Create a study

A study is one project: its tasks, its participants and everything they send back. This article walks you through creating one and explains every field.

Create the study

1. Click New study on Home, or + New study on the Studies page.
2. Fill in the form. Every field is explained below.
3. Click Create study.

The study opens on its Overview tab as a draft. The Set-up checklist there shows what to do next: participant groups if you need them, the consent form, tasks, translations, participants, and finally going live.

Owners and researchers can create studies. If a researcher creates a study, they are added to it as its researcher. On a free trial, you see a message when the trial's study limit is reached.

About the study

• Study name: up to 150 characters. Your team sees it, and participants see it too.
• Client (optional): the brand or end client, up to 150 characters. It shows in the study header.

Languages participants can use

Tick every language your participants need: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese or Polish. Then choose the Main language. You write tasks and questions in the main language first, and translate them into the others later. See Translate your study.

Timing

• Fieldwork starts and Fieldwork ends (optional). The end date must be on or after the start date. A participant's day 1 is the day they sign the consent form, or the fieldwork start date if that is later. A study cannot go live once its end date has passed.
• Daily reminder time: for example 09:00. Reminders never go out before this time.
• Remind participants when a task opens: on by default. Reminders go by email, or by text message when a participant has only a mobile number and SMS is set up. They are never sent before the reminder time or between 22:00 and 07:00 in the participant's time, and at most once per task a day. See Reminders.
• Study time zone: Zolensa uses each participant's own time zone when it knows it, and this one otherwise.

Privacy

Choose how participants appear to your team:

• Codes only: participants appear as P001, P002 and so on. This is recommended.
• First names: the research team sees first names. Clients and moderators still see codes.

Then set Delete videos, photos and answers this many days after the study closes. Choose between 30 and 3650 days. The default is 365. When this time has passed after closing, Zolensa deletes all participant data of the study by itself. See Data privacy and retention.

Change the details later

Click Edit study details in the study header, change what you need and click Save changes. The form says "You can change these at any time. Changes apply from now on." The Details card on the Overview shows the current settings.

Tip: The standard consent wording fills in the number of days data is kept. If you change it here, participants see the new number. See The consent form.

Delete a study

Only owners can delete a study. At the bottom of Edit study details, under Delete this study:

1. Tick I understand that everything in this study is deleted for good.
2. Type the study name exactly as shown.
3. Click Delete the study.

This deletes the tasks, the consent form, the groups and all participant data, files included. It cannot be undone, so export what you need first.

Next: Participant groups and Add tasks.