Onsite and Hybrid Studies

Testable Minds supports three participation modes, letting you use the same recruitment and management platform whether your study is entirely online, entirely in-person, or a combination.

Participation modes

Mode	How it works
Online	Participants complete the experiment remotely from their own device
Onsite	Participants attend a physical lab session; lab computers are used
Hybrid	Participants sign up via Testable Minds but complete part of the task externally (e.g. in a lab), then return to the platform

Setting up an onsite or hybrid study

1. In the study form, select the appropriate participation mode.
2. Submit for review as normal.
3. After approval, Testable generates a Sign-up URL; share this with in-person participants for them to register.

Note

Participants must have a Testable Minds account to participate in onsite or hybrid modes.

Onsite attendance

When a participant arrives for an onsite session, their attendance is recorded when they join via the Sign-up URL on a lab computer or their own device. This provides an audit trail of who attended.

Hybrid flow

In hybrid mode:

1. Participant joins via the Sign-up URL.
2. Testable redirects them to the external experiment URL (your lab task, Qualtrics, etc.).
3. On completion of the external task, the participant is redirected back to Testable Minds.
4. Testable records the completion.

Managing results anonymisation

When you view results for an onsite or hybrid study, you choose whether to store:

• Anonymised codes: only a random code is stored, not the participant’s name
• Names: the participant’s Testable Minds name is recorded alongside their data

Caution

This is a permanent setting for the study. Once selected it cannot be changed. Choose before data collection begins.

Approvals

Unlike standard online studies, onsite and hybrid studies require manual approval from the researcher. The 48-hour automatic approval that applies to online studies does not apply; you must approve each submission explicitly in the Minds dashboard.

Paying participants

You pay onsite and hybrid participants through Testable Minds, the same way as online participants. You do not hand out cash or vouchers in the lab.

1. Set the reward. In the Budget section of the study form, enter the Pay per participant. Your Minds credit must cover the total budget (the pay multiplied by the number of participants), so add credits before you submit the study.
2. Participants join. Each participant opens the Sign-up URL (for example tminds.co/102-902) and confirms that they take part. They need a free Testable Minds account. When they are not logged in, the link asks them to log in or register first, then returns them to the session.
3. You approve. After the session, approve each participant in the session results. Rejected participants are not charged.
4. The reward is credited. On approval, the reward goes to the participant’s Testable Minds balance and your credit is charged. You can also give a bonus to individual participants.
5. Participants withdraw. Participants withdraw their balance from their Testable Minds account. The payout methods depend on their country: gift cards, or a transfer through Revolut or to a bank account.

Minimum pay

Onsite studies have no duration, so the hourly minimum does not apply to them. Set a reward that is fair for the time participants spend in the lab. Hybrid studies have a duration, and the usual hourly minimum applies to it. The minimum number of participants and the minimum total budget apply to every mode.

Next steps

• Launch and Manage: session statuses and the approval workflow
• Set Up Your Study: configure the study form
• Payments and Credits: billing for onsite sessions