Introduction to Profile Fields
Recollective allows you to collect an unlimited number of additional properties for every Panelist in your site. These properties are referred to as Profile Fields.
Profile fields typically house demographic data, but they can be any property that helps you profile your Panelists. Some standard Fields already exist in every Recollective site (ie. First Name, Last Name, Email Address). You can also create custom fields as needed.
Profile field data can be used to create Smart Segments if you want to group or filter your panelists by the data in a particular field.
Standard Fields
Every Panelist account in Recollective houses the following standard Fields (though not all of the fields are mandatory):
- First Name
- Last Name
- Email Address
- Username
- Password
- Time Zone
- External ID
Custom Fields
Recollective allows you to collect an unlimited number of additional properties, over and above the standard Fields, for every Panelist in your site. These are custom fields and are managed within the Site Administration > Profile Fields area.
As seen below in a Panelist's profile, fields are like questions, but they're not the same as the ones you might ask in an Activity - the fields are like an extension of the person's account. They are usually populated with metadata from recruitment, database exports or from screening on Recollective.
Types of Custom Fields
Various types of fields are supported:
- Poll (single or multiple-choice)
- Plain Text
- Formatted Text
- Number
- Date
- Timestamp (date and time)
- Video
- Prompt (link to external link/survey)
Methods for Adding Fields
Fields can be bulk imported, added manually from the Profile Fields area, or added from within a Study space as Screening Questions.
Bulk Importing Custom Fields and Field Data
For more information on how to add custom Fields via Bulk Import, click here.
If you do not have the information to populate your custom Fields ahead of time, you can collect it by exposing the Fields to Panelists during Account Registration, or during Study Screening.
Adding Fields Manually
New custom Fields can be added from the Profile Fields area under Site Administration. This is also where you can modify fields that have been added via Bulk Import.
- Define a Question that the fields value with answer - ie. How many children do you have?
- Determine the type of Field - ie. the response to "How many children do you have?" will be a number, so we will pick number
- Define a Field Name, which will appear in transcripts and exports - ie. ChildrenNumber
- If a Field is housing data that constitutes personally identifiable information (PII) - this is any data that could potentially identify a specific individual - there is a checkbox option to identify the field as such. By selecting the May contain personal identifiable information (PII) option, the system will include this field as part of the personal data removal when actioned.
- You can also limit which participants can complete specific fields by enabling Limit who can complete this field and selecting a segment from the dropdown list. Participants will need to be assigned to the relevant segment ahead of time (i.e. via bulk import) in order to see a limited field.
Please note that from a Study space, only Analysts and the relevant Moderators will be able to see the custom fields and data tied to the Study participants, unless specific Client Privacy Settings are enabled to allow Clients to see this information. You can distinguish between fields with PII and fields without PII when choosing whether or not to give clients access to view field information, and you can limit which profile fields appear in a study.
More Options: Show on...
After saving a new Field, you can use the Show on... option to add it to the Account Registration Form, or to the Account Settings page.
When Account Settings is selected, panelists will be able to view the field from their Account Settings page. This option should only be enabled when you want participants to be able to view the field's contents.
If a field is limited to a select segment, only participants in that segment will be able to view it from their Account Settings page.
When the Registration Form is selected, the field will appear on the Account Registration page for panelists to fill out.
Screening Questions
The screening questions you can ask before people join a Study are actually profile fields. They are simply fields deemed to be in Study. When fields are placed in study as screening questions, participants will fill out the field data when they join the study for the first time. Fields used as screening questions can be configured to qualify or disqualify participants from a study.
For more information on how to add Screening Questions, click here.