the exact participants that they are looking for (often times across a wide range of parameters). As such, even if you are an excellent fit for a project, or have extensive experience with a topic or industry, you may not be selected based on a complex list of requirements. In some events, a Researcher or Trusted Partner may also "Double Screen" participants (more on that below), and/or mark you as "Disqualified" for a project after you have expressed interest.
1. How will I know if I was marked as "Disqualified?"
Researchers and Trusted Partners will typically mark you as "disqualified" within the platform, which will send you an email alert and change the status of the project within your dashboard.
The email alert may look something like this:
The status change in your projects dashboard may look something like this:
2. Why was I disqualified? Was I disqualified in error/by mistake?
Researchers are often looking for very specific skills, hobbies, interests, experiences, backgrounds, demographics, and profile information when recruiting participants. In addition to these parameters, most projects are actively recruiting and reviewing on a "first come, first served basis." It is important to note that at any one time, while you are completing a screener questionnaire (AKA, "Screener") or expressing interest in a project, there can be dozens, or hundreds, or more participants doing the same for the same project.
Sometimes, a Researcher or Trusted Partner is looking for subsets of recruits within the project. As an example, sometimes they are looking for ten people ages 21-30, ten people ages 31-40, and twenty five people ages 41-50. In a scenario like this, while you may be an excellent candidate for the project, the need to the researcher may be elsewhere slightly. Occasionally, these parameters can change during a projects recruitment.
In some cases, a Researcher or Trusted Partner on the Respondent platform may "double screen" participants to ensure that they are finding the exact right fit for this projects. In these cases, generally, the first Screener will happen on the Respondent platform, and the second Screener will take place off of the Respondent platform, directly with the Researcher and/or Trusted Partner. The "double screening" process is not a paid activity, but does not count against your daily Screener limit. More information on Double Screening below in this article.
While uncommon, occasionally a Researcher or Trusted Partner may mark you as "disqualified" due to issues with your Screener responses, misrepresentation of knowledge or experience, misrepresentation of location or geographical data, unstable internet or networking connection, language barriers or communication issues, or if they believe that a participant has provided false information, used a BOT or AI assistance tool, has applied to multiple similar projects, or has otherwise presented as dishonest. These instances are incredibly rare, but they can and do happen from time to time.
In the overwhelming majority of situations, you were not marked as "disqualified" by mistake. Often times, when the aforementioned reasons exist, a Researcher/Trusted Partner marking a participant as "disqualified" more likely indicates that that already have who they are looking for (for any number of reasons), and not that you have done anything incorrectly.
3. Does being marked as "Disqualified" impact my participant status on Respondent? Will this negatively affect future projects or screeners for me on the platform?
Short answer, is no, it does not! Researchers and Trusted Partners will often use the "Disqualified" status as a "catch all" for the reasons outlined above in this article.
Being marked as "Disqualified" does not necessarily mean you have done anything wrong, or done anything incorrectly, or that you were not a good fit for the project. In most cases, it is us taking systematic classification.
Double Screening & Multiple Screeners to Qualify:
In some instances, Researchers and Trusted Partners may want to "double screen" participants using both the Respondent in-app screener, and then their own screening process that may take you off of the Respondent platform. In these cases, you will first take the normal screener questionnaire (AKA, screener) on the Respondent platform as normal, and then assuming you are moved forward in the selection process, you may take another, second screener on the Researcher or Trust Partner's platform directly. It is important to note, both screeners will be required to move forward, and a Researcher or Trusted Partner may decide at any point to move on without your participation. In these cases, you may be marked as "disqualified" within the Respondent platform.
How will I know if a Researcher or Trusted Partner is using multiple screeners/Double Screening for a research study or project?
In most cases (but not in all cases), you will see an alert within the platform indicating as such. The alert should look something like this:
Questions, comments, or feedback? Please reach out to our Support Team using the blue "chat bubble" in the bottom right hand corner of your screen (when logged in to the Respondent platform) and we would be happy to assist further!