Introduction to Activities & Tasks
Activities are the most important component of a Recollective Study. They represent the key source of data collection from participants.
An Activity is a collection of related questions or exercises called Tasks. Think of an Activity as a mini-survey and its Tasks are the individual questions. Activities can be completed by participants in real-time, over many hours or over many days.
An Activity defines a number of important parameters:
- When does the Activity start and how long do people have to complete it?
- Will people complete it together in real-time (synchronous) or on their own time (asynchronous)?
- Who gets to complete or participate in an Activity?
- How are responses shared among participants (if at all)?
- Will randomization of Tasks (or grouped Tasks) be used within the Activity?
Activity Sequencing
Participants typically must complete the Activities in the presented order (i.e. Forced sequence of activities). You can also do a mixture of sequenced and un-sequenced Activities, or Use activity dates only. Click on the Activity Sequence button available in the top right of the Activities tab to control these sequencing options.
Learn more about Activity sequencing.
Types of Activities
There are three distinct types of Activities:
- Standard Activities are those that participants complete at their own pace (asynchronous)
- Journal Activities allow for the same Tasks to be repeated for a set period of time (e.g. a daily journal entry for one week)
- Live Group Chat Activities are completed by participants at the same time with a chat-style interface (synchronous)
- Live Video Interview Activities are 1:1 video meetings that participants and admins can schedule with each other (synchronous)
Learn more about Activity types and how to add an Activity to your Study.
Tip: A Study can include an unlimited number of Activities so we recommend more Activities made up of fewer Tasks. Shorter Activities are more enjoyable to complete and you'll give participants time to review each other's responses more often without feeling overwhelmed!