Automate Research: A Guide to Level 1 of the Research Hub Maturity Map

At User Interviews, we use the Research Hub Maturity Map to define different teams’ approaches to panel management with our product.

The four levels of the Maturity Map—Automate Research, Standardize Research, Curate Panel, and Enrich Panel—build on each other as your research practice matures. At the point of implementation, your team may fit into any point on the map, but the goal is typically to move up in maturity level to improve your efficiency and effectiveness over time.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know to achieve Level 1: Automate Research, including:

What is Maturity Map Level 1: Automate Research
When and why your team might want to focus on Level 1
Tutorials and best practices for getting started

What is Level 1 of the Research Hub Maturity Map: Automate Research?

At this level, research is fast with an automated and collaborative workflow. Level 1 is available right out of the box with our Research Hub Workflow plan, meaning you can sign up and get started right away, with minimal setup beyond launching your first project.

Key User Interviews features used in Level 1 include:

To get up and running with seamless recruiting logistics in Research Hub, many teams simply download the targeted customer data they already have in their other platforms and upload .CSV files of participants directly into their projects. Or, they may create and share project links to invite participants to studies instead.

Who uses Level 1: Automate Research?

No matter the maturity level, all teams using Research Hub will use Level 1 features to achieve seamless logistics. Most teams will eventually expand their usage to include standardization across researchers, curated segments, enriched data, and other features in Levels 2–4.

If you’re not sure which level is right for you, consider the chart and questions in this article, or ask your UI Customer Success Manager to help you evaluate your needs.

How to launch your first project to get started with Research Hub Level 1: Automate Research

🚀 Get started with Research Hub Level 1: Automate Research
‍1. On the main project page, click “create a new project” to launch a project.
2. Fill out the details on each page of the “Research Design” section, such as creating your screener survey, setting the session location, and choosing an incentive amount.
3. Under the “Recruitment” tab, find the “select participant source” section and click “add” to upload a CSV of participant emails.
4. Click “launch” to go live with your recruitment project and use our participant management tools to streamline communication, scheduling, and incentives distribution.
🏆 Bonus steps: For an added efficiency boost, consider setting up a data consent notice, connecting testing tool integrations, and adding a company logo for consistency and professionalism across researchers. Plus, you might want to set up roles and permissions for greater control over how different team members engage with Hub.

Now that you understand what Level 1 entails, how do you get started?

The short answer is: Just launch a project!

Level 1’s automated research workflow is enabled by out-of-the-box features on our Research Hub Workflow plan, which means you can sign up and start recruiting today.

We’ll walk you through each step below.

(Psst—if you haven’t already, you’ll need to set up an account.)

1. Launch a project.

To launch a project, click “Create a new project” from the main page and fill out the details to create a project draft.

2. Fill out the Research Design > Recruitment details.

Choose an internal name for your project, upload a CSV of participants, create a screener survey, and upload any relevant documents like NDAs or consent forms. Then, choose whether you’d like to review participants manually or automatically.

3. Fill out the Research Design > Research Activity details.

In the next tab, follow the prompts to choose manual or automatic scheduling, set the session location and length, add your available session times, invite collaborators as optional or required session attendees, include preparation details for participants, and set scheduling rules like whether or not to allow participants to reschedule.

4. Fill out the Research Design > Participant Number & Incentives details.

In the next tab, choose the number of participants you want to recruit, set your incentive, and choose your incentive distribution method.

5. Fill out the Research Design > Participant Communication details.

In the final tab, add the name and description of the public recruitment listing you’ll send to participants. From here, you can also customize and preview the automated emails that will be sent to participants throughout the research process. When you’re done, click “launch” to go live with your recruitment project!

8. Bonus steps for a productivity boost ✨

We’ll get more into branding and customization in Level 2 of Research Hub Maturity, but as a quick win, you can start setting up some more advanced features now. Uploading a company logo to be automatically applied to all participant-facing communication is a quick and easy way to build trust with your audience. Additionally, you can streamline processes by setting up a data consent notice and connecting any testing tool integrations you regularly use.

⏭️ Post-launch, head to the “Participant Management” tab in your project workspace to:

Invite additional participants if you need to.
Keep an eye on email invitation metrics like open and click rates.
Review, approve, and schedule applicants.
View and manage scheduled sessions.
Mark sessions as “complete” to distribute incentives and leave feedback on participants.
Send messages to participants for reminders and other info.
Opt into UI’s customer feedback panel! We’d love to hear your feedback on what’s working, what could be improved, and what you’d like to see on our product roadmap. Fill out this form to join our feedback panel and shape the future of research recruitment.

Still have questions? We’re here to help.

If you still have questions, browse our other support articles or contact us to learn more.

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