Making projects public is a new way to organize and present studies to participants. Unlike before, when projects on Prolific were just internal organizational tools, public projects create a dedicated space where participants can see all related studies packaged together.
Why use public projects?
Public projects provide several benefits:
Context for participants: Participants can read an overview and understand what the research is about before engaging with studies
Ongoing engagement: Participants can return to the same space for new studies as they're published, creating continuity
Better communication: You can use the overview and additional information sections to communicate about upcoming work so participants can prepare
Better participant experience: Participants find the work more fulfilling, appreciate developing specialist skills, and value the stability and frequency of work
Higher quality responses: Participants are more likely to be invested if they understand the broader context of a project, which increases response quality
How to set up a public project
1. Create a new public project
Click "New Project" and add in the project name
Select the public project option "As a collection"
2. Fill in project details
Navigate to the "Project Details" tab
Add a project title that participants will see
Write a brief overview description of the project (500 character limit)
Add additional information using the text editor - include anything you want participants to know while engaging with studies in this project (3000 character limit)
Note: You can save incomplete project details and come back to finish them later, but all fields are required before publishing studies
3. Create and publish studies
Create studies within the public project as usual
When you attempt to publish, you'll see a modal confirming your project details and showing how it will look to participants
If project details are incomplete, you'll be prompted to fill them in before publishing
Once published, studies appear in the public project space that participants can access
Participant experience
Participants will see a new navigation option for "Projects" alongside their regular study feed. In the projects section, they can browse all public projects they're invited to, read the overview and additional information, and access all available studies within each project.
To see the participant's view, refer to Projects on Prolific: what they are and how they work.