How requesters start a request ➕
When you create or edit a study request form, the How requesters input their study setting controls what requesters can do on the first step of the form. It decides whether they can describe a study in their own words and upload materials, or only start from a template or a past request. To find this setting, go to Study Intake › Request forms, then click New request form to create a form or open an existing form to edit it. The setting appears in the form builder under How requesters input their study. You can change it any time, and the change applies the next time someone opens the form.
✨ Option 1: Describe the study (AI Assisted, Recommended)
Requesters describe their research study in their own words, or upload a study plan, screener, or other materials. Ethnio AI reads what they provided and drafts the study for you to review.
This option works well when:
- Requesters already have a brief, a plan, or a screener written up
- Requests vary a lot from team to team
- You want requesters to spend less time filling in fields
Good to know:
- Requesters can paste a link to a Google Doc or web page instead of uploading a file. Ethnio can only read these links when anyone with the link can view them.
- AI only drafts the study. Every request still comes to you for review before anything goes live.
- Names, emails, phone numbers, and addresses are removed from requests before anything reaches AI.
📋 Templates or past requests only (No AI Required)
Requesters start from a template or a past request across your organization. They pick a starting point and adjust it, so they don’t describe a study from scratch or upload their own materials.
This option works well when:
- Your team runs the same kinds of studies again and again
- You want requests to follow your established templates
- You prefer that no requester content is sent to AI
Good to know:
- Requesters only see templates and previous requests they can choose from. If you haven’t set up templates or have few past requests, the form will feel sparse.
- Because no AI is involved, requesters can’t upload a study plan or screener.
Which option should I choose?
|
|
✨ Describe the study | 📋 Existing requests only |
|---|---|---|
| Requesters can describe a new study | Yes | No |
| Requesters can upload a plan or screener | Yes | No |
| Requesters can start from a template or past request | See the note below | Yes |
| Uses AI to draft the study | Yes | No |
| Best for | Varied, open-ended requests | Repeatable, standardized studies |
💡 Pro Tip: If you serve more than one team, you don’t have to pick one approach for everyone. Create a separate form for each team and choose the option that fits how that team works. For example, a product team with unique questions might use Describe the study, while a team that runs the same usability study every quarter might use Existing requests only.
What requesters see
With Describe the study, the first step of the form shows a text box where requesters can describe what they need to learn, paste a link, or attach a file.
With Existing requests only, the first step shows a list of recent and popular requests and templates to start from.
Either way, requesters then continue through the rest of the form, and the request lands in Study Intake › Requests for your review.
Changing this setting later
Open the form from Study Intake › Request forms, change the setting, and save. Requests that were already submitted aren’t affected. Only new requests follow the updated setting.