Joining a study as a participant

This page is for people taking part in research, and for research teams who want something to send to a participant who’s unsure what happens next.

Finding the study

Every study has a public page describing who is running it, what it’s about, who can take part and what taking part involves. You’ll either be sent a direct link or find the study listed publicly. Read that page first — it’s the study team’s own description, and it should answer what the research is for and how long it lasts.

If the study isn’t recruiting yet, the page says so and there’s nothing to do until it opens.

Joining

Choosing to join starts the study’s onboarding flow. Each study designs its own, but it’s built from the same kinds of step:

  • Consent — the agreement you’re being asked to accept. You’ll see the full text and tick to agree; some studies also ask for a typed signature. You’re agreeing to that exact wording, and the copy you accepted is kept, so it can’t quietly change later.
  • A registration form — the details the study needs from you. Only the fields the team has asked for, nothing else.
  • A survey — sometimes a screening or baseline questionnaire.
  • Approval — some studies check applications by hand before enrolling you, so you may be told you’re waiting on the team.

You can stop partway through and pick up where you left off. If your application isn’t approved, the study tells you.

Once you’re in

You get your own view of the study: what it’s about, the surveys waiting for you, the ones you’ve completed, and the data the study holds about you in the form the team has set up for participants.

Your answers go to the research team running that study. They don’t go to other participants, they aren’t public, and they aren’t shared with other studies. See Who can see my responses?

Leaving

You can withdraw at any time, from the study’s page. You’re asked which you want:

  • Stop taking part — you leave, and the study keeps the data already collected.
  • Stop and ask for my data to be deleted — you leave and the study team is notified of your deletion request, which they action.

Either way you aren’t sent anything further. Withdrawal is recorded with its date rather than erased, so the study’s record of what you agreed to, and when you changed your mind, stays accurate.

Questions the platform can’t answer

Anything about the research itself — why a question is asked, what happens to the findings, whether you’re eligible — is for the team running the study. Their contact details are on the study’s public page. Indacas hosts the study; we don’t run it.

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